Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice
Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice
Clarissa's grandfather recounts the wealth of the Harlowe men in the Preamble of his will. In fact, much of the Harlowe wealth, it seems, comes from Clarissa's mother, Mrs. Charlotte Harlowe. According to Janine Barchas, Charlotte Harlowe's class differentiates her from the Harlowe men. While their ambitions aim toward the aristocratic, Mrs. Harlowe stands above them; she is aristocratic (28). She is the daughter of a viscount; yet, she will be condemned by Anna Howe for having "long behaved unworthy of her birth and fine qualities (L27 133) . Marrying James Harlowe, Sr., Charlotte Harlowe loses her estates, her name, her power and her voice. At the same time, she remains unacknowledged, even by Grandfather Harlowe, for her contribution to "raising the family. " As more inherited property, more settlements were made at the marriage of an eldest son, as was done in the strict settlement of James Harlowe, Sr., resettling the Harlowe estate in favor of his son and namesake. In this, Richardson followed the historical model of the landed gentry as well as the development of strict settlement throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. His history of the rise of the Harlowe family
fits with legal developments outlined by Eileen Spring (Law, Land and Family 123-147). By the time Clarissa Harlowe's history is written, strict settlement had become such an important watchword for her family that the terms of her grandfather's old- fashioned will cause profound changes in their ability to communicate with each other. Anna Howe opens the novel by mentioning the "disturbances that have happened in your family" (L1 39). Clarissa acknowledges these disruptions, telling Anna, "Our family has indeed been strangely discomposed . . . [It] has been in tumults, ever since the unhappy transaction" (L2 41). So pervasive are the disruptive powers of settlement language that the family power structure suffers almost immediately. Clarissa's father, a man immersed in the language and mechanics of inheritance, signals the first shift, telling his family he will wait until his son arrives before giving his opinion regarding Robert Lovelace's desire to court Clarissa. He is "desirous to prevent all occasions of disunion and animosity in [my] family" (L3 45). In reality, the reader finds Mr. Harlowe will no longer make a family decision without first consulting his son. Soon, his son makes all family
- Page 25 and 26: from the surface and often not very
- Page 27 and 28: mastery and confusion of inheritanc
- Page 29 and 30: of their futures, while the develop
- Page 31 and 32: culture, this is the first study to
- Page 33 and 34: This power which the mind has thus
- Page 35 and 36: successful marriage was expressed i
- Page 37 and 38: procedure and could not foresee the
- Page 39 and 40: the end, is partly responsible for
- Page 41 and 42: For all the recent criticism dealin
- Page 43 and 44: welfare. Although several of her br
- Page 45 and 46: language and a feminine independenc
- Page 47 and 48: Chapter Two Unhappy Transactions: R
- Page 49 and 50: Clarissa. Richardson's masterpiece
- Page 51 and 52: Since Zomchickfs study, Eileen Spri
- Page 53 and 54: settlement, a predicament Clarissa
- Page 55 and 56: life and conjectured within the pag
- Page 57 and 58: included in the compilation of the
- Page 59 and 60: The eighteenth-century reading publ
- Page 61 and 62: Clarissa's own will, framing the pl
- Page 63 and 64: to [the Solmes marriage settlement]
- Page 65 and 66: Grandfather Harlowe was one of many
- Page 67 and 68: a daughter or daughters, or in the
- Page 69 and 70: name, as a mark of her becoming his
- Page 71 and 72: other and uncles, and keeping her f
- Page 73 and 74: of this, a father often left most o
- Page 75: deference by every other person, wh
- Page 79 and 80: Harlowe. Mr. Harlowe, Sr., should b
- Page 81 and 82: empowered as such to make all decis
- Page 83 and 84: politics of propertied power well i
- Page 85 and 86: Lovelace is proud, and Richardson r
- Page 87 and 88: een for some time extinct on failur
- Page 89 and 90: have found her less than an angel,
- Page 91 and 92: not yet use physical force, knowing
- Page 93 and 94: elating the story of the Marchiones
- Page 95 and 96: necessity to alter her whole Charac
- Page 97 and 98: you believe it?-And they are all de
- Page 99 and 100: The comic relief Richardson brings
- Page 101 and 102: Clarissa Harlowe found that the Bib
- Page 103 and 104: Conclusion A confluence of settleme
- Page 105 and 106: made her the public care, should en
- Page 107 and 108: had she been "taken off" suddenly,
- Page 109 and 110: Clarissars physical imprisonment in
- Page 111 and 112: to function; and the heroine, Eveli
- Page 113 and 114: the eighteenth century. Virtuous da
- Page 115 and 116: Continent," though Maria's own life
- Page 117 and 118: egarding women's places in society.
- Page 119 and 120: Kristina Straub, Julia Epstein and
- Page 121 and 122: she married Charles Burney. The rep
- Page 123 and 124: The language of inheritance is dupl
- Page 125 and 126: accounting of the Evelyn family eve
fits with legal developments outlined by Eileen Spring<br />
(Law, Land and Family 123-147).<br />
By the time <strong>Clarissa</strong> Harlowe's history is written,<br />
strict settlement had become such an important watchword<br />
for her family that the terms of her grandfather's old-<br />
fashioned will cause profound changes in their ability to<br />
communicate with each other. Anna Howe opens the novel<br />
by mentioning the "disturbances that have happened in<br />
your family" (L1 39). <strong>Clarissa</strong> acknowledges these<br />
disruptions, telling Anna, "Our family has indeed been<br />
strangely discomposed . . . [It] has been in tumults,<br />
ever since the unhappy transaction" (L2 41).<br />
So pervasive are the disruptive powers of settlement<br />
language that the family power structure suffers almost<br />
immediately. <strong>Clarissa</strong>'s father, a man immersed in the<br />
language and mechanics of inheritance, signals the first<br />
shift, telling his family he will wait until his son<br />
arrives before giving his opinion regarding Robert<br />
Lovelace's desire to court <strong>Clarissa</strong>. He is "desirous to<br />
prevent all occasions of disunion and animosity in [my]<br />
family" (L3 45). <strong>In</strong> reality, the reader finds Mr.<br />
Harlowe will no longer make a family decision without<br />
first consulting his son. Soon, his son makes all family
Change language