The Annotated Mansfield Park

by Jane Austen

  Another possibility is that her choice of Antigua was influenced by a perception among many that slavery there was less oppressive than elsewhere in the West Indies. In the late eighteenth century those ruling the islands had made some moves, including the passage of new laws, to improve conditions for slaves, partly because they hoped to blunt the criticisms of abolitionists. Antigua went further than others in instituting capital punishment for anyone who killed a slave. It is uncertain how much difference this and other laws really made in the lives of slaves, but people in England interested in the matter would have known of their existence. Jane Austen could have been exposed to information regarding Antigua because her father knew well a man who had inherited an estate on the island. She also could have read comments in Clarkson’s history that cited Antigua as a place where recent missionary activity had especially improved the conditions of the slaves and as the one island in the British West Indies that had not needed to import slaves to make up for a high death rate. The choice of Antigua could allow her to give Sir Thomas a West Indian estate for the sake of the plot, while doing less violence than otherwise to her own disapproval of slavery.

  42. forward: ardent, eager.

  43. Meaning her distinction of the Bertrams for her favor, and her destining all her fortune for them.

  44. Her main source of information would be village gossip, which is consistently depicted in Austen’s novels as a pervasive and powerful force. Both those working in local shops and other women who shopped there would notice what Mrs. Grant spent and share that information, especially since the parson and his wife are such prominent people. Moreover, Mrs. Grant’s servants, who would know everything about her household affairs, would talk to other working people, including the servants in other households, allowing someone as nosy as Mrs. Norris to pump her own servants for information.

  45. Grand houses like Mansfield Park usually had highly professional cooks, in many cases male, and often from France due to the prestige of French cooking. Such male cooks would earn more than any other servant—a contemporary guide to servants specifies eighty pounds a year—and even female cooks could earn a lot. Hence matching the wages of the Mansfield cook would represent a considerable expenditure for the Grants.

  46. offices: rooms in a house where practical tasks are performed, such as the kitchen, scullery (where dishes are cleaned), pantry, storage cellars, and laundry room. In a household with the income of the parsonage the mistress would not do such work herself but would supervise what the servants did there.

  47. Butter and eggs were prominent parts of the English diet. Both were added to a wide array of recipes, and butter was also the basic fat used for cooking.

  48. pitiful: paltry, stingy.

  49. character: reputation—in this case, its reputation for generosity, rated a highly important virtue both for genteel people in general and for clergy.

  50. “Fine lady” could refer to a woman of particularly elevated rank; it also could be used, sometimes pejoratively, to mean a woman of very refined and fastidious tastes. Mrs. Norris is probably using it in both senses, suggesting that Mrs. Grant is inappropriately acting like a fine lady.

  51. The storeroom was for long-term storage of foodstuffs like sugar, flour, and tea as well as household products like soap and candles. It was less dirty and unpleasant than other offices in a house; Mrs. Grant’s alleged unwillingness even to go there would make her especially culpable in Mrs. Norris’s eyes. Part of Jane Austen’s household duties during the time she was writing her novels was to take care of the stores of tea, sugar, and wine.

  52. Though this passage is in quotation marks, the use of “she” indicates it is reported speech rather than direct quotation. Austen uses this technique elsewhere. It allows her to summarize what the character said at greater length, or combine remarks made on numerous occasions (both are likely the case here, given Mrs. Norris’s garrulousness and obsessive harping on the same points).

  53. Since Mrs. Norris had seven thousand, this would mark Mrs. Grant’s inferiority and undermine further her supposed pretensions to be a “fine lady.”

  54. economist: someone who advocates and practices thrift, or someone who manages a household. Both meanings would apply to Mrs. Norris.

  55. The idea of women’s beauty being an asset with a discernible value, and thus one that deserves an appropriate level of compensation, is found elsewhere in Austen’s novels. One character in Sense and Sensibility, lamenting his sister’s loss of beauty, says that now she is not likely to “marry a man worth more than five or six hundred a-year.”

  56. canvassed: discussed, examined.

  57. As mentioned earlier (this page, note 14), long-term absenteeism of owners was frequently a reason for estates in the West Indies to suffer losses; hence an extended visit by the proprietor could improve things.

  58. The bad connections are probably friends who have encouraged Tom in his extravagant behavior and indebtedness. Sir Thomas has a good additional justification: it would be standard for the elder son to be gradually initiated into the affairs of a family estate that he will eventually inherit. Tom is not in a position to refuse because, until he comes into his inheritance, he depends completely on an allowance from his father.

  59. Since their expected return is shortly identified as September, it is likely October or early November now. From this point on, events begin to happen close enough together to make it both possible and important to place them in a particular time of year.

  60. interesting: important.

  61. It is normally the wife’s place to supervise and guide her daughters, but since Lady Bertram has long neglected it, it has fallen by default to Sir Thomas.

