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'Hypocrisy In Maria Edgeworth's Belinda'

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In Maria Edgeworth’s novel, Belinda, Clarence Hervey is described as being hypocritical and obsessed with details. The author develops Clarence’s character through a blunt and pedantic tone, a third-person point of view, and ironic language.

Clarence Hervey is described completely from a third-person point of view, which allows the narrator to project her opinion on him. This is most clearly seen in the first sentence when the author says how Clarence “might have been more than a pleasant young man” if he didn’t have the “desire of being thought superior in everything”. The narrator shows a clear dislike for Clarence’s character and continues this type of description for Clarence throughout the passage. By introducing Clarence with an insult to his character, the narrator lets the reader know where Clarence stands in the story. Though it is …show more content…

Clarence’s observations and attitudes towards others are very blunt. When Clarence suspects Belinda of “artifice” in her actions, his hypocrisy is shown. Clarence is hypocritical as he tries to avoid others that act like him. Through his blunt assumption of Belinda, he projects his character on her and does not realize he acts the same way himself. Throughout the passage, the narrator constantly goes into much detail,arguably, much more than needed. This can be seen as a reflection of Clarence’s character as he constantly “pretend[s]” to be different than he actually is. In fact, he finds comfort with Lady Delacour as she does not care how he looks or acts. The tone does not change in the passage, similar to how there is little development of Clarence. This is very much due to the lack of action done by Clarence’s character. This could also be a reflection of his character since he is worried about what others think of him and does not want to take much action as he does not want to “disturb” the

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