Fanny, once the neglected Cinderella, becomes the emotional and moral centre of the Bertram family, the upholder of virtue, stability, and moral courage.
Discussion Questions for Mansfield Park
Mansfield Park and Slavery
Sir Thomas Bertram, the patriarch of Mansfield Park, owns slave plantations in Antigua. (At the time the book was written, the slave trade had been outlawed but English people still owned slaves). Here is the one and only direct reference to slavery in the book:
“Your uncle is disposed to be pleased with you [Fanny] in every respect; [says Edmund] and I only wish you would talk to him more. You are one of those who are too silent in the evening circle.”
“But I do talk to him more than I used. I am sure I do. Did not you hear me ask him about the slave-trade last night?” [answers Fanny]
“I did—and was in hopes the question would be followed up by others. It would have pleased your uncle to be inquired of farther.”
“And I longed to do it—but there was such a dead silence! And while my cousins were sitting by without speaking a word, or seeming at all interested in the subject, I did not like—I thought it would appear as if I wanted to set myself off at their expense, by shewing a curiosity and pleasure in his information which he must wish his own daughters to feel.”
Some people have contended that Mansfield Park is an anti-slave tract in disguise; that the name Mansfield is a reference to Lord Mansfield, [a justice whose ruling outlawed slavery in the British Isles] and Norris is the name of a notoriously cruel slave-owner. No commentary from Austen herself survives to confirm or deny this supposition.
Do you think that Austen intended a message about slavery? Do you think it’s a minor reference in passing, or is there an important, but hidden, message in the novel?
What information could Fanny have taken “pleasure” in? The news that slavery would die out? Or that the plantation was carrying on with its existing slaves, despite the ban?
Do you think Jane Austen was the sort of author who planted hidden messages in her novels, or are modern critics finding what they want to see (messages about slavery, women’s emancipation, class warfare, etc.)?
For some people, the fact that Sir Thomas is a slave-owner means that he cannot be viewed as anything but an absolute villain. Is this a modern revisiting of history or did Jane Austen also intend for him to be seen as a villain? Does he play the role of a villain in the book? How does Jane Austen portray him in the book? What are his flaws? Does he have strengths and good qualities?
Fanny Price: heroine or wimp?
Fanny Price is a much-debated topic among Jane Austen devotees. She is unarguably the least popular Austen heroine. Why is that?
Fanny Price is often described as a sort of little Miss Goody Two-Shoes. Does she always behave impeccably? What about her jealousy of Mary Crawford, her refusal to return Mary Crawford’s friendship? What about when she refuses to give Henry Crawford advice as to whether he should go back to Everingham and help his poor tenants?
CS Lewis, the noted British writer and critic, felt that Fanny Price did not work as a heroine. She is “insipid.” He says this of her in his 1954 essay, “A Note on Jane Austen”:
One of the most dangerous of literary ventures is the little, shy, unimportant heroine whom none of the other characters value. The danger is that your readers may agree with the other characters. Something must be put into the heroine to make us feel that the other characters are wrong, that she contains depths they never dreamed of…. In Anne [Elliot of Persuasion], Jane Austen did succeed. Her passion (for it is not less), her insight, her maturity, her prolonged fortitude, all attract us. But into Fanny, Jane Austen, to counterbalance her apparent insignificance, has put really nothing except rectitude of mind; neither passion, nor physical courage, nor wit, nor resource.
What is your reaction to her? Is there some element that CS Lewis lists above, that you would want to add to her character? Or is she past saving? Given the high esteem with which Jane Austen is held as a skilled writer, do you regard Mansfield Park as an experiment which didn’t quite work out, or is it an under-appreciated masterpiece?
Mrs. Norris
Mrs. Norris was described by Austen scholar Tony Tanner as “the most plausibly odious” villain in fiction, in other words, she is a believable villain, not a cartoon villain. Do you agree? What makes her plausible, or is anything she does or says “over-the-top”? What is your understanding of Mrs. Norris’s motives? What makes her tick, in other words? Why is she so miserable to Fanny?
What were the consequences of the combination of Lady Bertram’s lethargy and Mrs. Norris busy-body attitude, to the household in Mansfield Park?
The Bertrams
Maria and Julia Bertram have grown up in the isolation of the countryside. They have been to Northampton, but not to London. They are considered to be the belles of their small social circle. How does this circumstance affect the way they view themselves, their own goals and wishes, and how does it affect their reaction to the arrival of Henry Crawford in their midst?
The tone of Mansfield Park
Although Mansfield Park has comedic moments, it is the most dramatic and darkest of Austen’s completed novels. Does this darker tone come as a surprise from the author of Pride & Prejudice and Northanger Abbey?
Compare the outcomes for the villains in Pride & Prejudice or Sense & Sensibility or even Persuasion, with the fates of Maria Rushworth, Mrs. Norris and Henry Crawford in Mansfield Park. Their bad deeds
