Lady Bertram’s Epistolary Style | Jane Austen MANSFIELD PARK analysis | Letter-Writing & Character

Analysis of MANSFIELD PARK by JANE AUSTEN | What do Lady Bertram’s letters and her epistolary style reveal about her character & ‘polite’ Regency society?
Analysis and close reading of Lady Bertram’s letters from Mansfield Park to Fanny Price in Portsmouth about Tom Bertram’s illness. What does Lady Bertram’s epistolary style - her “very creditable, common-place, amplifying style” - reveal about her selfishness, emotional detachment, and intellectual dullness? How does Jane Austen draw on the 18th century ‘polite’ habit of common-placing? How does Jane Austen, in her representation of Lady Bertram, mock bad letter writing and bad letter writers? (Particularly by those who enjoy trading in news (especially bad news) as a way merely to occupy their time, and how Jane Austen compares the formal language of affectedness (in Lady Bertram’s first letter to Fanny Price) with “the language of real feeling” (in Lady Bertram’s second letter to Fanny Price).)
Analysis of Lady Bertram and her epistolary style from Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park.
If you’d like to support the channel, you can here
www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_...
Follow me on Twitter: / droctaviacox
CLOSE READING CLASSIC LITERATURE
#DrOctaviaCox
#JaneAusten
#CloseReadingClassicLiterature
FOR MORE LITERARY ANALYSIS see my ‘Close Reading Classic Literature’ playlist
• CLOSE READING CLASSIC ...
KEYWORDS
english literature analysis
analysis of mansfield park by jane austen
lady bertram’s letter writing and epistolary style
character analysis of jane austen’s lady bertram
english literature analysis
analysis of mansfield park by jane austen
lady bertram’s letter writing and epistolary style
character analysis of jane austen’s lady bertram
english literature analysis
analysis of mansfield park by jane austen
lady bertram’s letter writing and epistolary style
character analysis of jane austen’s lady bertram
english literature analysis
analysis of mansfield park by jane austen
lady bertram’s letter writing and epistolary style
character analysis of jane austen’s lady bertram
english literature analysis
analysis of mansfield park by jane austen
lady bertram’s letter writing and epistolary style
character analysis of jane austen’s lady bertram
english literature analysis
analysis of mansfield park by jane austen
lady bertram’s letter writing and epistolary style
character analysis of jane austen’s lady bertram
english literature analysis
analysis of mansfield park by jane austen
lady bertram’s letter writing and epistolary style
character analysis of jane austen’s lady bertram
english literature analysis
analysis of mansfield park by jane austen
lady bertram’s letter writing and epistolary style
character analysis of jane austen’s lady bertram
english literature analysis
analysis of mansfield park by jane austen
lady bertram’s letter writing and epistolary style
character analysis of jane austen’s lady bertram
english literature analysis
analysis of mansfield park by jane austen
lady bertram’s letter writing and epistolary style
character analysis of jane austen’s lady bertram
english literature analysis
analysis of mansfield park by jane austen
lady bertram’s letter writing and epistolary style
character analysis of jane austen’s lady bertram
english literature analysis
analysis of mansfield park by jane austen
lady bertram’s letter writing and epistolary style
character analysis of jane austen’s lady bertram
english literature analysis
analysis of mansfield park by jane austen
lady bertram’s letter writing and epistolary style
character analysis of jane austen’s lady bertram
english literature analysis
analysis of mansfield park by jane austen
lady bertram’s letter writing and epistolary style
character analysis of jane austen’s lady bertram
english literature analysis
analysis of mansfield park by jane austen
lady bertram’s letter writing and epistolary style
character analysis of jane austen’s lady bertram
english literature analysis
analysis of mansfield park by jane austen
lady bertram’s letter writing and epistolary style
character analysis of jane austen’s lady bertram
english literature analysis
analysis of mansfield park by jane austen
lady bertram’s letter writing and epistolary style
character analysis of jane austen’s lady bertram
english literature analysis
analysis of mansfield park by jane austen
lady bertram’s letter writing and epistolary style
character analysis of jane austen’s lady bertram
english literature analysis
analysis of mansfield park by jane austen
lady bertram’s letter writing and epistolary style
character analysis of jane austen’s lady bertram
english literature analysis
analysis of mansfield park by jane austen
lady bertram’s letter writing and epistolary style
character analysis of jane austen’s lady bertram
english literature analysis
analysis of mansfield park by jane austen
lady bertram’s letter writing and epistolary style

[@OstblockLatina]

I reckon that Lady Bertram, had she lived today, would be the person who takes sad selfies in front of a burning car pile-up instead of calling the rescuers. Just to make sure the world learns how deeply she is touched by the tragedy.

