Fanny’s Price World

Jane Austen was an English author, who lived in the late 18 th and early 19th centuries,
between 1775 and 1817. She is particularly known for her major romance novels: “Sense and
Sensibility” (1811), “Pride and Prejudice” (1813), “Mansfield Park” (1814), and “Emma”
(1816). There are two other novels written by Jane Austen, which were published posthumously
in 1818: “Northanger Abbey” and “Persuasion”.

“Mansfield Park” is a novel of manners written by Jane Austen and published in 1814,
which belongs to the Romanticism. The story follows a young poverty-stricken girl - named
Fanny Price, who has been sent to live with her wealthy aunt and uncle.

Plot is the sequence of interconnected events within the story of a play, novel, film, epic,
or other narrative literary work. More than simply an account of what happened, plot reveals the
cause-and-effect relationships between the events that occur. The plot consists of: introduction,
rising action, climax, falling action and resolution.

The introduction presents the three Ward sisters. The first one is Maria Ward. She
marries Sir Thomas Bertram and her fortunate marriage allows her younger sister to marry a
respectable clergyman named Mr. Norris. Frances Ward was the only one in the family who had
married out of love to a now-retired marine lieutenant.

The action takes place at the begging of the 19 th century, at Sir’s Thomas Bertram
imposing country estate – Mansfield Park, which is located in Northamptonshire. Fanny was
raised by the age of ten in Portsmouth, along with her seven siblings, but due to the poor
financial situation of the Price family, Sir Thomas Bertram offers to host little Fanny at his
mansion.

Fanny grew up with her four cousins: Tom, Edmund, Maria, and Julia. In Fanny’s early
years at Mansfield, her relatives mostly neglect her, especially Mrs. Norris who is oppressive and
extremely harsh with niece. The little girl is uncomfortable because she has never been exposed
to such a luxurious lifestyle before. Therefore, she lacks proper manners. She is homesick and
misses her brother William, with whom she is extremely close. Edmund is the only one in the
family who makes Fanny feel more peaceful at Mansfield, establishing a strong bond between
them.

As the protagonist grows older, she begins to feel more used to the luxurious lifestyle at
Mansfield. Fanny serves as a companion to Lady Bertram, and stays at home with her secluded
aunt when the rest of the family leaves to socialize. Mrs. Norris’s husband, Mr. Norris, dies,
causing Mrs. Norris to move out of the Parsonage and into a house nearby. A new preacher, Dr.
Grant, moves into the Parsonage with his wife, Mrs. Grant. Sir Thomas leaves the country for
business in Antigua and takes Tom with him. Meanwhile, Maria meets the rich, but foolish Mr.
Rushworth who immediately feels attracted to her. He wishes to take her hand in marriage and
both her and her father agree to his proposal, but under one condition – the wedding must take
place when Sir Thomas returns to England.

During that summer, Mrs. Grant’s siblings – Henry and Mary Crawford, come to visit
her. Both of them are extremely charming and good-looking. With such tremendous qualities,
they easily befriend the Bertrams and Fanny. Tom returns early from the West Indies. Henry is a
womanizer, who flirts shamelessly with Maria, despite her engagement, making Julia feel
neglected. In the meantime, Mary and Edmund seem to have feelings for each other. Observing
the couple, Fanny is hurt as, over the years, she has come to care for Edmund as more than just a
friend.

The young ones are planning to put on a play after hearing that Mr. Yates, Tom’s friend,
has done the same at another party. Fanny and Edmund don’t want to participate, but after being
pressured by Mary, Edmund agrees. Henry continues to flirt with Maria, who hopes that he will
propose to her. Edmund and Mary fall deeper in love. Everything is almost ready, but Sir
Thomas arrives home. He is furious and cancels the play, thinking that it is improper.

Maria realizes that Henry won’t take her hand in marriage and rushes to marry Mr.
Rushworth. After the wedding, the pair leaves for Brighton with Julia. With both of the Bertrams
girls gone, Henry, in order to amuse himself, tries to seduce naïve Fanny. Mary is unwilling to
wed Henry because he’s going to be a clergyman.

