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A review by charlotte_owl
Belinda by Maria Edgeworth, Kathryn Kirkpatrick
5.0
I really enjoyed reading this 1802 novel by Maria Edgeworth. The print in this book is very small and tight, so it could be straining on the eyes at times, but I ended up becoming very engaged in the plot, and so I overcame my dislike of the font size in order to continue reading.
This novel is more an examination of society than it is a book about romance, although romance (with two different men) is still an important part. The main character Belinda learns about how the happiest people can actually be the saddest behind closed doors, and how it is important to marry for happiness rather than wealth. (Of course, she is lucky that she has people willing to house her for no fee. But I digress). There is a strong moral through the book encouraging domestic happiness and simple manners over artifice and partying. While I think this is a good moral, I think it looses some of its meaning, as the "good" people often seem too good to be true. Lady Anne Percival, who is shown as being the perfect woman with perfect manners and domestic bliss, has no true faults. And alongside this, the main character Belinda also does not seem to be a true person either. There is a lot of talk of how women should behave, and while it is rightfully stated that women should have some level of education and not be ignorant, and that they shouldn't put on "airs," the book also seems to praise women delicateness, sensibility, and good manners. However, no woman can have perfectly good manners all the time, so I think expecting women to is just a different kind of "airs." I think women still suffer from this today. How many women still struggle with saying no? (I, unfortunately, am one of them.)
I found the entire plotline surround Lady Delacour to be very interesting. Her feud with her husband as well as her problems with her health were very engaging to me. As she began to change and become a better person, I really felt her growth and it was very rewarding.
Finally, I won't say much as it goes into spoiler territory, but Virginia was treated most horribly. I felt like the ending with her was just handwaved away. It should have been expressed more clearly that she had been treated wrongly.
Overall, I did enjoy this book and I would highly recommend it to people interested in 18th/19th century literature that is focused around women and society. As one note, there was some racism in this book. There was one scene that was mildly insulting to Jews. It last only one page, and the insult was referring to the character only as "Jew" and having them be a moneylender who was charging very high interest. There was also a character of black descent, named Juba. While he was described as being a good person with a kind personality, and he ended up marrying a white girl, there were also times when his ignorance was pointed out, and some characters (who we weren't supposed to like) did not speak well of him. I did think it was good how the mixed marriage was celebrated.
This novel is more an examination of society than it is a book about romance, although romance (with two different men) is still an important part. The main character Belinda learns about how the happiest people can actually be the saddest behind closed doors, and how it is important to marry for happiness rather than wealth. (Of course, she is lucky that she has people willing to house her for no fee. But I digress). There is a strong moral through the book encouraging domestic happiness and simple manners over artifice and partying. While I think this is a good moral, I think it looses some of its meaning, as the "good" people often seem too good to be true. Lady Anne Percival, who is shown as being the perfect woman with perfect manners and domestic bliss, has no true faults. And alongside this, the main character Belinda also does not seem to be a true person either. There is a lot of talk of how women should behave, and while it is rightfully stated that women should have some level of education and not be ignorant, and that they shouldn't put on "airs," the book also seems to praise women delicateness, sensibility, and good manners. However, no woman can have perfectly good manners all the time, so I think expecting women to is just a different kind of "airs." I think women still suffer from this today. How many women still struggle with saying no? (I, unfortunately, am one of them.)
I found the entire plotline surround Lady Delacour to be very interesting. Her feud with her husband as well as her problems with her health were very engaging to me. As she began to change and become a better person, I really felt her growth and it was very rewarding.
Finally, I won't say much as it goes into spoiler territory, but Virginia was treated most horribly. I felt like the ending with her was just handwaved away. It should have been expressed more clearly that she had been treated wrongly.
Overall, I did enjoy this book and I would highly recommend it to people interested in 18th/19th century literature that is focused around women and society. As one note, there was some racism in this book. There was one scene that was mildly insulting to Jews. It last only one page, and the insult was referring to the character only as "Jew" and having them be a moneylender who was charging very high interest. There was also a character of black descent, named Juba. While he was described as being a good person with a kind personality, and he ended up marrying a white girl, there were also times when his ignorance was pointed out, and some characters (who we weren't supposed to like) did not speak well of him. I did think it was good how the mixed marriage was celebrated.