Belinda (Edgeworth novel)
Encyclopedia
Belinda is an 1801 novel by the Irish
writer Maria Edgeworth
. It was first published in three volumes by Joseph Johnson
of London
in 1801, and was later reprinted by Pandora Press in 1986. The novel was Edgeworth's second published, and was considered controversial in its day for its depiction of an interracial marriage.
In its first (1801) and second (1802) editions, Juba, an Africa
n servant on a plantation in Jamaica
, marries an English
farm-girl named Lucy. But the third edition of the book, published in 1810, omits the character Juba, and instead has Lucy betrothed to one James Jackson. Also, in the 1801 and 1802 editions, Belinda almost marries Mr. Vincent, a rich West Indian Creole; in the 1810 edition, Belinda only esteems him and never agrees to marry him. It has been argued that this change came at the insistence of Edgeworth's father, rather than the author herself, because her father edited several of her works.
Belinda is subsequently moved to the home of the Percival family, the embodiment of the ideal family. Once Lady Delacour sought treatment for her illness, Belinda returned to support her. Upon her visit to the doctor, Lady Delacour discovered her disease was not terminal and reconciled herself with Belinda. Though slow, her recovery was eventually complete.
Our tale contains a moral, and no doubt,
You all have wit enough to find it out.”
Her strong character and the very important part she plays in the novel make some critics think the book should bear her name instead of Belinda’s.
Belinda Portman: a young lady of about seventeen, “handsome, graceful, sprightly, and highly accomplished.” She has excellent abilities, but is unused to thinking for herself, for her aunt has chiefly directed her actions (though her thoughts are often very different). Belinda is innocent and loving, and feels affection towards Clarence Hervey, though she hardly admits it even to herself. Mr. Vincent and Sir Philip both wish to marry her. She is generous and warmly forgiving, as seen when she sincerely forgives Lady Delacour, but has great self-control over her emotions – for example, she keeps her face straight and does not blush later when people talk about Clarence Hervey, and is not shaken by Mrs. Freke’s vow to be her “sworn enemy.” This rationality, however, led some contemporary critics to call her cold, and though in response Edgeworth made some minor changes to her second edition of 1802, she did not change the substance of Belinda.
Clarence Hervey: An eccentric, idealistic young man, who is clever, witty, and gallant, and in Belinda’s first impression of him is thus worded: “a most uncommonly pleasing young man.” He is shown to have a warm heart, for he frankly asks Lady Delacour to make his peace with Belinda after he spoke rashly about her. He admires Lady Delacour, and endeavors to “reform” her; and being constantly of her party, he begins to admire Belinda. However, he had been secretly bringing up the innocent Virginia in an attempt to create a perfect wife, and now, thinking that in all honor he must marry Virginia, he struggles vainly to relinquish the lovely and intelligent Belinda. This almost ruins all hope of happiness; but fortunately, Virginia reveals to him that she loves somebody else (or actually, to be more exact, the “figure” of Captain Sunderland – for she has never actually met him). Thus freed from all restraint, he confesses his love for Belinda, and they are married.
Lady Anne Percival: a very different lady from Lady Delacour, she is a gentle, motherly, delicate, and admirably amiable lady. Clarence Hervey is struck with “the expression of happiness in Lady Anne’s countenance,” and regards her as one of the most amiable and happiest women he ever saw; and Belinda thinks to herself, “...Lady Anne Percival’s wit is like the refulgent moon, we ‘Love the mild rays, and bless the useful light.’” She later also remarks to Mr. Vincent, when he compares Lady Anne Percival and Lady Delacour, “I have never seen any woman who would not suffer by a comparison with Lady Anne Percival.” She has much knowledge, and a love of literature, that makes her a fine companion to Mr. Percival. She is kind and motherly, and loves Helena like her daughter, but does not try to take her affections from her blood mother, and refrains from telling Helena of the faults and foibles of her mother. She treats Belinda with kind affection, and does not like to judge or condemn anybody hastily. She wished for Belinda to marry Mr. Vincent. At first, Lady Delacour regarded her with angry aversion, suspecting her of having all of Helena's affections, perhaps influenced by a still remaining spark of affection for Mr. Percival, and saying, "I hate pattern women!" However, at the end, she probably becomes good friends with Lady Anne Percival.
argued that Jane Austen
's naturalistic female characters owed a debt to this society novel's spirited heroine. Belinda was itself in the tradition of society novels by writers such as Frances Sheridan
and Frances Burney, who also charted the travails of bright young women in search of a good marriage. Aristocrat Lady Delacour in Belinda has been compared to Miss Milner in Elizabeth Inchbald
’s A Simple Story
(1791).
