Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice

Chapter One
Willful Intent: The Power of Strict Settlement in the
Eighteen-Century Novel
The Inheritance Novel
Land, wealth, politics and marriage make up the
complicated and powerful structure of inheritance in the
eighteenth century. Though we tend to think of
inheritance in terms of death, in the eighteenth century,
inheritance was connected to birth, marriage and coming
of age. Strict settlement and inheritance practice came
to their height in the eighteenth century, but would
prove powerful enough to stay alive until the early
1920s.
Inheritance practice in the eighteenth century was
one of the controlling forces of the culture of the upper
classes. Its attendant power was readily recognizable in
and useful to the plots of several early novels, and,
therefore, I believe those novels should be called