Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice

Since Zomchickfs study, Eileen Spring has produced
an impressive body of work clarifying strict settlement,
beginning an intelligible and sensible discussion of its
influence on the early novel. However, Spring's
references to Clarissa are fleeting and given as examples
of, rather than explanations for, their influence on
eighteenth-century literature. Still, my study strives
to fill the silence surrounding the early novel and the
influence inheritance law that has been left largely
untouched even in the growing body of criticism that
deals with eighteenth-century law.
Richardson and the Language of Settlement
Strict settlement was rigid in its application and
certainly not subject to interpretation, like civil laws
and wills. While Clarissa Harlowe struggles with the
predicament of her settlement, she quickly comes to
realize the civil implications of her plight, revealing
that she understands much about civil law: "I have
sometimes wished . . that I had never been
distinguished by my grandpapa as I was: which has
estranged me . . . " (L2 41). Clarissa knows her
grandfather's bequest to her is under civil jurisdiction