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
writer Maria Edgeworth
Maria Edgeworth
Maria Edgeworth was a prolific Anglo-Irish writer of adults' and children's literature. She was one of the first realist writers in children's literature and was a significant figure in the evolution of the novel in Europe...
. It was first published in three volumes by Joseph Johnson
Joseph Johnson (publisher)
Joseph Johnson was an influential 18th-century London bookseller and publisher. His publications covered a wide variety of genres and a broad spectrum of opinions on important issues...
of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1801, and was later reprinted by Pandora Press in 1986. The novel was Edgeworth's second published, and was considered controversial in its day for its depiction of an interracial marriage.
In its first (1801) and second (1802) editions, Juba, an Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n servant on a plantation in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, marries an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
farm-girl named Lucy. But the third edition of the book, published in 1810, omits the character Juba, and instead has Lucy betrothed to one James Jackson. Also, in the 1801 and 1802 editions, Belinda almost marries Mr. Vincent, a rich West Indian Creole; in the 1810 edition, Belinda only esteems him and never agrees to marry him. It has been argued that this change came at the insistence of Edgeworth's father, rather than the author herself, because her father edited several of her works.
Synopsis
Belinda is a young lady who lives with her aunt, Mrs. Stanhope. Being unwed, Belinda was sent to live with Lady Delacour who Belinda considered fascinating and charming. Lady Delacour believed herself to be dying of breast cancer. She hides the emotional distress from her impending death and poor relationships with her family through wit and charm. The first half of the novel is concerned with the blooming friendship between Belinda and Lady Delacour, which is broken by Lady Delacour's fear that Belinda plans to marry Lord Delacour, expressed in the line, "I see...that she [Belinda] who I thought had the noblest of souls has the meanest! I see that she is incapable of feeling."Belinda is subsequently moved to the home of the Percival family, the embodiment of the ideal family. Once Lady Delacour sought treatment for her illness, Belinda returned to support her. Upon her visit to the doctor, Lady Delacour discovered her disease was not terminal and reconciled herself with Belinda. Though slow, her recovery was eventually complete.
Main characters
Lady Delacour: A fashionable bel esprit (woman of wit), who Belinda at first considers “the most agreeable—no, that is too feeble an expression—the most fascinating person she had ever beheld.” Later, however, after Belinda hears her unhappy history, she feels “astonishment—pity—admiration—and contempt.” She is very kind and considerate to Lady Delacour, who begins to feel affectionate towards her. Through Belinda’s gentleness, Lady Delacour begins to be kinder to her husband, and grows warmer towards her daughter Helena. However, Lady Delacour’s sudden jealousy towards Belinda makes Belinda part with her and go to the Percivals’ house, where Helena had formerly been staying. Later, Lady Delacour finds out that she had absolutely no foundation for her jealousy, and being very ill, begs Belinda to come back to her. Belinda rejoins her, and now contrite and humbled, Lady Delacour takes Belinda’s advice and reconciles with her husband – even telling him about her mysterious history and her fears that she has cancer. Lord Delacour is affectionately concerned. She goes to perform surgery, and is told that she has not cancer at all! The quack doctor she had been going to in her desperation had given her certain medicines to increase her pain and agitation, to feed her fears. Joyfully, she decides to cast aside her folly and dissipation, and uses her talents energetically to be a good wife, a fervent friend, and a kind mother, and she ends the book by saying laughingly, “Now, Lady Delacour, to show that she is reformed, comes forward to address the audience with a moral—a moral!—yes,Our tale contains a moral, and no doubt,
You all have wit enough to find it out.”
Her strong character and the very important part she plays in the novel make some critics think the book should bear her name instead of Belinda’s.
