Frontispiece to a 19th century edition of Belinda. |
Maria Edgeworth’s Belinda
is by far one of my favorite eighteenth-century novels—though, admittedly, it
is technically not an eighteenth-century novel at all. The first publishing was in 1801, and subsequent edits and publication dates lead Belinda even further into the early decades of the nineteenth century.
It is undeniable, however, that Belinda,
in topic, approach and tone is very much an eighteenth-century novel.
The brains behind this whole ordeal turns out to be none
other than Lady Delacour’s former bosom friend Harriet Freke, who regularly
cross-dresses and enjoys playing tricks on just about everyone. Mrs. Freke,
whose own name pronounces her strange proclivities, has “bold masculine arms”
with “no conscience, so she was always at ease; and never more so than in male
attire, which she had been told became her particularly. She supported the
character of a young rake with such spirit and truth, that … no common conjurer
could have discovered anything feminine about her.”
At one point in Lady Delacour’s reminiscences, she
recounts how a young man jumped into a
coach with her. After the initial shock, she recognizes the young man’s
laughter and realizes that this “young man” is in fact her friend Mrs. Freke.
Mrs. Freke then recounts merrily of the day’s adventures: “‘Where do you think
I’ve been?’ said Harriet, ‘in the gallery of the House of Commons; almost
squeezed to death these four hours; but I swore I’d hear Sheridan’s speech to
night, and I did…Fun and Freke for ever, huzza!”’
Lady Delacour’s eventual betrayal at the hands of her “bosom
friend” Mrs. Freke, as well as the latter’s joy in causing her—and nearly
everyone else—pain, casts her as the main antagonist in the novel. She plays
tricks on Juba, the black servant of Mr. Vincent (one of Belinda’s suitors), as
well as on Lady Delacour, leading the latter to believe that she is haunted.
Additionally, Mrs. Freke attempts to turn Belinda against her friend; when this
fails, she turns her attention to another young lady, a Miss Moreton, whose
reputation is spoiled simply by keeping company with Mrs. Freke.
Towards the end of the novel, Mrs. Freke, in attempting
to spy on Lady Delacour, is caught in a bear trap while “frolicking” in men’s
clothing: “Mrs. Freke’s leg was much cut and bruised; and now that she was no
longer supported by the hopes of revenge, she began to lament loudly and
incessantly the injury that she had sustained. She impatiently inquired how
long it was probably, that she should be confined by this accident; and she
grew quite outrageous when it was hinted, that the beauty of her legs would be
spoiled, and that she would never more be able to appear to advantage in man’s
apparel.”
Maria Edgeworth |
Harriet Freke is conventionally read as the antagonist
who gets what she deserves, while Lady Delacour eventually repents of her
worldly ways, reunites with her daughter and husband, and even manages to find
a good husband for Belinda. Meanwhile, Mrs. Freke must give up her
cross-dressing ways and find new ways of playing tricks on people. I’ve always found
this reading of Belinda a bit
reductive, however. Though Mrs. Freke is certainly not a positive character by
any means, even Lady Delacour manages to feel pity for her when she is injured.
Further, it is only the doctor’s opinion that Harriet Freke will not “appear to
advantage” in men’s clothes after her injury.
The doctor’s opinion also glosses over the fact that
cross-dressing allows Mrs. Freke much more than simply the option of “looking
good” and exposing her legs. (For more on sexy lady legs, see my previous post
on the topic.) Cross-dressing gives Mrs. Freke freedom, especially freedom of
movement. Like Hannah Snell and other female soldiers, female pirates, and
female husbands, cross-dressing allows Mrs. Freke to go where women usually
dared not.
By making Mrs. Freke a cross-dresser, Edgeworth has
complicated rather than condemned her character. After all, Lady Delacour
cross-dresses in the novel as well—and so does Belinda’s lover, Clarence
Hervey. Additionally, the novel is full of masquerades and even some mistaken
identities. The marriage between Juba and the English farmer’s daughter (a
subplot that was cut in subsequent printings) further suggests that the world
is not just “black and white”; there are many shades of gray in between, not
all of which are wholly evil or wholly good.
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