Mansfield Park
Mansfield Park is a novel by the English novelist Jane Austen, which was written between February 1811 and the summer of 1813 and released in May 1814. This novel is perhaps the satirischste of Austen's works. Just like all of her other works also this novel was published anonymously.
Content
The main character is Fanny Price, the second oldest of a poor family with many children. It is brought to Mansfield Park to live there at a sister of her mother, Lady Bertram, who is married to the rich Sir Thomas.
Where it grows with her four cousins zoom: Tom, Edmund, Maria and Julia. While Tom, Maria and Julia, they never treat them as equivalent, Edmund is really nice to her and treated her as his equal. It is tolerated in Mansfield Park, but it is not really welcome. Although there is very unhappy during their childhood often, she grows up with a strong sense of decency and virtue, and her older brother William remains closely associated, has gone to the Royal Navy. Over the years, will their gratitude for Edmund's kindness to love more and more.
Mrs. Norris, another sister of Fanny's mother, also lives in Mansfield. She mixes in Mansfield Park in all budgetary matters a pampered the Bertram children, especially Mary, beyond measure, while low estimates Fanny and humble words. It makes the uneducated in their eyes niece at every opportunity life difficult. The righteous Sir Thomas attempts to correct the corrupting influence of his sister in law to his children. However, this fails him, and he is more and more regarded by his daughters as a strict patriarch, against which they hide their true feelings and opinions. He is though, unlike his wife, who has hardly interests other than useless needle works and their pug, very concerned about the education of children, but also treats them not loving and has due to its aloofness not access them. The two superficial daughters Maria and Julia are taken over the years, always vain and conceited, are very different from themselves and measure their own value only to her beauty and origin, while Tom is a reckless and lavish party animals and players. Only about Edmund is the only one of four siblings his education with an intact sense of decency.
The actual plot of the book begins, as Sir Thomas away for two years after Antigua after he was confronted with problems in his local plantation. The emotional complications begin with the arrival of a brother and sister, Mr. and Miss Crawford, visiting her sister Mrs. Grant. This is the wife of the current holder of the parish of Mansfield Park. Miss Crawford and Edmund feel attracted to each other, although Edmund is often troubled with regard to their lack of proper manners and their irreverent views, especially with regard to his appointment as minister. The growing affection between the two distressed Fanny, who not only afraid of losing Edmund, but also feels that makes him his love for Miss Crawford with regard to their severe character flaw blind. Mr. Crawford plays in the meantime with the affection of the two Bertram sisters, despite the fact that Mary is already engaged with the somewhat simple-minded, but very rich, Mr. Rushworth.
On the return of Sir Thomas this is the young people in the midst of preparations for a play. This is at that time a most unsuitable employment for young ladies of noble birth. Only Fanny had not participated. Sir Thomas's arrival leads to a cancellation of the game, and Mr. Crawford departs. Mary's marriage with Mr. Rushworth takes place in spite of the jealousy that she had stoked with Mr. Crawford in terms of their behavior. The young couple rides with Julia in the honeymoon. During this absence of Fanny gets more importance to the family, and her uncle shows towards her more affection than before.
When Mr. Crawford after some time of absence returns to Mansfield Park, Fanny is the new target of his flirtations. Your kindness and amiability but bring his plans to fail, and he falls in love with her. However, when he makes her a marriage proposal, bring their knowledge of his past misconduct against their cousins and her great affection for Edmund them to reject his application. Your family is dismayed them, and Sir Thomas blames them for disobedience and ingratitude. Fanny remains steadfast, knowing that she was right. This is all the more difficult for her when she can not reveal her true reasons for the rejection, without at the same time Maria determine just what Fanny would not want.
Sir Thomas plans to Fanny to return for a few months to her family home to make her see the supposed need to have a rich husband. Mr. Crawford comes to visit, to explain to her that he had changed and now is worth their feelings. Also, through the help to bring about a promotion for her brother William, he manages with this strategy, Fanny's negative attitude to appease to him, although it is still far away, to accept him as a husband. Shortly after he has left for London, but she hears rumors regarding a scandal that concerns him and married her cousin Mary. It turns out later that his Crawford Flirts and petty intrigues resumed due to the resumption of their acquaintance in London, which means that Mary has run away with him. Because of this and because of an illness toms, which is triggered by a previous drinking sessions, as well as the burnout of Julia with Mr. Yates, the situation in Mansfield Park is terrible to endure and Fanny is called back to assist her aunt and uncle at this time and to comfort her. As a result of the scandal separates Edmund of Miss Crawford. After some time, he replied Fanny's affection, and the two marry.
Main characters
- Fanny Price
Is the second oldest of a large brood of children and is sent to the sisters of her mother to Mansfield Park. Her mother defied the expectations of her family on a marriage to a wealthy man by she entered a pure love match. However, it turned out that her husband was an alcoholic and Mrs. Price had to come to terms with the fact that her life is far less convenient and comfortable as was the rest of her family. Fanny is their genetic predisposition extremely shy, delicate, timid and cautious. Nevertheless, it proves remarkable willpower and wins over the course of the action noticeably self-confidence.
- Lady Bertram
Is the sister of Fanny's mother, who is married to the wealthy Sir Thomas Bertram. It is characterized by extreme indolence and inertia, which is represented in the film version of 1999 free interpretation as a result of excessive opium consumption. The few comments that come from their side as well as the occasional insight into their thought life suggest an extreme egocentrism.
- Mrs. Norris
Is the widowed sister of Lady Bertram and Fanny's mother Frances, who lives near Mansfield Park. Her late husband was the former pastor of Mansfield Park. My great ambition is to make yourself indispensable in their sister's house, as long as this does not create expenses for themselves. At the beginning of the story, Sir Thomas have great confidence in their judgment. This disappears - legitimately - increasingly, until he finally has to realize after the scandal around Maria and Mr. Crawford to have considerably disappointed in her.