Belinda Portman: a young lady of about seventeen, “handsome, graceful, sprightly, and highly accomplished.” She has excellent abilities, but is unused to thinking for herself, for her aunt has chiefly directed her actions (though her thoughts are often very different). Belinda is innocent and loving, and feels affection towards Clarence Hervey, though she hardly admits it even to herself. Mr. Vincent and Sir Philip both wish to marry her. She is generous and warmly forgiving, as seen when she sincerely forgives Lady Delacour, but has great self-control over her emotions – for example, she keeps her face straight and does not blush later when people talk about Clarence Hervey, and is not shaken by Mrs. Freke’s vow to be her “sworn enemy.” This rationality, however, led some contemporary critics to call her cold, and though in response Edgeworth made some minor changes to her second edition of 1802, she did not change the substance of Belinda.
Clarence Hervey: An eccentric, idealistic young man, who is clever, witty, and gallant, and in Belinda’s first impression of him is thus worded: “a most uncommonly pleasing young man.” He is shown to have a warm heart, for he frankly asks Lady Delacour to make his peace with Belinda after he spoke rashly about her. He admires Lady Delacour, and endeavors to “reform” her; and being constantly of her party, he begins to admire Belinda. However, he had been secretly bringing up the innocent Virginia in an attempt to create a perfect wife, and now, thinking that in all honor he must marry Virginia, he struggles vainly to relinquish the lovely and intelligent Belinda. This almost ruins all hope of happiness; but fortunately, Virginia reveals to him that she loves somebody else (or actually, to be more exact, the “figure” of Captain Sunderland – for she has never actually met him). Thus freed from all restraint, he confesses his love for Belinda, and they are married.
Lady Anne Percival: a very different lady from Lady Delacour, she is a gentle, motherly, delicate, and admirably amiable lady. Clarence Hervey is struck with “the expression of happiness in Lady Anne’s countenance,” and regards her as one of the most amiable and happiest women he ever saw; and Belinda thinks to herself, “...Lady Anne Percival’s wit is like the refulgent moon, we ‘Love the mild rays, and bless the useful light.’” She later also remarks to Mr. Vincent, when he compares Lady Anne Percival and Lady Delacour, “I have never seen any woman who would not suffer by a comparison with Lady Anne Percival.” She has much knowledge, and a love of literature, that makes her a fine companion to Mr. Percival. She is kind and motherly, and loves Helena like her daughter, but does not try to take her affections from her blood mother, and refrains from telling Helena of the faults and foibles of her mother. She treats Belinda with kind affection, and does not like to judge or condemn anybody hastily. She wished for Belinda to marry Mr. Vincent. At first, Lady Delacour regarded her with angry aversion, suspecting her of having all of Helena's affections, perhaps influenced by a still remaining spark of affection for Mr. Percival, and saying, "I hate pattern women!" However, at the end, she probably becomes good friends with Lady Anne Percival.
Literary significance and reception
Literary critic George SaintsburyGeorge Saintsbury
George Edward Bateman Saintsbury , was an English writer, literary historian, scholar and critic.-Biography:...
argued that Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
's naturalistic female characters owed a debt to this society novel's spirited heroine. Belinda was itself in the tradition of society novels by writers such as Frances Sheridan
Frances Sheridan
Frances Sheridan was an Anglo-Irish novelist and playwright.Frances Sheridan was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her father, Dr. Phillip Chamberlaine, was an Anglican minister. In 1747 she married Thomas Sheridan, who was then an actor and theatre director, and at the same time she began work on her...
and Frances Burney, who also charted the travails of bright young women in search of a good marriage. Aristocrat Lady Delacour in Belinda has been compared to Miss Milner in Elizabeth Inchbald
Elizabeth Inchbald
Elizabeth Inchbald was an English novelist, actress, and dramatist.- Life :Born on 15 October 1753 at Standingfield, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, Elizabeth was the eighth of the nine children of John Simpson , a farmer, and his wife Mary, née Rushbrook. The family, like several others in the...
’s A Simple Story
A Simple Story (novel)
A Simple Story is a romance novel by English author and actress, Elizabeth Inchbald. Published in early 1791 as an early example of a "novel of passion", it was very successful and became widely read in England and abroad. It went into a second edition in March 1791. It is still popular today.The...
(1791).
External links
- Belinda free ebook in PDF, PDB and LIT formats