Mansfield Park VI

Mansfield Park is Austen's most serious novel - lacking in much of the wit and lightness that she shows in her other works. While she was always a moral woman, her earlier books show a worldly wise person who was capable of being flexible in her thinking. In Pride and Prejudice, she dislikes the flightly vulgar Lydia, but she is sympathetic to the Bennet family's trying to cover up Lydia's pre marital affair and allowing her to keep her place in society. However, in Mansfield Park she has little or no sympathy for Maria. SHe is so fond of "My Fanny" as she calls her that she fails to note that Fanny doesn't show all that much sympathy to her own mother for not being a good housekeeper and for struggling with managing on a small income.. Fanny tends to give Mansfield a greater degree of admiration than it merits and does not seem to realise that if Mansfield is a more comfortable better organised home, it is largely owing to the family having a much larger income. Edmund is horrified by Mary's cynical worldly viewpoint of just wanting to cover up Maria's affair and get her married. He and Sir Thomas feel that they would offer Maria a home if she needs one but they would not have her back at Mansfield. Edmund takes Fanny back to Mansfield to comfort his mother and they take Susan along as well. Lady Bertram is happy to see her niece again, but Julia has eloped with a rahter silly dandy called John Yates. However, he turns out to have a decent income and they hope that the marriage will not add to the scandals that have beset the family. Fanny can see that Edmund is still in love with Mary and hurt by her attitude to his moralising. But shortly afterwards Henry splits up with Maria and she returns to her father, who sets up a home for her, away from Mansfield. Mrs Norris decides to go and stay with her as her chaperone and they go away together. Over time, Edmund recovers from the pain of loving Mary and begins to fall in Love with Fanny, and they marry and move into the Mansfield rectory. Tom reforms and Julia behaves well but Maria is never all that happy with her aunt.