Jane Austen For Beginners

by Robert Dryden

  Fanny Price makes the journey from the poor, seafaring town of Portsmouth to the country estate of Mansfield Park when she is ten years old. She is two years younger than her cousin Julia, three years younger than Maria. Initially Fanny is lost in the world of Mansfield Park; she is overwhelmed with the immense size of the estate, and she misses her home (especially her brother William) very much. But with time she adapts and takes her backseat role in the family.

  Her cousin Edmund is the first to show Fanny kindness; she tells him a little about her family, and he helps her write to her brother William. Edmund is the responsible and ethical son, destined for the clergy. Austen’s depiction of this elite family is mainly negative, but Edmund provides us with evidence that the gentry is not all bad. Otherwise the Bertram children—the spoiled and selfish girls, the womanizing, dissolute Tom—are not welcoming to Fanny, treating her more like a servant than a sister.

  About five years after Fanny arrives at Mansfield Park, Mr. Norris dies. With his future in the clergy, Edmund should be in line to inherit Mr. Norris’ “living,” as it is called, but older brother Tom, weighted down heavily by gambling debts, gets his father to sell the living in order to cover the debts. Because the living is a tenured appointment, Edmund will not receive it until the buyer is deceased. We would expect that Sir Thomas could have taken care of Tom’s debts without having to sell Edmund’s living; however, we discover that there are problems in the colonial realm with the production of sugar in the West Indies. Clearly a large percentage of the family’s income is derived from the West Indian source. This information broadens the scope of our knowledge about the emerging British Empire. There’s also an irony in that these members of the gentry are experiencing hard times as a result of wasteful behavior, at least on Tom’s part.

  The situation in the West Indies worsens to the point where Sir Thomas decides to journey to Antigua to straighten out affairs on his plantation. We don’t know a great deal about the problem. As this novel takes place at the close of the eighteenth century, we are still a decade away from the ban on importing slaves to the British colonies (1807) and thirty years from the parliamentary act declaring slave-smuggling in the West Indies an act of piracy punishable by death (1827). Critics speculate that a slave uprising in Antigua could be responsible for Sir Thomas’s losses. The exact nature of his “business” is less important than the fact that Austen opens a window for us to speculate about European intervention in the colonial realm.

  Sir Thomas takes Tom on the journey with him in hopes that his eldest son will detach himself from negative influences at home and learn some responsibility abroad. Sir Thomas is wary about leaving his family, especially his daughters, as they are maturing, blossoming, and (now at the ages of 20 and 21) continue to be eligible for marriage. He reconciles his concerns with the knowledge that the benefits to Tom are crucial at this worrisome time in his life. What Sir Thomas doesn’t anticipate is that affairs in the West Indies require far more attention than expected; therefore, he remains abroad and sends Tom back home by himself.

  Meanwhile, Maria Bertram catches the eye of a local man of fortune, Mr. Rushworth. Austen describes him as heavy in weight and light in intellect. Maria is not necessarily enamored of Rushworth, but since marriage is considered her “duty,” and he has both money and a house in London, the materialistic Maria is excited about the match. Even though the arrangement cannot become official until Sir Thomas returns from the West Indies, Mrs. Norris pushes hard for it. Edmund, who recognizes merit in much more than the weight of a person’s pocketbook, is the one who is most skeptical. He doesn’t approve and lets his feelings be well known.

