Mansfield Park Reread Chapter 8

[tigerlily]

There is no explanation for Mrs. Norris. The other characters don't have all their flaws traced to something by the narrative, but they have positive traits too. Where are those of Mrs. Norris? I suppose maybe an affection for her nieces; the lack of other qualities makes me question even that.

I don't have much to say on Fanny's lovesickness. It's very painful.* The text uses it to suggest Mary's increasing attachment, as well as to highlight the differences between her and Mary. Like she showed in that earlier conversation, Fanny does have interests and a personality of her own, more introverted than Mary's and in some ways more romantic. And interestingly enough, she doesn't seem insecure about their worth. That must be partly because Edmund shares and would have introduced her to them, but still. Her lack of regard for herself is felt only when she thinks about her relationships to other people.

Relationships to other people are also a way for Maria to take on her own feelings in this chapter. She's unhappy if she thinks of her lack of a relationship to Henry Crawford, even if at the moment it's just the lack of a seat. This can be forgotten if the thinks of the social worth her relationship to Mr. Rushworth gives her; as Henry said before, an engaged woman has nothing to worry about. Maria is drawing on the confidence this status gives her, as future lady of the property. Knowing she matters for external factors, and being in a situation where that is the most obvious fact about her, means it doesn't matter what brief internal losses she's experiencing. If only it had stayed that way.

*It makes me think that I'm glad Edmund doesn't return her feelings until after his family in general begins to appreciate her and she connects with Susan. I feel like that reinforced her self-worth and faith in herself before they married, so she didn't go into it with no self-esteem and feeling like he was the only one who ever cared. Granted, William's letters and those few visits were also important, but it's just not the same as being with her.

Comments

[talibusorabat]

I think Mrs. Norris' issues are tied to an unfit marriage. She's a very energetic woman with no place to direct her energies, and a husband who, while not bad, did not bring out the best in her nature. This could just be me reading it based on how she's portrayed characters in other works, though -- her issues are definitely not clearly tied to the narrative in the same way other characters' are.

[tigerlily]

That could be! I don't find her unrealistic, but apart from her role as plot-mover and abuser of Fanny, she just seems to be there. She really doesn't have anything to do but try to control her social environment - and now that you mention it, she also seems to reject living one traditionally feminine role that requires commitment: motherhood. Granted, she makes sure to mind the business of the Bertram children, especially the daughters, and to influence what happens to Fanny, but she doesn't take direct charge of any of them and finds ways to reject having to raise Fanny herself. Mrs. Norris learned to use soft power, and had to get married if only for the status of it (probably) but she never wanted any more feminine responsibility than the minimum of what was respectable. She was just less languid and more dominating than Lady Bertram.

[talibusorabat]

I think her marriage was more a matter of wealth than status, though status certainly played a huge part. She's part of that class of women not rich enough to live as single women, but sufficiently rich that her getting a job and working for a living would humiliate her family -- especially considering how well Lady Bertram married. I mentioned this in my comment about a later chapter, but I really think that Mrs. Norris would have been happiest if she could have been the housekeeper of a grand household. The head housekeepers were expected not to marry & have children -- and you're right that Mrs. Norris shows a marked disinterest in being a mother herself -- but were responsible for running the household. In many ways she tries to act as housekeeper for the Bertram estate.

She's a woman ill-fit for her place in society, and poorly suited for making the best of it.