William, Fanny’s beloved brother, comes to visit her. Sir Thomas, who has warmed up to
the girl since his return, throws a ball in her honor. While Henry is trying to win Fanny over, he
accidently falls in love with her. He proposes, but she rejects him. Not long enough, Fanny visits
her family in Portsmouth for the first time since her departure and she hates it there. Despite this,
she grows closer with her sister, Susan. All the events related so far represent the rising action.

Henry comes to Portsmouth, still trying to win Fanny’s heart, and the girl warms up to
him. Meanwhile, in the climax, she receives word from Mansfield that her cousin Tom is terribly
ill. Soon, she finds out that Henry and Maria have run away together. Edmund confirms the
rumors in a letter, also informing her that Mr. Yates and Julia have wed. Fanny returns to
Mansfield and takes Susan with her.

In the falling action, Mary doesn’t condemn her brother and Maria for their foolish
actions, but she complaints that their affair has been found out. Hearing this, Edmund figures
what kind of person she is and ends their relationship. The resolution finds that Maria, now
disgraced, has moved away with her aunt, Mrs. Norris, and Henry has been excommunicated
from their household. The Grants, along with Mary, move to London, and Mr. Yates and Julia
try to receive Sir’s Thomas forgiveness. On the bright side, Edmund finally sees Fanny for more
than just a cousin and expresses his romantic feelings for her. They marry and live happily ever
after.

The main character is unique because her story begins when she is merely ten years old
and follows her up to when she turns eighteen. Paula Byrne says, "Mansfield Park is perhaps the
first novel in history to depict the life of a little girl from within". Fanny is distinguished by her
innocence, obedience, sweetness, cleverness and observant spirit. She is a vulnerable young girl
with low self-esteem who has been separated from her family at a fragile age. At Mansfield,
Fanny learns proper manners, how to walk properly and how to ride. Over the years, Fanny
struggles with intense feelings due to her vicious aunt’s behavior, who is always belittling her
and calling her ‘ungrateful’. She is secretly in love with Edmund, her cousin, in who she finds a
trustworthy friend. Fanny also maintains a close relationship with her brother, William, through
letters. Henry Crawford tries to woo her, but he falls in love and desires to take her hand in
marriage, but Fanny declines his proposal over and over again. After Edmund’s failed attempt at
marriage, him and Fanny fall in love and marry.

A theme is an universal idea, lesson, or message explored throughout a work of literature.

One key characteristic of literary themes is their universality, which is to say that themes are
ideas that not only apply to the specific characters and events of a book or play, but also express
broader truths about human experience that readers can apply to their own lives. In “Mansfield
Park” are many themes addressed (letters and character, inheritance and meritocracy, the country
versus the city) , but the most important ones are money and marriage, and manners versus
morality because they appear the most throughout the novel. The first theme is found in many
scenes along the book, but it is the best highlighted when Maria wants to mary Mr. Rushworth,
not for his qualities and character, but for his wealth and land (chapter 4): “Maria Bertram was
beginning to think matrimony a duty; and as a marriage with Mr. Rushworth would give her the
enjoyment of a larger income than her father’s, as well as ensure her the house in town, which
was now a prime object, it became, by the same rule of moral obligation, her evident duty to
marry Mr. Rushworth if she could.” This shows how marriage is primarily a transactional
institution in the novel rather than a romantic and emotional one. In chapter 42, Henry joins the
Prices, on a Sunday morning, for church. After the service, Henry and Fanny keep Mrs. Price
company during her weekly walks. The weather is pleasing and the two enjoy their time with
each other: “We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other
person can be.” In this chapter, the manners versus morality theme is highlighted because Fanny
continues to enjoy Henry’s company, and the fact that he attended church with them shows that
he is trying to align his values more closely with Fanny’s.

