Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice

een for some time extinct on failure of heirs
male; that this view made his relations so
earnest for his marrying . . . [. 1 (L13 79)
The more land he acquired before the death of his uncle
the better his chances for having either of the titles
conferred. The right wife would make his life and his
quest much easier.
As a young man, Lovelace suffered the effects of
courtship for a title. He relates to Belford that he
"could not bear that a woman, who was the first that had
bound me in silken fetters . . . should prefer a coronet
to me . . ." (L31 144) . He vowed revenge on all women.
Young Lovelace was turned down for a title. Love meant
nothing; title everything. Lovelace's quest for his
title began in his youth, spurred by the heartache of
unrequited love. The language of title, or inheritance,
of marriage and settlements was so pervasive in his youth
that it tainted for life his view of virtue and womanhood
and dramatically illustrates the affective power it held
in the eighteenth century. Lovelace was not scorned for
another; he was scorned for a title.
When Robert Lovelace is introduced to the Harlowe
family, the language Richardson uses has a distinctive
legal tone. Clarissafs uncle tells us of Lovelacefs