Austen 250 Reader Series: Mansfield Park (Vol. I, Ch. 11-18)

Hello dearest readers.

Thank you for joining for the newest installment of the Jane Austen Summer Program’s 250 Reader Series! I’m Na’dayah, and you lucky readers get to read Mansfield Park with me for the next several weeks.

This week I’ll be covering chapters 11 through 18 of the novel. Rest assured, dear reader; there’s just as much, if not more drama than before.

Shortly after leaving Sotherton, our cast of characters find themselves dreading November, the month when Sir Thomas is set to return, because surely his arrival will ruin all the fun they’ve been having. In Miss Bertram’s case in particular, Sir Thomas’s arrival brings with it the promise of a wedding—yikes!

In Edmund’s case, Sir Thomas’s return means that it’ll be time for him to take orders—ie. become a clergyman. Miss Crawford takes the opportunity to discuss once more the subject of the church, condemning the profession as inferior to ones like the navy or army, which “ha[ve] every thing in [their] favour; heroism, danger, bustle, fashion.” She condemns all clergymen as being guilty of “indolence and love of ease,” to which Fanny and Edmund contest that not all clergymen are the same. The discussion ends when Miss Crawford is beckoned to join in a glee with the Bertram sisters. Edmund lingers with Fanny for a moment, to her delight, but eventually his attention turns to Miss Crawford’s performance, and Fanny is left alone again. Poor Miss Price!

As time progresses, more people come and go. Tom Bertram returns by the end of August, and Mr. Crawford leaves for Norfolk around the same time. The latter is only gone for two very dull weeks before returning, being unable to bear not being in the Bertram sisters’ presence:

“The sisters, handsome, clever, and encouraging, were an amusement to his sated mind; and finding nothing in Norfolk to equal the social pleasures of Mansfield, he gladly returned to it at the time appointed, and was welcomed thither quite as gladly by those whom he came to trifle with farther.” — Vol. I, Ch. XII

Maria and Julia have each convinced themselves that Mr. Crawford is vying for their attentions. It feels like watching reality television! (I’ve never seen The Bachelor, but I imagine it looks something like this.)

Fanny makes a note of this to Edmund, carefully suggesting that “If Miss Bertram were not engaged . . . I could sometimes almost think that he admired her more than Julia.” But Edmund is dismissive of her worries, suggesting that Mr. Crawford’s apparent interest in Maria is even more indicative of his adoration of Julia:

“For I believe it often happens, that a man, before he has quite made up his own mind, will distinguish the sister or intimate friend of the woman he is really thinking of, more than the woman herself.” — Vol. I, Ch. XII

Interesting comment from Edmund. . . . It seems that Fanny is all alone in her thinking, a fact confirmed when Fanny is in the company of Mrs. Norris and Mrs. Rushworth, both of whom are delighted by the Mr. Rushworth–Maria Bertram pairing. Mrs. Norris also talks about the “pretty match” that is Julia and Mr. Crawford, despite it not being a settled thing yet. (We all know how that sort of gossip turns out in Austen novels!)

Some passing of time brings the arrival of “the honourable John Yates,” who “had not much to recommend him beyond habits of fashion and expense, and being the younger son of a lord with a tolerable independence” and whose introduction at Mansfield “Sir Thomas would probably have thought . . . by no means desirable.” Charming fellow, right?

Yates’ arrival is on account of the cancellation of a theatrical party of which he had been a part, which was supposed to perform the play Lovers’ Vows. Talk of this subject inspires Tom Bertram:

“Yates, I think we must raise a little theatre at Mansfield, and ask you to be our manager.” — Vol. I, Ch. XIII

Sounds like the kind of idea anyone might propose on a whim, except in Tom’s case, he’s determined to see it through to fruition. Operating as the master of the house in his father’s absence, Tom has all the power necessary to corral everyone else into participating in the play. They must have curtains, and a side wing or two, and several scenes to act as backdrops. . . .

It becomes quite clear quite quickly that this idea is growing out of proportion. Edmund protests, insisting upon prudence, but he is outnumbered by supporters of the plan: Tom, Yates, Maria, Julia, Mr. Crawford, Miss Crawford, and Mrs. Norris all are on Team Theatre. Fanny sides with Edmund, of course, but their morally pure duo is not enough to shut down the theatre—the show will go on!

The interested parties spend a lot of time debating the specifics of the whole ordeal. The major issue concerns what play to choose to appease everyone. The Miss Bertrams, Henry Crawford, and Mr. Yates vie for a tragic play, but Tom (and Mary Crawford, though she doesn’t push her desire) lean toward comic. The difficulty of finding a suitable play seems endless:

“No piece could be proposed that did not supply somebody with a difficulty, and on one side or the other it was a continual repetition of, ‘Oh! no that will never do. . . .” — Vol. I, Ch. XIV

Endless, that is, until Tom proposes they perform the exact play whose cancellation inspired the whole of the theatricals: Lovers’ Vows. This suggestion is accepted by most, with something to please everyone, so it’s settled upon.

The next issue to solve is one of casting. Who should play who? Casting the female parts quickly causes a disagreement; the part of Amelia is reserved for Miss Crawford in her absence, so the only main female part left to play is Agatha, who acts opposite Frederick, played by Mr. Crawford. Both Maria and Julia Bertram see themselves as fit for the role, and wait for someone else to suggest either of them. Henry Crawford is the one to do so, insisting to Julia that she shouldn’t be Agatha because the role is so serious that her humour would “ruin all of [his] solemnity . . . and Frederick and his knapsack would be obliged to run away.” Despite his pleasantness, Julia sees it all, based on Maria’s reaction, as “a scheme—a trick; she was slighted, Maria was preferred.” Henry tries to ease her sorrows by suggesting her for the part of Amelia instead of Miss Crawford, but she doesn’t trust him, believing that he only wants to pacify her. Julia, upset, quits the play altogether.