  The plot is complicated by the arrival in the village of the aforementioned brother and sister, Henry and Mary Crawford. An important detail about the siblings is that they were raised by their uncle, Admiral Crawford. Henry is wealthy, and has since taken possession of his estate in Norfolk. He is described as having a very appealing, charismatic, and flirtatious personality, though he is not handsome. Mary is described as very pretty with a glamorous and scandalous personality. The fact that Henry and Mary have been raised by a high-ranking officer in the navy is an interesting detail in that both brother and sister appear to have been influenced in unsavory ways. In other words, Austen intimates that the salt of the navy has rubbed off on this brother and sister. We don’t know a great deal about Admiral Crawford, but Austen does reveal in no uncertain terms that his conduct and his influence on his niece and nephew have been corrupting. One bit of information that we receive is that immediately after his wife passed away, the admiral invited his mistress to live with him. And secondly, Mary demonstrates her uncle’s poor influence when she makes a filthy joke to Edmund and Fanny about the navy’s “Rears and Vices.” The reference (a wordplay on ranks in the admiralty) is to the navy’s sordid reputation for the practice of buggery, a most unladylike topic of conversation. As with the representation earlier of Mr. Price of Portsmouth, Austen’s depiction of the navy in Mansfield Park is predominantly negative. Again, we must remember that the events here take place well before the great victories that make heroes of naval officers in their defeat of France during the Napoleonic War. We see, for example, a much more heroic depiction of naval officers in Austen’s Persuasion.

  With Mary and Henry now in attendance, and the law of the father (Sir Thomas) in abeyance, the stage is set for a decline in manners and morals and the advancement of misrule. Henry flirts incessantly with both Julia and Maria, and with the latter so much so that she soon believes Henry has serious affections for her. Since Maria is practically engaged, her prospective fiancé, Mr. Rushworth, becomes jealous, uncomfortable, and understandably awkward. Fanny is threatened by Mary’s manners, but initially she has Edmund’s alliance to keep her company; however, Fanny feels increasingly alone, isolated, and outnumbered when she realizes that Edmund has been blinded to flaws in Mary’s character by her good looks. Mary makes an effort to be friendly with Fanny, but generally speaking, Fanny is the odd person out in all of the socializing that takes place. Fanny is an Austen character who reminds us of Elinor in Sense and Sensibility. She’s never the star, always in the background, always selfless, often forgotten, but she, like Elinor, consistently demonstrates the most honorable behavior.

  Letters eventually arrive from Sir Thomas indicating that he has been delayed and will not return home for at least another three months. Mr. Bertram’s absence continues to keep the door open for inappropriate behavior. The level of this misbehavior increases when Tom’s friend Mr. Yates arrives for a visit to Mansfield Park. And like Tom, Mr. Yates is not an upstanding character. He arrives at Mansfield having just spent time with friends at a theatrical party that was spoiled by the death of a relation to one of the actors. Now he is determined to see the theatrical production through with his new companions.

  Inchbald’s play Lovers’ Vows (1798) was frequently staged in London and Bath, where Austen would have had opportunities to view it. Not surprisingly the content of the play involves marital infidelity and illegitimate birth. Along with the risqué subject matter, acting back then (especially for women) was viewed as provocative and potentially scandalous. Times are rapidly changing during the late eighteenth century, yet to a degree actresses are still associated with loose women or prostitutes.

  Both Edmund and Fanny instinctively know that Sir Thomas would not condone such a production taking place in his own home, so they initially resist. But, as we have frequently seen up to this point, Edmund is easily influenced by Mary; he changes his mind because he is seduced by the prospect of playing the part of Mary’s love interest. Edmund is torn between his morals and his libido, and for the moment, his libido is winning. Fanny is the one who acts according to her senses of decorum and appropriate manners. Even so, she is finally forced to act when Edmund requests it. But just as they are underway, before Fanny delivers a line, Sir Thomas returns, and he is not pleased by what he discovers.

  The initial w
elcome of Sir Thomas is joyous, but since his office had been utilized as the theater space for the production of Lovers’ Vows, everybody becomes tense when he retreats there. He is angry when he enters to find both Tom and Yates acting out parts of the play. Yates makes an effort to explain to Sir Thomas the evolution of the production, but it has little positive effect. Edmund comes forward to explain that all the young people are to blame excepting Fanny, for she alone resisted the play from the beginning. From that moment on, Edmund’s admission endears Fanny to Sir Thomas. This is a new beginning for Fanny, an opportunity to blossom and mature at Mansfield Park with more equal footing than she has ever known. Apart from his newfound appreciation for Fanny, Sir Thomas is quick to reestablish order in the house for himself and his family. His first task is to see to it that every reminder of Lovers’ Vows is wiped out of existence. He even goes so far as to burn every copy of the play that he can find. The contrast between life before Sir Thomas’ return and after is felt exceedingly by the whole family.

