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Mansfield Park
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Background
Sociohistorical Context: 19th-Century England
Mansfield Park was written and published during the English Regency era (1811-1820). Early 19th-century England was characterized by considerable social upheaval. In the aftermath of the French Revolution (1789-1799), there was a sense of unease among the English ruling classes. Aristocrats and wealthy landowners feared the English lower classes might stage a similarly violent uprising to their French counterparts. Along with other European countries, England was engaged in conflict with France during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). In addition to social and political unrest, England was undergoing an economic shift from a rural to an urban-centric society. Although the economy was still predominantly agricultural, the Industrial Revolution gained momentum. Meanwhile, the abolition of the British slave trade in 1807 ended the colonial exploitation that lucrative British-owned plantations relied upon.
In Mansfield Park, Austen’s primary focus is domestic, and the author does not explicitly refer to sociohistorical events. Nevertheless, the novel implicitly touches on issues of class, British colonization, and social change. The chasm between the landed gentry and the working classes is illustrated in the contrast between the living standards of the Price and Bertram families. Meanwhile, allusions to British colonialism are made through references to Sir Thomas Bertram’s plantation in Antigua. As sugar plantations in the West Indies primarily utilized imported enslaved Africans, Sir Thomas’s wealth is likely built on human exploitation. As the 1807 abolition of the British slave trade caused a labor shortage for West Indian plantations, it is possible that Sir Thomas’s trip to Antigua is related to these issues. The theme of Stability Versus Change in Mansfield Park is a more direct allusion to sociohistorical events, namely the shift from a traditional, rural England to a more modern, industrialized, and urban population. While the country estate, Mansfield Park, represents the old order, the Crawfords, from London, symbolize the new.
Critical Context: The Divisive Nature of Mansfield Park
Mansfield Park typifies Jane Austen’s fiction in many respects, featuring many of the stylistic elements for which she is celebrated. Like her other works, the novel focuses on the domestic realm and female experience. A key theme is Love, Marriage, and Money—reflecting the limited means of social advancement available to women in 19th-century England. The author explores the societal rules and etiquette of the Regency era, contrasting the carefully modulated manners of the characters with their underlying emotions. The novel also features Austen’s distinctive third-person narrative voice that wittily observes the foibles of human nature.
Nevertheless, Mansfield Park is considered one of Austen’s most divisive novels. References to Sir Thomas’s plantation in Antigua suggest that the grand estate of Mansfield Park is built on colonial exploitation and slave labor. Consequently, the critic Edward Said accused Austen of casually accepting colonial values in the novel (Culture and Imperialism, Chatto & Windus, 1993). Ultimately, Austen’s stance on colonialism is ambiguous, neither promoting nor condemning it. While the text largely reinforces the traditional values embodied in Mansfield Park, the author is thought to have disapproved of the British slave trade.
Another source of critical contention is Mansfield Park’s protagonist, Fanny Price. Fanny notably lacks the wit and lively spirit of typical Austen heroines such as Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. Fanny is also a relatively static character with little sense of moral development. While Austen’s protagonists generally learn from their mistakes over the course of the narrative, Fanny’s moral judgment is impeccable from the start. Consequently, reactions to the protagonist of Mansfield Park widely differ. Critics such as Clara Calvo have suggested that Fanny is “priggish, passive, naïve and hard to like” (Rewriting Lear’s Untender Daughter: Fanny Price as Regency Cordelia in Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, Cambridge University Press, 2005). Others, including Claire Tomalin, view Fanny as embodying heroic moral values (Jane Austen: a Life, Penguin, 1997). Some reviewers have suggested that the protagonist and her foil in Mansfield Park represent contrasting features of the author’s own character. Austen’s surviving correspondence attests to her playful wit and sense of irony—traits shared by Mary Crawford. However, her fiction also expresses a profound respect for moral integrity.
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