Mansfield Park: Mrs. Norris and the rest of the useless adults

[plumapen]

There's a reason JK Rowling named Filch's cat after Mrs. Norris. What is it about this woman that makes her so .... loathe-worthy? Or maybe you think she's great. No doubt, she's one of the best written characters in literature. What about the rest of the adults here: Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram, Mr. and Mrs. Price, Dr. and Mrs. Grant, Admiral

Comments

[plumapen]

Was there some particular aspect of their characters you were thinking we should comment on?

:D No. I was just throwing topics out there trying to start conversation. :p

To fill in a bit of the historical (since it seems like you all would like this), Admiral Crawford was modeled after Admiral Lord Nelson. 18th century excesses (see France, the court of Marie Antoinette as an example) gave rise to many attitudes like Nelson's having a wife and then having a very public mistress (Lady Hamilton) which Mrs. Nelson either tolerated or was made to tolerate. JA's very aware of the changes happening in the Royal Navy (as a microcosm of English society) from the 18th century to the 19th century. 18th century Navy--very gruff, raw, "real," licentious types. Promotion to officer positions could happen from the ranks and officers didn't necessarily have to be from well-to-do families (naval commissions were cheaper to obtain than army commissions, hence why Wickham can go into the "regulars" [ie. regular army] thanks to Darcy [who's loaded] while he could only purchase himself a commission in a local county militia with his own money).

At the turn of the century, the acceptance of "gruffer" officers became less tolerated and promotion had the unspoken requirement of being able to "pass for gentleman" as well as pass the examinations to lieutenant and captaincy. Mr. Price, then, is also from the 18th century naval age, though he was an officer in the Marines. This, I think, accounts for his much rougher ways (apart from the fact that he was a drunk, but this isn't necessarily a working class vice as a habit probably picked up in the navy--a ship's crew was often three sheets to the wind 99% of the time; they were allowed daily rations of beer, grog (watered down rum), and tots of neat rum several times a day). Compare Mr. Price's roughness to William Price's propriety in speech (ie. not grammatically bad) when he's with the Bertrams or among his shipmates as compared to what it is at home, and you see the emergence of the 19th century naval officer concerned with 'passing for gentleman'. This help? I think the blame Admiral Crawford gets is based more on 19th century shifting moral concerns and condemnations, away from 18th century excess and towards the moral "prudishness" which would really take hold with the Victorians. Georgian/Regency era, though, is still in transition.

I'm not sure if we're getting JA's opinions on the working classes in Portsmouth, though I'm sure it's based in part on what she saw when she lived in Southampton with her brother, Frank (one of her navy brothers). I'm always struck by Fanny's displacement when she's in Portsmouth again. Education gave her a definite leg up from her family's position, but didn't win her any points with the Portsmouth locals, and didn't quite get her over the hump with the Bertrams and "society" since she was raised really as a companion. So, what do you do with an educated/intelligent, financially dependent woman? I feel quite bad for Fanny during these chapters. Her mother is so focused on William (the expected provider once Mr. Price dies from cirrhosis of the liver or something) that she doesn't really seem as interested in the others. I think the comparison to Lady Bertram is very good--'poor sister Price' is just overwhelmed. She was completely taken in by the shiny red uniform and reality smacked her hard.