Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice

"paternal estate," and relates that Lovelace "was
immediate heir to very splendid fortunes," and if his
inheritance were coupled with what Clarissa could bring
to their marriage, Lovelace would be conferred Lord M.'s
title or higher and "Clarissa might one day be a peeress
of Great Britain" (L13 79).
Lovelace voices the same sentiments to Belford,
telling him that he had made inroads with Clarissa's
uncle, who will be his ambassador to "Queen Annabella
Harlowe, to engage her (for example sake) to her
princessly daughter . . ." (L31 145) . He readily takes
up the language of inheritance and rises to the occasion
of winning over Clarissa as a kind of estate auction
competition between Solmes, son James, and himself: "But
was ever hero in romance . . . called upon to harder
trials! Fortune and family and reversionary grandeur on
my side! Such a wretched fellow my competitor!" (L31
146) . Indeed, James, Jr., tells Clarissa that Lovelace
"says you are his, and shall be his, and he will be the
death of any man who robs him of his PROPERTY" (L52.1
223).
Lovelace's underlying motivation for revenge on the
fair sex is revealed in legal terms when he speaks of
Clarissa: "Until by matrimonial or equal intimacies I