63 pages • 2 hours read
Mansfield Park
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Chapters 1-3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary
The novel opens by describing the varying fortunes of the Ward sisters. Thirty years earlier, Maria Ward married Sir Thomas Bertram, owner of Mansfield Park, a grand estate in Northamptonshire, England. Another sister married Sir Thomas’s friend, Mr. Norris—a clergyman man of modest means who was reverend of Mansfield Parish. Frances Ward married least advantageously to Mr. Price, a poor sailor.
Eleven years after her marriage, Frances writes to Lady Bertram for help. Her ninth child is due, and her unemployed husband spends their small income on alcohol. Frances asks her sister if Sir Thomas could employ one of her elder sons in his West Indies business. The Bertrams send money and advice to Frances. However, Mrs. Norris asserts they should do more, proposing they could jointly take on guardianship of Frances’s eldest daughter. Sir Thomas is concerned that his sons may fall in love with their cousin and marry beneath them. Mrs. Norris assures Sir Thomas that the Bertram boys will consider their cousin a sister.
Mrs. Price happily agrees to the arrangement. Sir Thomas is surprised when Mrs. Norris declares their niece must stay at Mansfield Park indefinitely, as she cannot afford to keep her. He anticipates that Frances’s child will be unrefined but thinks his daughters will prove a good influence. He intends to be kind to his niece and educate her, although her status will never equal that of his own children.
Chapter 2 Summary
Ten-year-old Fanny Price travels from her home in Portsmouth to Mansfield Park. Mrs. Norris greets her and, on the way, lectures Fanny about how grateful she should be. Fanny is small, shy, and intimidated by the Bertram family and their grand home. Her cousins are confident and older: Tom and Edmund are 17 and 16, respectively, while Julia and Maria are 12 and 13. Although the Bertrams welcome her, Fanny feels homesick and often cries. Julia and Maria soon give up on trying to bond with their young cousin.
Edmund sees Fanny crying and gently coaxes her to talk. She reveals that she misses her family, especially her eldest brother, William. Edmund encourages Fanny to write to William. Soon, Fanny starts to feel more at home, and her female cousins accept her as an occasional companion.
Sir Thomas is concerned about the extravagant habits of his eldest son and heir, Tom. However, he believes his other children are a credit to the family, particularly Edmund, who plans to be a clergyman. Lady Bertram is lazy, spending most of her time on the sofa with her pug. Consequently, Mrs. Norris is largely in charge of raising Julia and Maria. The Bertram sisters make fun of their cousin’s ignorance and lack of accomplishments. Mrs. Norris suggests they should pity Fanny’s inferiority.
Fanny does not visit her family in Portsmouth, as neither her parents nor the Bertrams suggest it. However, her brother William visits Mansfield Park before joining the Navy. Edmund goes to Oxford University but continues to befriend Fanny. Recognizing his cousin’s intelligence, he educates her, and Fanny is devoted to him.
Chapter 3 Summary
When Fanny is 15, Mr. Norris dies. Although Edmund was due to be the next clergyman of Mansfield, Sir Thomas is forced to pay off Tom’s debts. He leases the living to Dr. Grant, who moves into the parsonage with his wife. Sir Thomas lectures Tom on his irresponsibility with little effect.
The Bertrams assume that Fanny will move in with the widowed Mrs. Norris. Fanny tells Edmund that the prospect is distressing, but he counsels her to gracefully accept it. Mrs. Norris resolves the situation when she clarifies she has neither the money nor the space to have her niece live with her.
A year later, Sir Thomas reveals he must visit his plantation in Antigua and intends to take Tom with him. He estimates they will be gone for 12 months. Sir Thomas is confident that Edmund and Mrs. Norris will maintain Mansfield Park in his absence. Julia and Maria are excited by their father’s imminent departure, looking forward to freedom from his authority.
Chapters 1-3 Analysis
The opening of the novel establishes Love, Money, and Marriage as a major theme. Austen’s comparison of the wildly differing fates of the Ward sisters emphasizes the link between marriage and socioeconomic status. By marrying a wealthy man, Lady Bertram secures a comfortable future for herself and her children with Sir Thomas. Meanwhile, her sister Frances’s decision to marry solely for love leads to poverty and dependence on the charity of others. From the beginning of the narrative, Austen highlights marriage as the defining factor in a woman’s social status.
The omniscient third-person narrator gives readers additional insight into each character’s traits as the Bertrams are introduced. Mrs. Norris is quickly established as an untrustworthy miser, persuading the Bertrams into co-guardianship of Fanny and shirking her side of the bargain. Lady Bertram’s indolence is highlighted, as she readily agrees to have Fanny with no intention of taking responsibility for her upbringing. Sir Thomas is portrayed as a more prudent figure, as he gives the matter the serious consideration it deserves. However, Austen injects a great deal of irony into his fears that Fanny will be a corrupting influence on his family. His low expectations of Fanny show inherent snobbery, as well as an ignorance of the existing flaws of his family. Sir Thomas fails to anticipate that Fanny will be the only member of the household to consistently maintain moral integrity. The author also employs foreshadowing in this section, as Sir Thomas worries that one of his sons may want to marry their cousin.
Fanny’s arrival dispels Sir Thomas’s fears of a vulgar interloper. Timid, self-effacing, and physically frail, Fanny is untypical of the spirited protagonists of Austen’s earlier novels. However, she shows love for her family in Portsmouth, crying after being removed to Mansfield Park, and better sense than her Bertram relatives in recognizing Mrs. Norris’s nature and seeking distance from her. Her vulnerability, and the cold reception she receives, highlights the Bertrams’ shortcomings. Edmund is soon established as the only compassionate family member, and he becomes Fanny’s confidante, mentor, and educator. Meanwhile, the extent of Mrs. Norris’s malign influence is revealed as she encourages Maria and Julia to believe they are superior to their working-class cousin. Fanny emerges as a Cinderella figure, with Mrs. Norris as the wicked stepmother who prevents her niece from attending balls with her cousins. Further cracks are exposed in the Bertrams’ respectable façade, as Edmund loses the living set aside for him due to his older brother’s debts. Spoiled and irresponsible, Tom is shown to be an unworthy heir to Mansfield Park, boding ill for its future.
Sir Thomas’s sudden departure to Antigua is a pivotal moment in the narrative. The absence of his authority leaves Mansfield Park vulnerable to the influence of destabilizing outside forces, prompting Austen’s exploration of Stability Versus Change. The author also implicitly touches on the subject of slavery and colonialism, as it emerges that the source of Sir Thomas’s wealth is his business in the West Indies. Contemporary readers of Austen’s would have understood that Sir Thomas owns a sugar plantation built on slave labor. Slavery was abolished in Britain and the British Colonies in 1807. However, Austen does not specify when her novel is set. His unexpected business in Antigua may be to address the labor shortage caused by the abolition of slavery. While Austen’s views on slavery are unknown, she read and praised authors who wrote abolitionist material.
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