Belinda By Clarence Hervey Literary Devices

People are inherently vain and have the desire to do great things in order to preserve their memory. However, many people take this self preservation too far and end up with a superiority complex and easily upset when the smallest thing goes wrong. Their own naiviety leads them to a depression that cannot be broken unless they prove themselves in another way. In Belinda by Maria Edgeworth, Clarence Hervey has a raging superiority complex that leads him to a self created sadness in the end. Through literary devices such as point of view, tone, and language, Edgeworth develops Hervery's character as a vain and self absorbed man.

The entire excerpt is told through the point of view of Hervey, this allows the reader to see his ideal self. Edgeworth describes him as "smitten with the desire of being thought superior in every thing, and of being the most admired person in all companies"(lines 2-5). Hervey has an incessant need to be better than everyone else at all times. This belief and state of mind shows that he is vain and too self absorbed to see the truth. Hervey was also "dreadfully afraid of passing for a pedant, that when he came into the company of the idle and the ignorant" (lines …show more content…
In line 41, Edgeworth describes Hervey as, "the catch-match-maker". This phrase holds a severely negative connotation. This reveals that other characters view Hervey negatively which hurts his ideal self. Then, in lines 29-31 Edgeworth says, "he was vain of 30 having it seen by the world that he was distinguished by a lady of her wit and fashion". His own self absorption failed him, as other characters did not find him to be as distinguished as he thought he was. The choice of word 'vain' and later 'folly' leads the reader to believe that this aura of superiority he puts up is false and only in his head. The diction the author chose in this story reveals that his character is deeper than the surface revealed