  Since Sir Thomas chased all the fun away, Henry and Mary Crawford depart as well. Maria is desperately sad to see Henry leave, as they had been shamelessly flirting during the pre-production of the play. She clearly has passionate feelings for Crawford, but now that he is gone, she is faced with the prospect of marrying Rushworth. Sir Thomas approves of the match and Maria vows not to reveal to Crawford how much his departure has hurt her. The couple is soon married, and a plan is put in motion where Maria and Rushworth venture to Brighton, and Julia accompanies them. The sudden departure of the Bertram daughters creates a significant shift in the family dynamic at Mansfield; Fanny has a much more prominent role in the household and in the parsonage as well, where she spends time with Mrs. Grant and Mary Crawford. Fanny’s value has increased. She is still shy, but no longer an afterthought and no longer lurking in corners and shadows.

  Eventually Henry Crawford returns to Mansfield, and since Maria is gone, he spends much of his time complimenting Fanny. He even begins to flirt with her! If we had any doubts about Crawford’s character, we can now put them to rest; he is a libertine scoundrel who confesses to Mary that he has the intention to make Fanny fall in love with him and then break her heart. Indeed, Crawford is a cruel character, who is much too narcissistic for his own (or anybody else’s) good.

  In the midst of Crawford’s attempted flirtations, Fanny receives news that her beloved brother William will soon pay a visit. William is a midshipman in the Royal Navy, and he is returning from the Mediterranean for a period of leave. Fanny is ecstatic, as she and William are the closest siblings in their family. When he arrives, William proves to be a superbly mannered young man, and is instantly liked by Sir Thomas and the rest of the family. Through William, Austen makes clear that she has fond feelings for the navy. Sir Thomas often asks William to tell stories about his adventures overseas. When he hears them, even Crawford is impressed and inspired. However, when Crawford begins to feel jealous about William’s short but impressive career, one of the novel’s main messages comes into focus: the middle-class characters’ stock (Fanny and William) is on the rise in society, and the gentry’s stock is in decline.

  As much as Austen portrays William to be in a desirable position in the navy, the reality is that life on board naval ships was extremely difficult and dangerous. The chances of surviving to the age of 25 during wartime were not good. Diseases of various kinds were responsible for eighty percent of British naval fatalities during the Napoleonic War. In comparison, death suffered at the hands of the enemy comprised only six percent of the toll. Yellow fever, smallpox, typhus, and scurvy were the leading killers, diseases which festered and proliferated because of poor hygienic conditions, poor diet, and cramped quarters. Disease also found its way into the naval community as a result of sanctioned prostitution. Since common sailors were denied shore leave during their tenure in the navy, their only opportunity for heterosexual gratification was with prostitutes who boarded the ship for a time while in port. Naval men–of–war—warships—became floating brothels where disease was rapidly exchanged from shore to ship and ship to shore with devastating consequences.

  Adding to these hazards in the naval profession was the fact that in order to make your mark, and in order to make money, a sailor had to have connections and receive a promotion. All officers started out their careers as midshipmen, but if a sailor failed to move up from there, his career would be in ruin. The profession also included a great deal of nepotism. (In Persuasion, midshipman Dick Musgrove illustrates the failure to rise up the ranks, while Captain Wentworth’s promotion results from his sister being married to Admiral Croft.) Confiding in Fanny, William expresses fear of not being able to get a promotion, called a commission. Fanny and her brother hope initially that Sir Thomas could provide some “influence” that would help William reach the rank of lieutenant. But since Sir Thomas is unable to help, Henry introduces William to Admiral Crawford and the meeting goes well; William will become a lieutenant and act in his new role on board the sloop H. M. Thrush (H. M. stands for Her Majesty’s).

