Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice

to believe. He talks of the late Mr. Darcy' s "uncommon
attachment" to him and to the jealousy it evoked in the
young Darcy, that being the root of the trouble between
them (69). Even though the senior Darcy may have found
him more amiable than his own son, Pernberley and the
Darcy estate were never in danger of not being passed to
Fitzwilliam Darcy. He cannot consider thinking of himself
as Lady Catherine does, as the son of her brother's
steward.
Wickham, much like Collins, does not understand on
which rung of the economic and social ladders he belongs.
Catering to those on higher rungs and being liked by them
does not automatically afford him a place with them.
Wickham resorts to lying, extortion, and fraud in order
to mingle with the women he considers worthy of his hand.
He hopes that when he marries, his wife will bring him
the money and prestige he wants and thinks he deserves.
She will be the inheritance he believes is justly his.
Unlike Mr. Bennet, Mr. Collins, and Mr. Wickham,
Darcy is in possession of his property and inheritances,
and he knows the structure of strict settlement means
that he will retain his property, free from unseen
circumstances. Alistair Duckworth calls this the "sense
of inherited security that is the birthright of the self