Maria Edgeworth's Belinda: A Dialogue with Alexander Pope

With theatre motifs encompassing tragedy/comedy and a large cast of characters, Maria Edgeworth's Belinda (1801) is a philosophical novel, a novel of ideas. Critics troubled by the novel's two heroines fault its characterization, plot, genres, or "didacticism." Belinda's London social setting and the Rousseauvian subplot invite scholarship, as has Belinda in context with English colonialism; however, no one has explored fully the numerous parallels between Edgeworth's novel and the works of Alexander Pope. In this article, I argue that Pope is more than an allusion in Belinda; he is a substantial presence. I identify important references to Pope and his poetry, and I analyze their significance in Edgeworth's text. In many ways, Edgeworth's Belinda is in dialogue with Pope. Exploring this dialogue illuminates Edgeworth's novel and clarifies important critical issues.