- Sir Thomas Bertram
The husband of Fanny's aunt Mary, Lady Bertram, Mansfield Park owns the property and a large plantation in Antigua. It is now believed that Jane Austen wanted to allude to the " problems" on Sir Thomas ' plantations to the then legal slavery in the British colonies, although this is not stated explicitly in the novel. But Fanny would like to speak in an evening session with her uncle about the slave trade, after which the family falls silent horror. There is a striking devotion to the family and especially his newly awakened appreciation Fanny after the stay in Antigua. Nevertheless, he acts outwardly aloof and sometimes strictly, so it - be placed on almost sympathies - with the exception of Fanny and Edmund. His own daughters to feel his presence rather than oppressive and Tom sees in him only his constant critic
- Tom Bertram
The eldest son of Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram is interested primarily in carousing in London society and enjoying the pleasures of the theater, together with his friend Mr. Yates. While he has good principles ( as he sees, for example, the wrong thing to a theatrical performance during perhaps perilous journey of his father's ), but is rather for his own pleasure. Through his wild lifestyle, his passion for the game, he accumulates large debts which Sir Thomas is forced to pay - with the money that would have been due in fact Edmund, Tom's younger brother. He has to rent for this reason the Edmund added thought benefice to Mr. Grant. From one of his drinking bouts Tom sick with fever returns home.
- Edmund Bertram
Is the younger son of Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram. This aspires to become a clergyman. In her youth find Edmund and his cousin Fanny lot in common; Edmund is Fanny's teacher, role model and closest ally against the rest of the family that recognizes their true value only slowly. The exact opposite of Fanny and temperamentally yourself - - grown up, Edmund initially feels strongly of Miss Crawford tightened before he realizes his love for Fanny. However, his infatuation veiled their increasingly intolerable for him weaknesses, which he still halfway clearly seen at the beginning
- Maria Bertram
The elder daughter of Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram is engaged to Mr. Rushworth, but gets involved in a romantic relationship with Mr. Crawford. Your ultimate exclusion from public life is a consequence of the fact that she married aware without love, even despite a certain reluctance a man solely because of his fortune and reputation, although she loved another. Thus, it does exactly the opposite as Fanny, who staunchly defends himself against all good persuasions against Crawford's proposal of marriage because her heart already belongs to Edmund and because they know how little they could appreciate Crawford's character.
- Julia Bertram
The younger daughter of Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram also developed strong feelings for Mr. Crawford, however, noticed early on that this prefers her sister Mary. Then she begins a flirtation with Mr. Yates, with whom she blows after the scandal around Mary. Just as Mary is her frequent praise for their beauty, their character and their abilities bezeiten gone to his head, which is why both consider themselves to be infallible. They are very selfish.
- Mrs. Grant
The wife of the pastor of the parish of Mansfield Park at the time of the main part of the story is the sister of Mr. Henry Crawford and Miss Mary Crawford. Both she shares a certain levity, which, for example, to their participation in the play is clear.
- Mr. Henry Crawford
The charming and acceptable bachelor is the brother of Mrs. Grant and Mary Crawford and shows interest in Mary, Julia and finally Fanny. While all three he has only the intention to make them fall in love with, without harboring serious intentions, he falls unexpectedly in Fanny, precisely because it is the exact opposite of herself and her cousins . Here, his vanity shows that he did not take their rejection note and simply passes over. Here he shows a lack of sensitivity. Nevertheless, he tried during his courtship Fanny, his behavior ( his character? ) To change, resulting in their opinion of him improved. How superficial and not very durable are its efforts, shows his elopement with Mary. With this step he has installed permanently to the possibility to Fanny's heart and also on his own improvement.
- Miss Mary Crawford
Is the sister of Mr. Crawford and Mrs. Grant, and shows great interest in Edmund Bertram. Although they often think only of themselves, their affection for Edmund is apparently real, because a marriage with him would not be too beneficial from their perspective. He is, after all, " only " a second son and therefore not the main site. In addition, Mary looks at the social position of the clergy itself to be too low and has - as opposed to Fanny and Edmund - pronounced anti-clerical views. Is in her and her brother - especially in contrast to Edmund and Fanny - the va moral contrast significantly between the city (London) and country. For Jane Austen country life represents a certain degree of incorruptibility, which is also clear in other books (see " Sense and Sensibility " and " Persuasion ").
- Mr. Rushworth
Is a wealthy but foolish man who becomes engaged to Maria Bertram and this eventually marries.
- Mr. Yates
The best friend of Tom Bertram hangs around with this in London society, and transferred their love for the theater even after Mansfield Park. In addition, he is also interested in Tom's younger sister, Julia. He embodies - with Sir Thomas as a clandestine counterpart - like his friend Tom the conflict of generations.
- William Price
Fanny's older brother, a naval officer, his sister is very close. It is reminiscent of Wentworth in " Persuasion ".
- Susan Price
Is one of the younger sisters of Fanny and this is also emotionally very close. After Fanny's marriage, she takes in Mansfield Park her place as a shareholder of Lady Bertram.
Trivia
In the books of the Harry Potter series the caretaker of Hogwarts school has a cat. This, hated by all students, called Mrs. Norris as one of the characters in Mansfield Park.
Expenditure
- Mansfield Park. Translated from English by Margit Meyer. Aufbau Verlag Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-7466-2570-6
- Mansfield Park. Translated by Ursula and Christian Grawe. Afterword and notes by Christian Grawe. Stuttgart: Reclam, 2007 ISBN 978-3-15-020008-7.