Gender definition lies at the heart of Belinda. Discuss how Belinda Portman might (or might not) serve as a model for a contemporary empowered woman. Is the novel’s argument dated? How does the novel, in turn, speak to a contemporary man?

Discuss the moral evolution of Clarence Hervey. Explore the pivotal chapter in which he nearly dies in the Serpentine River as his tipping point.

Is Belinda a character? Can readers sympathize with her? Does she seem to even have a heart? Does she have the emotional and psychological development associated with protagonists? Or does she function better as a philosophical position?