Belinda

Belinda Portman is making her entry into society, orchestrated by her aunt Mrs Stanhope, who has made successful matches for all of her other nieces. She arranges for Belinda to stay in London with Lady Delacour for an indefinite period in order to be introduced to the “right” people and ultimately marry. Lady Delacour is witty, fashionable, and the life of every party, but her public persona masks an unhappy marriage. Her husband lives his own life, socializing with other men and drinking too much. Belinda is surprisingly immune to these tensions, and Lady Delacour so admires her level-headedness that Belinda soon becomes her friend and confidante.

Lady Delacour introduces Belinda to the wealthy Clarence Hervey, and the two appear show more to be destined for romance until Belinda learns that he keeps a mistress. Circumstances lead to Bellinda's introduction to the Percival family, through whom she comes to understand what makes for a happy marriage and family life. The Percivals introduce Belinda to Mr Vincent, who appears to be a most suitable alternative to Hervey.

But who is truly the best match? A typical romance novel would cast one of the men as noble and the other, a rake. But Maria Edgeworth portrays both men as noble and flawed, in different ways.The full reveal takes some time (and a considerable number of pages), but in the end the choice is obvious and satisfying. show less

Belinda Portman has come of age, and her Aunt Stanhope has made arrangements for her to stay in London with Lady Delacour. Aunt Stanhope has a reputation as a matchmaker for her young female relations, and Belinda is to be her next success story. Lady Delacour is an odd choice of chaperon. Lord and Lady Delacour lead largely separate lives, and Lady Delacour has a reputation as a flirt. Belinda is on her guard after she overhears a conversation not meant for her ears, and she comes to realize that it’s up to her to guard her own reputation and her own heart.

This early 19th century novel reads like a mashup of Shaw’s Pygmalion and Austen’s Emma, occasionally wandering into a Dickens novel. Perhaps this is an indication of show more Edgeworth’s influence on later generations of authors. show less

Belinda is a silly, naive girl who is sent to stay with the glamorous Lady Delacour. Her worldly aunt wants her to find a rich husband, Lady Delacour wants her to be entertaining, and Belinda just wants to fall in love. She is initially dazzled by the high-flying life of the Delacours and the rest of the Ton, but rapidly sees the dark side to the sparkling diamonds and scathing witticisms.

Although the novel was published in 1801, this is a very readable book, with dialog that still scintillates to the modern ear. Alas, Edgeworth lost her nerve half way through this fascinating novel. Abruptly, everything becomes black or white. Belinda becomes a paragon of such utter virtue that she never puts a foot wrong, and thus loses all show more individuality. The battle between the ideals of Harriet Freke (a proto-feminst character) and the perfect Percivals is never truly joined, because the author explicitly calls one side monstrous and the other virtuous. Edgeworth also doesn't trust the reader to judge rightly which love interest Belinda should marry--she suddenly writes one as though all he does is rescue curates and innocent girls, and the other as an inveterate gambler and liar. The only character who survives this reformation is Lady Delacour, whose courage and satiric mind remain undimmed despite her adoption of a more domestic (and thus, virtuous) lifestyle. Lady Delacour is a character for the ages, as witty as Wilde's and as emotionally complex as Woolf's. For her alone, this book is worth reading. show less

This was a group read, helped along with informative commentary by Liz. Belinda is our titular heroine, but she doesn;t exactly fit the mould of the time. She's a niece of the matchmaking Selina Stanhope, who has thus far launched the society careers of a number of nieces and amrried them all off sucessfully. Not always happily, but happiness and social success are in no way the same thing, as this book makes plain. Belinda is duly lodged with Lady Delacour, who might be seen as the antithesis of how BBelinda should behave. She was once a society heiress and made a splash in society, with numerous offers for her hand. She herself had lost her heart to one Mr Peveril, and while he returned her love, he declined to put her on a pedestall show more and be blind to her faults, so she spurned him. In a fit of pique (or on the rebound, maybe) she marries Lord Delacour and they are now somewhat unhappy. Always at cross purposes, with a child being cared for by relatives, they really have no point of contact. Another example to Belinda of what making a good match but poor marriage might entail.
Of Belinda's own prospects, there are several. Sir Phillip Baddesley is a bore and a cad and deserves the comeuppance he gets. Clarence Hervey is another and he is more promising, only he is not the marrying type, is engaged in a flirtation that is rumoutred to be an affair with Lady Delacour and is believed to have a mistress. All of which are black marks against his name. But he also comes with that society gallantry that makes it hard to know if he's telling the truth at any point and appears a little hypocritical. And has a superiority complex that, to be frack, he does not deserve. He's not exactly hero material. Our final suitor is Mt Vincent, from the West Indies, he has a fortune to his name and comes with the benefit of being the mentor of Mr Peveril (who is taken as a model round these parts). All is not as it appears here either, and that which looks good form one angle can be flawed from another.
Having had all these different examples and lessons (there is something to learn from each incident - but it isn't all that didactical) Belinda uses her head to make rational decisions. These can appear cold, and she is accused of being cold hearted by not being swept away on a tide of feeling. I liked her, but can see that she was not necessarily a creature of her time. Like Mary Wollstencraft in the Vinicaiton of the Richts of Women, I feel that Maria Edgeworth is pushing for women to be educated and use their heads more, as being a creature of nothing but emotion gets very wearing and is not necessarily goood for anyone. It took a bit of time to read, it is quite dense and the style of writing takes a little getting used to (as with anything of this vintage). I enjoyed it. show less

Read for a graduate seminar on Romantic Era Women Writers at CU Boulder.

I want to love this novel for its entertainment factor and for the illusion of an independent heroine, but I find it impossible to get over all the stalkeresque male heroes and their racist allies. Therefore, proceed, but with caution. This is far more entertaining than most of the novels I've read from this era - but if you're a feminist, you'll probably be every bit as disgusted with the narrative arc as I was.

Mrs. Stanhope, a well-bred woman, accomplished in that branch of knowledge, which is called the art of rising in the world, had, with but a small fortune, contrived to live in the highest company. She prided herself upon having established half a dozen nieces most happily; that is to say, upon having married them to men of fortunes far superior to their own. One niece still remained unmarried — Belinda Portman, of whom she was determined to get rid. With all convenient expedition.” This is the story of that journey…and what a delightful story, full of twists and turns, it is.

'How my eyes have been blinded by her artifice! This last stroke was rather too bold, and has opened them effectually, and now I see a thousand things that escaped me before.' (181)

Like The Romance of the Forest, I read this because I was told I might find some female proto-scientists in it; I found less science and less enjoyment in it than Romance of the Forest. The book sort of meanders an uninteresting protagonist through the Pride and Prejudiceesque but slightly more scandalous society of the early nineteenth century. Not much seems to happen, and it does so quite slowly.