Symbolism is a literary device in which a writer uses one thing—usually a physical

object or phenomenon—to represent something more abstract. A strong symbol usually shares a
set of key characteristics with whatever it is meant to symbolize, or is related to it in some other
way. Characters and events can also be symbolic. In “Mansfield Park”, we find three symbols:
the gate at Sothertorn, the fire in the East Room, and the Gold Chains.

The Gate at Sothertorn. One day, the Crawford siblings and the Bertrams visit Mr.
Rushworth’s estate. Henry, Fanny, Maria and Mr. Rushworth are taking a stroll through the
property when they stumble upon a locked gate. Mr. Rushworth had forgotten the key, so he
goes to retrieve it from the house. While he is gone, Henry and Maria jump to the other side of
the gate. Fanny, thinking it is inappropriate, stays behind waiting for Mr. Rushworth. Julia comes
and follows her sister, jumping the fence as well. The crossing gate, which seems to represent
moral transgression, foreshadows Henry and Maria’s later scandalous behavior when they run
away together after Maria marries Mr. Rushworth, once again leaving Mr. Rushworth behind.
Likewise, at the end of the book Julia ends up eloping with Mr. Yates. The narrator implies that
Julia follows Maria’s led in her elopement, just as she does in jumping over the gate. Fanny, who
is consistently on the side of moral rectitude throughout the book, does not cross, symbolizing
her moral uprightness.

The Fire in the East Room. Fanny’s favorite place in the house, the East Room, doesn’t
have a fire going in it and, because she is afraid to ask for certain things, Fanny spends her time
in the cold. Unfortunately, no one seems to notice. The lack of fire in the East Room represents
how Fanny is being neglected by the Bertrams. When Sir Thomas returns from his business trip
to Antigua, he sees how beautiful and refined Fanny has become and he starts warming up to her.
He takes notice of the lack of fire in the room and insists on Fanny having one. From that
moment, Fanny becomes an important member of the household.

The Gold Chains. Before the ball at Mansfield Park, Fanny receives as a present from her
brother, William, a cross meant to be hung from a chain which she doesn’t have. Learning this,
Mary gives Fanny a beautiful gold chain which Henry gave to her, at his request. The same day,
Fanny also receives a much simpler chain from Edmund which fits her better, but Edmund,
finding out about Henry’s gift, tells Fanny to wear Henry’s. Although, Fanny doesn’t wear the
one Henry gave to her trough his sister because it doesn’t fit the cross. The two gold chains
symbolize the two options Fanny has: Henry and Edmund. Henry’s expensive and exquisite
chain symbolizes that he represents a good match for Fanny because of his wealth and charms.
Meanwhile, Edmund’s simple chain denotes that he is better for her because he fits her sense of
morality and religiosity.

The novel’s point of view is third person – omniscient. The narrator isn’t someone
participating in the events, he is and outsider. The third person perspective is highlighted by the
pronominal forms such as “he”, “she”, “they” to refer to all the characters. The narrator is
omniscient, meaning that he knows everything: every character’s thoughts and feelings. He is
described as god-like than human, because his perspective is unlimited.

“Mansfield Park” represents a masterpiece from the Classicism/ Romanticism period, in

which the reader transposes himself into a world driven by the hunger for money, arranged
loveless marriages and falsehood. In this flawed world, pure Fanny Price sees the important
aspects of life and remains unchanged by the vices which surround her.

Bibliography:

1. Frisella, Emily. "Plot." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 5 May 2017. Web. 20 Dec 2020.
2. Churchill, Katherine. "Mansfield Park Plot Summary." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 13 Mar
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3. Scopa, Sally. "Theme." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 5 May 2017. Web. 20 Dec 2020.
4. Churchill, Katherine. "Mansfield Park Chapter 4." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 13 Mar
2017. Web. 20 Dec 2020.
5. Churchill, Katherine. "Mansfield Park Themes: Money and Marriage." LitCharts.
LitCharts LLC, 13 Mar 2017. Web. 20 Dec 2020.
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2017. Web. 20 Dec 2020.
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LitCharts LLC, 13 Mar 2017. Web. 20 Dec 2020.
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2020.
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