Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice

Even the simple definitions of inheritance terms and
marriage settlements quickly become more complicated. To
understand eighteenth-century attitudes regarding
marriage and inheritance, one must understand the
relationship between Englishmen and property, real and
personal, and the indisputable English need to perpetuate
a family estate-a dynasty. Louis Namier explains that
"the idea of inalienable property, cherished beyond the
patent value, arises from the land," and that English
businessmen "commuted wealth into property, be it at a
loss of revenue" (18-19). For this reason, land,
economics, and power mingle inextricably. As the
seventeenth century closed, the ties between land, wealth
and political power grew into a powerful cultural
mechanism, unlike any that had come before. The
unbounded economic growth in the eighteenth century made
men rich. Law and legal practices centered on a wealthy,
economically powerfully England.
Raising a Family
The process of becoming powerful in the eighteenth
century was more complicated than amassing a large sum of
money or attaining a title. Although aristocratic