In Mansfield Park we began to see Austen exploring some changes affecting the rigid social behaviours of the Regency Period. Mary and Henry Crawford from London move into the small social world of the Bertrams and Fanny Price their niece, bringing with them more individualistic social and personal behaviours. Both are wealthy and reject the social expectations of this country group. Mary falls in love with Edmund Bertram but rejects him when he won’t give up becoming a local minister. Henry tries to seduce both Maria Bertram, an engaged lady, and also Fanny Price, an innocent eighteen-year old who is really in love with her cousin Edmund. Both the Crawford siblings eventually fail in the complex courting games they play with the Bertram family and fail to marry the people they most love. Even so, the Crawfords are the most lively of the characters and presage the more relaxed conventions that the Regency period will embrace. Meanwhile, Fanny and her cousin Edmund, both represent a world that will rapidly vanish.
We watched half of the BBC TV version of the book and enjoyed the lavish costumes, grand houses and interiors. July - 'Mansfield Park' (continued)
We watched half of the BBC TV version of the book and enjoyed the lavish costumes, grand houses and interiors. July - 'Mansfield Park' (continued)
Meg Dillon
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