When Edmund learns of the choice of play and cast, he once again protests, but he fails to convince them of the indecency of their theatricals. He attempts to talk Maria into acting as an example and declining the role of Agatha altogether, insisting that “in all points of decorum, [her] conduct must be law to the rest of the party.” But Maria is loathe to decline, saying that if she quits her role, it will simply be filled by Julia. When Mrs. Norris insists that Edmund not be “over precise,” he eventually seems to accept defeat by silencing himself about all theatre-related matters.

He can’t avoid the conversation, however, because there soon comes the question of who should play Anhalt, the lover of Amelia. The obvious suggestion, it seems, is Edmund; all of the parties still interested in seeing the play continue successfully insist that Edmund act as Anhalt. Edmund, however, adamantly refuses.

The party turns their attention to the empty role of the Cottager’s wife. For this role, they suggest Fanny. Like Edmund, Fanny attempts to refuse the offered role. But unlike with Edmund, the other characters are not as willing to accept her refusal. When she insists that she can’t act, they say they don’t expect perfection. When she continues attempting to refuse, Mrs. Norris chimes in to suggest that Fanny is obstinate, stubborn, and ungrateful.

In a moment like this, you’d expect Edmund to come to Fanny’s rescue, right?

If so, you’d be very surprised to find that it is in fact Miss Crawford who gets up from her seat and moves closer to Fanny, coming to her defense:

“ ‘Never mind, my dear Miss Price—this is a cross evening,—everybody is cross and teasing—but do not let us mind them;’ and with pointed attention [Miss Crawford] continued to talk to her and endeavour to raise her spirits, in spite of being out of spirits herself.—By a look at her brother, she prevented any further entreaty from the theatrical board.” — Vol. I, Ch. XV

Eventually, the “theatrical board” decides to outsource the role of Anhalt to a Mr. Charles Maddox, a young gentleman who lives not too far away.

Edmund is silent while this is being suggested, but later visits Fanny for advice. He is strongly opposed to outsourcing the role, as that would prevent the theatricals from remaining a private ordeal. In his eyes, the only solution is for the role to be filled by himself, despite the appearance of inconsistency on his part. He also notes that he wants to spare Miss Crawford the embarrassment of having to act with a total stranger. He desires Fanny’s approval, because otherwise he’d distrust himself. Fanny, of course, doesn’t approve, but she wants to comfort Edmund. She notes how Miss Crawford will be happy, and how it must be a relief for her. This seems enough for Edmund: “[Fanny] could not finish the generous effusion. Her conscience stopt her in the middle, but Edmund was satisfied.”

Thus, Edmund admits defeat. At breakfast the next morning, he accepts the role of Anhalt, to the great pleasure of the other members of the makeshift theatre. Fanny is once again voluntold to act in the play, but Edmund insists that she not be forced to act. Nevertheless, she “felt herself again in danger, and her indifference to the danger was beginning to fail her already.” Observing Julia, she sees elements of her own suffering; the difference, however, is that Julia’s suffering comes, to some extent, as a result of her own doing:

“Henry Crawford had trifled with her feelings; but she had very long allowed and even sought his attentions, with a jealousy of her sister so reasonable as ought to have been their cure; and now that the conviction of his preference for Maria had been forced on her, she submitted to it without any alarm for Maria’s situation, or any endeavour at rational tranquility for herself.—She either sat in gloomy silence . . . or allowing the attentions of Mr. Yates, was talking with forced gaiety to him alone, and ridiculing the acting of the others.” — Vol. I, Ch. XVII

Despite Fanny’s internal recognition of their fellowship, however, there’s no outward solidarity between the two. Unfortunate!

It seems, as things continue, that no one is having as good a time as they once were. Preparations continue, but “every body began to have their vexation.”

Fanny is also not totally exempt from reading roles. While in her room, she’s visited by Miss Crawford, who asks for help reading lines, since she is supposed to rehearse with Edmund later that evening. Things are going fine until Edmund himself shows up! He comes to visit Fanny with the same idea in mind; having both come to practice their lines, Miss Crawford and Edmund end up practicing with each other with Fanny as their audience. Fanny finds herself, however, losing the attention of both—they become, expectedly, preoccupied with the presence of each other. Fanny endures the performance, all the while dreading that later that evening, she’ll have to endure it all over again at the rehearsal.

Except it turns out she might have to do more than just witness the rehearsal: Mrs. Grant can’t make it to the rehearsal, so the rest of the cast needs someone to fill in for the part of Cottager’s wife! Fanny is “immediately surrounded by supplications, every body asked it, even Edmund,” so she’s left with little choice but to agree that “she would do her best.”

So the rehearsal begins—but it doesn’t get very far, because Julia bursts into the room with the most dreadful news!

Sir Thomas has returned.

And his return marks the end of the first volume of the novel!

Thank you all so much for joining me for this installment of the Mansfield Park reader series! What are your thoughts so far? How do you feel about all the various romances blooming (or wilting)? What do you think will happen in the next chapters of the novel? Let me know in the comments! I enjoy the comments, especially when they’re kind.

You’ll hear from me next week about chapters 19-25. In the meantime, happy reading!