An Interpretation of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park

(Chapters 19-31)

Jean S Kelly

• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781098051549
• eBook ISBN: 9781098051556
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Mansfield Park is in essence a tapestry of allusions to various works of literature and events in history to which Jane

Austen left abundant "clues." This book is about finding and interpreting those "clues." Works of literature alluded

to include, among others, Spenser's The Faerie Queene, Dante's Inferno and Milton's Paradise Lost. Events in

history alluded to include the slavery issue of Jane Austen's day, the American Revolution, the Battle of Actium, the

Battle of Trafalgar and the then-looming War of 1812.

Chapter 25

Cast of Characters

Sir Thomas: God / the Duke / Wilberforce / Magnanimous Man

Lady Bertram: Upper earth / Belial / Queen Katharine / Sloth-patience

Fanny Price: Jesus/the Son / Isabella / Former Slave / Anne Bullen / moon / Lamb

Edmund Bertram: Peter / Faithful / Adam / Christian /Clergy

Maria Bertram: Daughter of Jerusalem

Julia Bertram: Daughter of Jerusalem

Mrs. Norris: Antichrist / Beast out of the Earth / False Prophet / greed / fate / moloch / She-wolf

Dr. Grant: Dr. Primrose / Solomon / wisdom

Mrs. Grant: Mrs. Primrose / Solomon’s wife / charity

Henry Crawford: death / Henry VIII / Mulciber-Hephaestus / Talkative / Capability Brown / lust / Angelo / King

Mary Crawford: Eve / Napoleon / Mariana /Ashtoreth / Aphrodite / First seal / sin / Sounding Brass

Mr. Rushworth: Hades / peace / James 1 British Solomon / Mammon / cow / dis / Nebuchadnezzar

Mrs. Rushworth: Sr: Mary Queen of Scots / Beelzebub

Mr. Price: Slave Captain

Mrs. Price: Jerusalem which is in bondage with her children / Africa / Lower earth

William Price: Pagan Suitor / Nelson / Claudio / Former Slave / Poseidon god of the Sea

Summary

Mrs. Grant’s dinner represents a Passover Feast with the bread, wine and meat. Because Dr. Grant represents wisdom, Mrs. Grant’s table also represents wisdom’s table of Proverbs 9—a table on which we find bread, wine and meat. Mrs. Grant’s dinner also represents the feast and dance of Shakespeare’s King Henry the Eighth. And even as there were two tables at that feast—one of state and another for the guests at which Henry VIII flirted with Anne Bullen—so Mrs. Grant has two tables after dinner for cards where Henry Crawford, who represents Henry VIII, flirts with Fanny who represents Anne Bullen. Because Fanny also represents the “Son” of Paradise Lost a.k.a. the Lamb of God, she represents the Lamb that will be killed at the Passover feast, thereby submitting to Henry’s character of death, even as Fanny’s character of Anne Bullen, of Shakespeare’s King Henry the Eighth, will face death at the hands of Henry’s character of Henry VIII.

As Christian of Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress has a vision of the Holy City, so Henry has a vision of what Thornton Lacey could look like with a parsonage akin to Wolsey’s lavish York Place and a new Garden of Eden—Thornton Lacey/‘thorn town’ representing the cursed ground of Genesis 3:17–1—and the Eden to which Adam and Eve descended in Milton’s Paradise Lost (12.648–9). Mary likes Henry’s idea of a York Place; Edmund rejects the opulence of it and Sir Thomas’s stamp of disapproval is like another loss of paradise for Mary who also represents Eve.

As Fanny represents Isabella of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure who must “die” at the hands of Henry’s character of Angelo in order to redeem her brother Claudio represented by William Price, so Fanny/the Son must die to save William’s character of Horatio Nelson/sinner.

Also alluded to in chapter 25 is the council at Pandaemonium of Milton’s Paradise Lost, and the story of Saint Lucy who rejected a pagan suitor, the pagan suitor being represented in Mansfield Park by William Price. Even as the pagan suitor of the story of Saint Lucy was not a Christian, so William represents a sinner not yet redeemed. Thus, we find William lamenting the fact that he is not yet a saint and asking Fanny/the “Son” to die for him such that he might be redeemed and thereby not be rejected by Saint Lucy.

Chapter 25 ends with Fanny’s/the Son’s death, burial and descent.

Chapter 25, Paragraph 1/a

(25/1/a) interpretation: Milton’s Paradise Lost: “The intercourse of the two families was at this period more nearly restored to what it had been in the autumn, than any member of the old intimacy had thought ever likely to be again.” The word “intercourse” alludes to the bridge built by sin and death of Milton’s Paradise Lost (10.260–1). The “two families” would then suggest the families of the New World of Paradise Lost (Milton 2.345–51) and the hell or Underworld to which Satan and his angels fell. Satan’s fallen angels are represented in Mansfield Park by Mrs. Norris/Moloch, Henry/Mulciber, Mr. Rushworth/Mammon, Mrs. Rushworth, Sr./Beelzebub, and Mr. Yates/Satan.

(25/1/a) reference: (Milton PL 2.345–51) “There is a place (if ancient and prophetic fame in Heav’n Err not) another World, the happy seat of some new Race call’d Man…”

(25/1/a) interpretation: Milton’s Paradise Lost: The “old intimacy”—the word “old” suggesting antiquity—alludes to Satan, sin and death of Paradise Lost who are referred to as the “old intimacy” because long ago in antiquity, sin was born of the lust of Satan, and death was born of sin’s incestuous relationship with her father Satan—at which point sin became her own son’s sister. Possibly the word “intimacy” also includes death’s rape of his mother/sister sin (Milton PL 2.755–95). With respect to Mansfield Park, death and sin are represented by Henry Crawford and Mary Crawford respectively, even as they represent Satan’s “substitutes” on Earth (Milton 10.403).

(25/1/a) interpretation: Milton’s Paradise Lost: As noted above, the “old intimacy” includes Satan, sin and death, and although sin and death came to the New World via the bridge built by sin and death, Satan came earlier, prior to the building of the bridge. That is to say, even as Satan of Paradise Lost volunteered to make the arduous journey to the New World alone (Milton 2.402–53), so sin and death later built a bridge between hell and earth which: “made one Realm Hell and this World, one Realm, one Continent of easie thorough-fare” (Milton 10.391–3).

(25/1/a) reference: (Milton PL 2.402–53) “But whom shall we send in search of this new world, whom shall we find sufficient? Who shall tempt with wandring feet the dark unbottom’d infinite Abyss and through the palpable obscure find out this uncouth way, or spread his aerie flight upborn with indefatigable winds over the vast abrupt, ere he arrive the happy Ile…” / [Satan speaks:] “O Progeny of Heav’n, Empyreal Thrones, with reason hath deep silence and demurr seis’d us, though undismaid: long is the way and hard, that out of Hell leads up to light; Our prison strong, this huge convex of Fire, outrageous to devour, immures us round ninefold, and gates of burning Adamant Barr’d over us prohibit all egress…Wherefore do I assume these Royalties, and not refuse to ...

Table of contents

• Chapter 19
• Chapter 20
• Chapter 21
• Chapter 22
• Chapter 23
• Chapter 24
• Chapter 25
• Chapter 26
• Chapter 27
• Chapter 28
• Chapter 29
• Chapter 30