Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice

of the entail, John Habbakuk is very clear about the
value of continuing it:
Family provision was a reason, independent of
dynastic ambition, for setting a high value on
the integrity of the paternal estate and one
which moved the family of a wife and not only
that of a husband. The wife's family was
concerned to ensure that the husband could not
impair his ability to provide for wife and
younger children by dissipating his estate or
by disinheriting them, and the most effective
way of doing this was to ensure that he was
made a life tenant. (14)
A man became a life tenant by resettling his estate at
marriage or majority by continuing the entail. At the
same time, he ensured the financial and social stability
of future generations of his family. Mr. Bennet looked
into the future with the resettlement of his estate at
marriage and could not foresee the absence of a male
heir.
The ability to maintain a title and rank through
generations in the eighteenth century became the
manifestation of social c~n~ciou~ne~~ regarding
continuity of rank (Habbakuk 59). Mr. Bennet showed a