  62. Fanny thus contrasts to her cousins, who should have more reason to grieve their father’s absence (and the dangers he is facing—see next note) but are not grieving at all. Fanny’s tendency to hold herself to the strictest moral standard will continue throughout the novel, and have significant effects.

  63. Voyages across the Atlantic involved serious dangers, especially because Britain was still at war. Moreover, residence in the West Indies posed a considerable risk of one contracting a fatal disease (see this page, note 6).

  64. insensibility: indifference, lack of feeling.

  65. The Royal Navy contained a number of permanent fleets, as well as squadrons of ships organized to perform specific tasks. The latter might return home when a task was done, either to be disbanded or reassigned to different duties.

  VOLUME I, CHAPTER IV

  1. These are all basic tasks of the male head of the household. Carving meant cutting the meat at the table (meat being the main food in the diet of the wealthy at the time). The steward managed the estate, while the attorney would handle its financial as well as legal affairs; he may need to be written to because he lived in a town, rather than in Mansfield village. Settling with the servants meant paying their wages; it is possible Sir Thomas, and now Edmund, also engage in more general management of the servants, a task usually done by the mistress of a household but that Lady Bertram most likely neglects.

  2. Edmund can assume these duties because by this time—his father and brother left in the autumn (see this page and this page, note 59)—he has finished his studies at Oxford. He is now twenty-two and probably finished earlier in the year. He will be at Mansfield for most of the remainder of the novel, allowing him to play a important role in the story and in the development of Fanny’s feelings.

  3. participate: share.

  4. toilettes: getting dressed.

  5. By now Maria is twenty, and Julia is either eighteen or nineteen. At these ages, young ladies would be looking to marry (poorer young women would often wait until later because they needed to earn enough for a dowry). A fundamental part of husband-hunting was the display of female accomplishments, many of which, including music and dancing, were intended to enhance the girls’ charms in the eyes of potential mates.

  6. brilliant: sparkling, splen
did. This does not mean that their acquirements (accomplishments) are particularly intellectual.

  7. easy: free from awkwardness or embarrassment.

  8. Meaning that their aunt Norris obtained the praises, apparently by prompting them from others, and then relayed them to her nieces.

  9. This belief is always a sign of danger in Austen’s novels, which consistently show the susceptibility of everyone toward faulty behavior, and the need to be aware of and attempt to correct one’s potential faults. Jane Austen demonstrates this awareness in a letter, written when she was only a little older than Maria and Julia; in it she writes, after reporting someone’s complaint about negligent treatment, “This was an oblique reproach at me, which I am sorry to have merited, and from which I will profit” (Nov. 18, 1798).

  10. made over: handed over.

  11. To attend social engagements on her own, unless they were at Mansfield Park, she would need to hire horses and probably a carriage (there is never any indication that she owns one). But if she accompanies Maria and Julia, filling the essential post of chaperone, she would be conveyed by the Bertrams’ carriage and horses.

  12. By now Fanny is seventeen, so a governess is no longer needed. A governess like Miss Lee sometimes stayed on as a companion to her mistress, for while technically a servant, she likely came from a fairly high social background and her speech and manners would be closer to those of her employers than to other servants. An important character in Emma, Miss Weston, stayed on in this way before eventually marrying.

  13. Reading aloud was a common activity, especially in the evening. The high cost of artificial lighting made it more economical to have only enough light burning for one person to read to the others. This would be less of an issue for a wealthy family like the Bertrams, but even they would not disregard the expense, and Lady Bertram’s indolence would undoubtedly make her prefer to have someone else do the reading in any case.

  14. situation: social position.

  15. Fanny’s nonattendance at balls may result in part from her lower social status, but it also would be natural because of her younger age, combined with Mrs. Norris’s determination to keep her down and the wish of Lady Bertram, who does not attend balls, to retain Fanny as a companion.

  16. comfortable: pleasant, enjoyable.

  17. At this time “morning” meant almost the entire day, which is why their morning riding confines Fanny so thoroughly.

  18. economy: thriftiness, frugality.

  19. Mansfield Park would have horses for pulling carriages and possibly for working land on the Bertram family farm directly. Farm and carriage horses, needing great strength, tended to be heavier than horses for riding, making them unsuitable for someone like Fanny, who is small and not very strong.

  20. The steward would certainly have a horse, perhaps more than one, since his job requires him to ride around frequently. Mansfield Park has a very large estate surrounding it. The bulk of it would be rented to tenant farmers, whom the steward would visit regularly to make sure everything was in order, to convey instructions from the estate, to maintain good relations, and to deal with problems or conflicts.

  21. post: post office. The pony would be ridden by a servant, most likely a boy (boys were often employed to perform such tasks). If the pony’s sole job was to ride to the village to fetch the post, it would likely be an old and feeble horse that the Grants purchased cheaply and that is suitable for little else.