  News of William’s promotion is joyously welcomed by Fanny until she learns that everything Henry has done for her brother has been the result of his strong and passionate feelings for her—she is mortified. To make matters worse, Henry declares his love publicly, and Sir Thomas and the rest of the Bertram family are elated. This will mean that Fanny will be taken care of for the rest of her life. She will marry above her social station, and in this world where women are essentially second-class citizens, it would be unheard of for a woman—love or not—to reject such a proposal. But this is Austen’s world, where women are free-thinking, and Fanny cannot accept an arranged marriage to a man for whom she has no passionate feeling. Thus, Fanny rejects the proposal and hopes that it would all go away. But it doesn’t.

  Outraged by Fanny’s rejection of the marriage proposal, Sir Thomas tries to convince Fanny to accept it. Part of his strategy is to make Fanny feel guilty for not considering how the arranged marriage would benefit not only herself but her family as well. He deems Fanny selfish, ungrateful, and confused. All the while, Henry attempts to sway Fanny’s feelings. She clarifies for him that she considers his actions to be “unsteady.” In addition to her strong feelings for Edmund, she has been appalled time and time again by witnessing Henry’s flirtations with the Bertram sisters. She cannot trust his wavering actions and moods.

  After a long conversation with Fanny, Edmund is satisfied that she has made the correct choice, and he values her for it. Edmund explains his conclusions to his father, in hopes that the family will spend no more time trying to influence and persuade Fanny about her decision. Sir Thomas, however, is still not convinced. He decides that Fanny should make a visit back to her original home in the gritty town of Portsmouth. His thinking is that when she is reunited with her unfortunate economic and social positions, she will come to appreciate the opportunities that a match with Henry will provide. Sir Thomas calls this his “experiment,” hoping that a return to her humble former home will “teach” Fanny about the value and importance of money. Here again we see the vital part that economics play in Austen’s novels.

  Fanny does return to Portsmouth, and initially she is grateful because she gets to see William off to war. Austen’s esteem for the navy is apparent as she describes William in his lieutenant’s uniform. Fanny is a proud sister. After William’s departure, however, we see that Sir Thomas’ “experiment” is working; when Fanny first enters her family’s rooms, she is appalled because in comparison with Mansfield Park, the place is tiny, dirty, and dark. But we really begin to see Fanny’s shock at returning to Portsmouth when she comes to evaluate her interactions with her mother and father. Mrs. Price is called Fanny’s “greater disappointment” because she has no love to give to her daughters. Her sons are her pride and joy. Fanny’s connection with her father, presented as a mean, crude, boozing, limping, washed-up sailor, is not good either.

  When Fanny is enduring h
er difficult time in Portsmouth, she is surprised by a visit from Henry Crawford. Crawford keeps on coming back. He is determined to convince Fanny of his devotion and steadiness of character. Ironically he seems to have actually fallen in love with her. Fanny is shocked by the visit, and among her other emotions, she feels a sense of shame for the surroundings in which Crawford finds her. When the two are together, they immediately run into Fanny’s father. Embarrassed as she is, she is forced to introduce Crawford to him, and to her surprise, Fanny’s father behaves in a more respectful manner to this gentleman. In economic terms, Crawford represents relief for the Price family from their depressed economic situation. Henry’s efforts in Portsmouth result in an easing of Fanny’s negative feelings towards him, but she remains steadfast in her stance not to marry him.

  When Henry finally departs for London, Fanny receives a series of troubling letters from Mansfield Park. In the first she learns from Edmund that he is still madly in love with Mary Crawford, and in the next she finds out that Tom is ill. He and his mates got drunk, he took a fall, and now he is seriously ill with fever. Edmund has gone to Newmarket to take care of him. Then Fanny gets an additional shock resulting from a scandal that has reached her father’s newspaper. Mr. Price reads that a “Mr. R” (Rushworth) has just lost his wife. It seems that she has run off with a “Mr. C” (Crawford), and nobody knows their whereabouts. Yes, Henry Crawford has shown once and for all that he is not capable of sustained honorable behavior. He is a true-born rake, who has now ruined the reputation of Sir Thomas’s daughter Maria.