Maria Edgeworth's Belinda

In the short story Belinda, written by Maria Edgeworth in 1801, the character Clarence Harvey is a potential suitor for the title character. Hervey’s dubious and conceited personality shown throughout this excerpt is witnessed by the readers. Edgeworth’s use of elevated diction and negative tone allows the readers to get a sense of Hervey’s conceited manner. There is a strong tone throughout the entire short story, Belinda. The narrator spoke with a elevated, strong diction. Throughout the passage the characters spoke as though they were highly educated and socially high. Clarence Harvey had received a degree from Oxford University. He was a propionate man throughout the community. It was stated in the story, “there was none on which he valued