Review: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

A quiet, unassuming young woman who knows her place amongst her richer relatives sees more than they do about the true characters of not only themselves but those they interact with. Mansfield Park is Jane Austen’s third published novel and one if it’s most analyzed not in the protagonist Fanny Price but also the economic situations of her family.

Fanny Price, at age ten, is sent from her impoverished home in Portsmouth to live as one of the family at Mansfield Park, the Northamptonshire country estate of her uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram. There she is mistreated by all but her elder cousin Edmund. Her aunt Norris, the wife of the clergyman at the Mansfield parsonage, makes herself particularly unpleasant which gets worse after she is widowed five years later. When Fanny is sixteen, Sir Thomas leaves to deal with problems on his plantation in Antigua, taking his spendthrift eldest son Tom. While away Mrs. Norris, looking for a husband for Maria, finds Mr. Rushworth, who is rich but weak-willed and considered stupid, and Maria accepts his proposal. The following year, Henry Crawford and his sister, Mary, arrive at the parsonage to stay with their half-sister, the wife of the new incumbent Dr Grant, enlivening life in Mansfield as Edmund and Mary start to show interest in one another. On a visit to Mr Rushworth's estate, Henry flirts with both Maria and Julia. Maria believes Henry is in love with her and so treats Mr Rushworth dismissively, provoking his jealousy, while Julia struggles with jealousy and resentment towards her sister. Mary is disappointed to learn that Edmund will be a clergyman and tries to undermine his vocation making Fanny fear that Mary's charms are blinding Edmund to her flaws. After Tom returns, he encourages the young people to begin rehearsals for an amateur performance of the play Lovers' Vows. The play provides further opportunity for Henry and Maria to flirt, but when Sir Thomas arrives home unexpectedly the play is cancelled, and Henry departs allowing Maria to go ahead with marriage to Mr Rushworth. They then settle in London, taking Julia with them. Sir Thomas sees many improvements in Fanny and Mary Crawford initiates a closer relationship with her. When Henry returns, he decides to entertain himself by making Fanny fall in love with him. Fanny's brother William visits Mansfield Park, and Sir Thomas holds what is effectively a coming-out ball for her. Although Mary dances with Edmund, she tells him it will be the last time as she will never dance with a clergyman leading Edmund to drop his plan to propose. When Henry next returns, he announces to Mary his intention to marry Fanny. To assist his plan, he uses his family connections to help William achieve promotion. However, when Henry proposes marriage, Fanny rejects him, disapproving of his past treatment of women. Sir Thomas is astonished by her continuing refusal, but she does not explain to protect Maria. To help Fanny appreciate Henry's offer, Sir Thomas sends her to visit her parents in Portsmouth, where she is taken aback by the contrast between their chaotic household and the harmonious environment at Mansfield. Henry visits, but although she still refuses him, she begins to appreciate his good features. Later, Fanny learns that Henry and Maria have had an affair that is reported in the newspapers leading to Mr Rushworth sues for divorce right on the heels of Tom falling gravely ill and leads to Julia eloping. Edmund brings Fanny back to Mansfield Park, where she is a healing influence. Sir Thomas acknowledges Fanny was right to reject Henry's proposal and now regards her as a daughter. During a meeting with Mary Crawford, Edmund discovers that Mary only regrets that Henry's adultery was discovered. Devastated, he breaks off the relationship and returns to Mansfield Park, where he confides in Fanny. Eventually the two marry and move to Mansfield parsonage. Meanwhile, those left at Mansfield Park have learned from their mistakes and life becomes pleasanter there.

Unlike the previous protagonists of Austen’s, Fanny is the outsider among her Mansfield relations and a poor to boot. However, this outsider status allows Fanny more freedom to question appearances especially when dealing with the Crawfords, who are basically jerks with barely any redeeming qualities and when a glimmer of hope that they can change present itself they decide to continue being jerks. Of all the busy-body characters in Austen’s novels that I have read, Mrs. Norris is not only the worst but also more annoying than all the others so far. Yet somehow with all this mix of characters, Austen brings out an interesting narrative that sees the poor relation of a family come out looking the best in Regency society.

Mansfield Park is a change up from Jane Austen’s previous two novels, but that does not change the quality of Austen’s writing and the wonderful narrative that highlights this story. However the standout part of this novel is Fanny Price, who so far is the best Austen protagonist that I’ve read.