Mansfield Park
...n and pretentious ’ Maria Bertram. Fanny Price emerges as the heroine due to the social expectations of Austen at the time of writing and part of Austen’s life is reflected in the story of Fanny. Fanny Price comes from a poor family. Her mother married a drunken sailor, therefore, married beneath her and lowered her social status. Fanny is only too aware that marriage will determine her social status due to women not being allowed to have careers. Fanny is sent off at the age of ten to stay with her Uncle Thomas Bertram and her Aunt, Lady Bertram who lived with ‘all the comforts and consequences of an handsome house and large income.’ (p. 1) Thomas Bertram only agreed to receive and raise her after his wife asserts ‘give a girl an education, and introduce her properly into the world, and ten to one she has the means of settling well, without farther expense to anybody.’ Fanny is constantly reminded during her time there that she is a charity case of sorts, but soon becomes indispensable to the family. Fanny plows ‘awkwardly’ through the book and falls in love with her cousin Edmund, although she refuses to admit this even to herself, until the end of the novel. It is not until the end of the novel, when every other unconventional female in the book has been dealt with that we see Fanny emerge as the heroine who marries well, and for the right reasons. She asserts that she was never attracted to Henry Crawford, was ‘mortified’ when he proposed and refused to marry him on principle. Fanny manages to let all other scandals bypass her and it is only then that she emerges as the heoine in the novel. Other unconventional females are Mary Crawford who is described as dangerous and exciting. She seems to be outspoken, and this is especially exemplified in the XXXX chapter when she argues at length with Edmund about becoming a clergyman, and stresses that while praying, people’s minds are somewhere else. This illustrates not only how strongwilled she is, but also that she is a little wayward…the fact that her mind would be somewhere else when she is meant to be praying. Mary asserts she would rather Edmund pursue a career in law where the money is rather than become a clergyman. Later in the novel she expresses her wishes to see Tom Bertram, the el...