In Maria Edgeworth's Belinda, representations of gender and femininity play crucial and complex roles. In addition to the binary it asserts between Lady Delacour and Lady Anne Percival, the novel also presents a younger generation of female characters, namely Belinda and Virginia, whose characters challenge and alter notions of femininity, as they grow up in these buildings. with certain implications. Through all of these female characters, their positions and their development, Edgeworth depicts traditional ideas of the domestic woman as unrealistic and impractical, while the narrative displays the attributes of independence and a strong sense of self through personality and the growth of Lady Delacour. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The character of Lady Delacour begins as dramatic and defiant, and does not necessarily abandon these traits entirely by the conclusion. Although she was known to be dissipated, Lady Delacour possessed a certain timeless and strange charm which defied the usual laws of fashionable society and which survived her transition from youth to womanhood; she “continued to be admired as a beautiful, fashionable spirit” beyond the novelty of her appearance in society (Edgeworth 8). Much of this perception still characterizes Lady Delacour at the end of the novel, but at the beginning it takes on a more artificial and exaggerated air so as to present her not only as a spectacle, but also at times, as a caricature. Interestingly, this occurs in both feminine and masculine ways, which introduces gender ambiguity and complexity. For example, when she first revealed her condition to Belinda, Lady Delacour, "with a sort of fury, wiped the paint from her face, and returning to Belinda, held the candle so as to throw all the light on her livid features,” which seems deliberately theatrical, and she also cross-dresses with Harriot Freke for the duel (Edgeworth 53). However, in all the ways Lady Delacour presents herself, she does so in order to act against gender society and the possibility of being subjugated by a man and confined to domesticity. The character of Harriet constitutes an antithesis of traditional domestic femininity and a potential anarchic force. Lady Delacour is attracted to Harriot's defiance of convention and independence, and her loneliness has drawn her to Harriot's façade of true companionship. Lady Delacour is both aware of her ability to be a good wife and angered by her husband's claims that he is "not a man to be ruled by a woman", which both fuels his withdrawal from all type of domestic lifestyle (Edgeworth 66). ). Not realizing the destructive capacity of Harriot's character, Lady Delacour clings to his friendship and allows herself to be guided by Freke's principles, in part because of her own anxieties about living in a gendered world. The beginning shows that while Lady Delacour is a corrupt character, this is partly the result of her past misfortunes and her attempts to avoid being subject to convention. In such attempts, which manifest in her lifestyle in which she is admired and commented on, Lady Delacour objectifies herself. In direct contrast, Lady Percival embodies ideas of domestic happiness and spreads them into the home and lives of her family members. The introduction of Lady Anne Percival, when Edgeworth first describes his children, "who all turned their healthy, rosy, intelligent faces toward the door", provides a sharp contrast to the home of Lady Delacour (Edgeworth191). It is particularly significant that one of these children is Helena, Lady Delacour's daughter whom she was unable to mother and raise. However, Edgeworth's tone in describing the Percival household is more simplistic, and speaks not only to the simplicity of their domestic bliss, but also to the characters themselves. The fact that the children are all similar, even interchangeable, shows the indiscreet nature of the home; Also, describing them as "healthy, pink, intelligent" is strange because of the parallel adjectives which are somewhat dissimilar. The words themselves seem to follow mechanically and therefore receive a certain degree of satire. Additionally, Edgeworth attributes the concept of the automaton to Lady Percival when she describes how "Lady Anne Percival's unconstrained cheerfulness spoke of a mind at ease" (Edgeworth 192). Unconstrained cheerfulness is not only unnatural, but also shows an element of uncritical acceptance, which the characters often praise. Unlike Lady Delacour's mind, which is anything but "at ease", this description may seem comforting in its tranquility, but the fact that a mind is proclaimed totally "at ease" denotes a lack of humanity or perceptibility. of the general opinion of the people that Edgeworth mocks this society's ideal concept of a domestic wife and mother; the narrative structure belies the impossibility of Lady Anne Percival's ideal nature to exist as she first appears. Everyone who knows or meets Lady Anne Percival, with the exception of Lady Delacour at the beginning, esteems her very highly and considers her the ideal wife and mother and therefore the ideal woman. In fact, even Lady Delacour, following her reformation, also thinks kindly of her. Overall, people find Lady Anne to be sensible, kind, and educated enough to assert her opinions and thoughts. Although Clarence Hervey is struck by her "essential charm of beauty" and her "expression of happiness", she even gives her an indistinguishable quality, which is identified by her inability to distinguish "whether her eyes were large or small, blue or hazel,” and “the color of his hair” (Edgeworth 191). Compared to Lady Delacour's innate command to admire him, this seems decidedly less dignified. Clarence, however, seems relieved and at ease because of this, and indeed, "his heart was immediately in his favor" (Edgeworth 191). Soon after, he is “struck by the intelligent face” of Helena, without knowing who she is (Edgeworth 193). A direct juxtaposition is established between anyone having to do with Lady Percival putting the mind at ease, and anything having to do with Lady Delacour "striking" a person and causing the need to think further; This is even the case for Lady Margaret Delacour, even though she has no biological connection to Lady Delacour. Lady Margaret Delacour seems more dynamic and opinionated than anyone else at "The Family Party" in this section. When Lady Percival speaks, she tends to make kind and open-minded statements, but they are also in tune with the kind of woman she is and with whom men feel comfortable. She tells Clarence that "women, who have met so many admirers, rarely meet many friends" (Edgeworth 204), which is probably the opinion of faithful wives, to ensure domestic tranquility. Lady Percival is not a bad character, however. It lacks many dimensions that would make it appear more realistic. When discussing Mr. Vincent as a future husband with Belinda, she advises him: "As we cannot change the common law of customs, and as we cannot make the world less talkative or less censored, we