  22. Only some horses were considered suitable for women; in a letter Jane Austen, discussing her brother James’s plan to add two new horses to the one he has, writes, “Mary [his wife] wishes the other two to be fit to carry women” (Dec. 27, 1808). Size was one determinant, which is why mares or ponies are preferred. In addition, some horses were trained to accommodate sidesaddle riding, the almost exclusive method for ladies.

  23. A stable did involve considerable expense, including the costs of building and maintaining it (many were very elaborate structures) and of servants to tend to the horses. But since Sir Thomas already has a stable, the additional cost of one more horse would not be great, assuming there is room (and the absence of both Sir Thomas and Tom probably means they are not using the stable to full capacity).

  24. Horses were ubiquitous in English society, used for an array of essential tasks, and were a particular interest of wealthy men, who kept them for pleasure as well as utility. Foreign travelers often remarked on the extreme interest in horses as well as the high quality of English horses. The latter resulted from the care taken with them and the extensive breeding of superior strains in England during the centuries preceding this novel, including the development of the hunter, which combined the speed of racehorses with the strength of road horses (two varieties, especially the racehorse, that had also been improved significantly through breeding). Hunters were used for fox hunting and thus needed to be able to ride fast and to leap over fences and streams. They were highly prized and also expensive. Edmund’s having two indicates the wealth of the Bertram family, as well as his dedication to hunting, which is not threatened by his plan to become a clergyman: some writers of the time argued that killing for sport was incompatible with a religious vocation, but their view was a minority one. For pictures of hunters in action, see this page and this page; for a picture of racehorses, see this page.

  25. The road horse is less expensive than the hunters and thus would make a more even exchange for the smaller horse he is procuring for Fanny. He would have his own road horse—as opposed to those the family possesses for use in other carriages, such as the one that fetched Fanny from Northampton—to enable him to travel alone by carriage; for this he could use a gig, a small open carriage pulled by a single horse. Since he could also travel alone by horseback, he might consider the road horse a less essential possession.

  26. Buying and selling horses was a regular pursuit of men who could afford them, so it is likely Edmund has heard acquaintances tell him of horses they, or people they know, wish to sell or exchange.

  27. The “very little trouble” is probably the training needed to teach the horse to handle someone on a sidesaddle.

  28. calculated: fitted, suited.

  29. The dining room of a place like Mansfield Park was a grand room used only for dinner (as well as the after-dinner drinking of the men of the house). Hence, unlike the drawing room, it would be of limited use as a refuge from loneliness for Mrs. Norris; it would, however, since dinner was by far the largest meal of the day, be an excellent escape from having to pay for her own meals. The words “her cottage” reflect Mrs. Norris’s own terminology in explaining why she must come; she also used “cottage” when explaining why she could not accommodate Fanny. Elsewhere her dwelling is called “the White house,” but “cottage” sounds more pathetic.

  30. Winter was prime season for parties and balls, since outdoor activities were more limited (and winter weather would usually not keep people from leaving home, since heavy snow is rare in England).

  31. peculiarly: particularly.

  32. succeeded to: inherited.

  33. country: county.

  34. figure: general appearance.

  35. Many women, especially from wealthy families, would be married by the age of twenty-one. By her late twenties a woman was considered to be past prime marital age; thus, while Maria has some years to go before reaching that stage, it is natural she should be thinking now that the time has come. The pressure on young women to marry is a constant and powerful factor in Austen’s novels, a reflection of social realities. Marriage was considered a duty, especially for a woman, since raising children was seen as her supreme vocation. But this ideal of duty was reinforced by powerful social and material incentives. Being married automatically conferred much greater status and prestige on a woman; in contrast, women who remained single were called old maids and could be subject to scorn and ridicule. By marrying, most woman also gained a much higher income, as well as material security for the future; Jane Austen, in a lette
r to a niece discussing the latter’s decision whether to marry, declared, “Single Women have a dreadful propensity for being poor” (March 13, 1817). Finally, a married woman went from being a powerless dependent in another’s home to having a home of her own in which she could exercise substantial influence through her role as mistress of the household, which included making most of the purchases, managing the budget, planning meals, accommodating guests, supervising the children, and, at this social level, directing the servants.

  36. Having a house in London, in addition to one’s country mansion, was very desirable, though also rare because of the high cost. The wording of the passage indicates that in Maria’s case the ideal of a duty to marry is simply a good cover for her to pursue material advantage.

  37. Rural roads were often in rough shape, for they were made of dirt and their upkeep depended on the vigilance of local authorities, which varied greatly. Such roads tended to be especially bad during this season, the winter, because of mud. Ten miles would take two hours or more each way, and passengers in the carriages of the time would be considerably jolted by uneven surfaces.

  38. A visit of introduction would occur in the morning (meaning early afternoon in current parlance, since people usually stayed home early in the day). It would be important for Lady Bertram, as Maria’s mother, to become formally acquainted through such a visit. Maria and Mr. Rushworth have already met at parties or balls, but this visit will help clear the way to an actual engagement.