do not must notalways expect to avoid censorship; all we can do is never deserve it” (Edgeworth 296). This advice is not entirely bad, since Lady Anne takes into account that there will be unfair judgments from people, but she still does not take into account that good people are capable of imperfections which may provoke or merit censorship. She has some theories, but they are always stated calmly and generally always predict or assume a positive outcome. For example, when she and Lady Margaret Delacour talk about the young Lady Delacour, she states "when she is tired of the insipid taste of other pleasures, she will appreciate more those of domestic life, which will be new and fresh to her." (Edgeworth 206). This turns out to be largely true, apart from the fact that Lady Delacour is never as effectively domesticated in Lady Anne and that the pleasures of domestic life for Lady Delacour perhaps end up being satisfying because she is always the witty and intelligent woman who prepares surprises and surprises. righting wrongs behind the scenes. This ending where Lady Delacour finds Captain Sutherland and negotiates the two engagements is important, because it shows that, even if domestic pleasures are a dimension of her new life which has brought her great joy, there are still other dimensions, apparently just as significant. Insight is also given into many undesirable dimensions of Lady Delacour's nature when she believed she was dying, such as bitterness, selfishness, lack of trust, and extreme jealousy, all of which led to her to turn away from Belinda. Her treatment of Belinda when she makes accusations shows that she is not always guided by the right principles and circumstances, but it also shows that, despite her sometimes overdramatized character, she is like a real person. Lady Percival, on the other hand, seems to make no mistake until the ending makes it clear that she should not have argued for marriage between Belinda and Vincent. Having been the one and only mistake she makes throughout the novel, the nature of this error is significant; since Lady Anne so steadfastly defends domestic happiness, it is ironic that the area in which she errs is precisely this. There are also remarks she makes throughout the novel that are trite in themselves, but take on greater irony when considered with the ending, such as "A woman who has the opportunity to see her lover in private society, in domestic life, has infinite possibilities. benefits ; for if she has good sense and he has sincerity, the true character of both may perhaps be developed” (Edgeworth 228). In general, this idea seems reasonable, but when considered with Belinda and Vincent, it becomes less strictly a rule and more of an ideal that one can hope for, given the particular circumstances. Belinda is considered to have enough common sense and Mr. Vincent is certainly sincere, however, his theory is certainly only true in a society where everything is so ideal that everyone gets what they deserve and where unforeseen situations do not occur. do not exist. This erroneous prediction highlights Lady Percival's singular knowledge of idealism and the no less desirable circumstances of reality, as well as her lack of experience in the world. Lady Delacour has lived, traveled, and learned much from her independence, while Lady Percival does not seem to display any knowledge of the ways of the world, perhaps because in promoting domestic happiness she renounces all independence. The importance of the need for independence in The order given to a woman to acquire aNowhere is greater and deeper understanding of the world more important than in the experience of Virginia, Clarence. Belinda, while not yet fully familiar with the world, has lived a reasonable life for her age and continues to develop by thinking critically and making decisions that are right for her. Virginia, on the other hand, has been locked in a house and not even allowed to look at photos, let alone venture outside and learn the true meaning of anything. They are directly compared since both are potential wives for Clarence Hervey and both are young and beautiful. Furthermore, the novel's contrasts and comparisons between Lady Delacour and Lady Percival set the stage for Belinda and Virginia to be considered in relation to each other. Virginia's naivety is already established for the reader, particularly when Clarence offers his diamond and she responds: "They're pretty sparkly things, what are they?" What are they for" (Edgeworth447). Although Clarence is charmed by her calmness at this point, it becomes clear that he cannot truly be in love with someone who understands so little and knows no concept of relativity or society to guide his thoughts and ideas This becomes especially poignant when Clarence regrets his obligation, but must not return to it, but Virginia considers marrying him only so that he will not call her "treacherous and ungrateful Virginia." ”, which is her main anxiety (Edgeworth 560) of the two to communicate and Virginia's extremely unfounded fears show the dangers of a woman who is neither independent nor educated However, Virginia's lack of understanding is the. fault of his grandmother's and Clarence's wishes, in a sense Clarence's share of responsibility was imposed on Virginia due to society's ironic obsession with absolute sincerity and lack of artifice, which manifested itself in Clarence's desire for such a wife. Society's fixation on such a woman is ironic because this society simultaneously forces women to extremes such as the first Lady Delacour; Some women feel that their only values ​​in such a society are to be beautiful and fashionable, even though "the reign of beauty is proverbially short and fashion often capriciously abandons its favorites, even before nature fades their charms » (Edgeworth 9). This is why the reader can easily forgive Lady Delacour for placing so much emphasis on these superficial values ​​at the beginning of the book. This societal paradox is probably why Lady Anne Percival is considered the ideal woman among the men who meet her. Although Lady Anne is not a compromise between these ideas, she is extremely peaceful and complacent as a simple housewife. Lady Anne is far from Virginia's extreme in terms of lack of autonomy, but she shows no desire to develop herself. Through her many conversations with Belinda she shows that she has acceptable understanding and common sense, many of these conversations revolve around Belinda's marriage prospects. Lady Anne does not seem submissive, and perhaps this is why she is a stagnant and unrealistic character. Men in this society respond very positively to a woman who makes them as comfortable as she does and who has some capacity for thought, but who has no ambition to gain more independence or more world view. As a character, Lady Anne is identifiable as a wife and mother, while Lady Delacour is an interesting woman in her own right. Even after Lady Delacour is reconciled with her husband and reformed, she retains her full spirit and nature.