[@angelabby2379]

i guess better than people who pretend to help but had no intention whatsoever or pity

[@Plasticplas1]

Lady Bertram is such a fun character. One of my favourite monents is when her sons are discussing her care and her distress and she has relaxed so hard that she has fallen asleep

[@mamadeb1963]

I thought Lady Bertram was writing to help further Sir Thomas' career by keeping up connections (as well as passing her time.) But I was struck by something else. Lady Bertram writes like a commonplace book. Mary Bennet TALKS like one. We know Mary makes extracts because her father says so, but they also seem to be the basis of her conversation as well. One suspects Austen's readership would pick this up immediately, as we'd pick up someone speaking like a self-help book.

[@DrOctaviaCox]

Yes, that's an excellent point (correspondence with useful connections being part of Lady Bertram's role as the wife of an MP) - and an uncontroversial, polite, unexceptionable style would be ideal (even perhaps necessary) for that.

[@DrOctaviaCox]

Yes! - great point about Mary Bennet from P&P. Austen makes a joke about this at Mary's expense (twice over indeed - once through Mr Bennet's sarcasm and once through the narrative voice's dry comment that, for all her common-placing, she does not have the intellectual capability to "say something very sensible"): "“What say you, Mary? for you are a young lady of deep reflection, I know, and read great books and make extracts.” Mary wished to say something very sensible, but knew not how. “While Mary is adjusting her ideas,” he continued, “let us return to Mr. Bingley.”" (P&P, ch.2) [Make extracts here means copy extracts from these "great books" into her common-place book.] Emma Woodhouse also draws on conventional common-placing habits when she organises for Mr Elton to bring a charade, ostensibly for Harriet Smith, to copy into Harriet's collection. Much like with Mary Bennet, the narrative voice is not terribly complimentary about Harriet's intellectual abilities and questions the usefulness of merely making extracts: "Her [Emma's] views of improving her little friend’s [Harriet's] mind, by a great deal of useful reading and conversation, had never yet led to more than a few first chapters, and the intention of going on to-morrow. It was much easier to chat than to study; much pleasanter to let her imagination range and work at Harriet’s fortune, than to be labouring to enlarge her comprehension or exercise it on sober facts; and the only literary pursuit which engaged Harriet at present, the only mental provision she was making for the evening of life, was the collecting and transcribing all the riddles of every sort that she could meet with, into a thin quarto of hot-pressed paper, made up by her friend, and ornamented with ciphers and trophies. In this age of literature, such collections on a very grand scale are not uncommon." (Emma, ch.9) The narrative voice in the opening of Northanger Abbey also jokes about how "serviceable" (or not) learned-by-rote quotations are: "But from fifteen to seventeen she was in training for a heroine; she read all such works as heroines must read to supply their memories with those quotations which are so serviceable and so soothing in the vicissitudes of their eventful lives. From Pope, she learnt to censure those who “bear about the mockery of woe.” From Gray, that “Many a flower is born to blush unseen, “And waste its fragrance on the desert air.” From Thompson, that- “It is a delightful task “To teach the young idea how to shoot.” And from Shakespeare she gained a great store of information-amongst the rest, that- “Trifles light as air, “Are, to the jealous, confirmation strong, “As proofs of Holy Writ.” That “The poor beetle, which we tread upon, “In corporal sufferance feels a pang as great “As when a giant dies.” And that a young woman in love always looks- “like Patience on a monument “Smiling at Grief.” So far her improvement was sufficient-" (NA, ch.1) The narrative voice seems to be suggesting that such 'common-placing' thinking is all very well for a 17 year old, but the implication (as demonstrated through the novel more generally) is that part of one's intellectual development is to grow out of it. Unlike Lady Bertram of course.

[@GotLostProductions]

Mary in the present day would sound like inspirational Instagram quotations when she talks!

[@wisdomoftheearlychristians2037]

@@GotLostProductions Honestly, times change but people don't. The way women behave in these books, is really not any different than today with Instagram videos and Twitter. The only difference is that the grammar is a little better and women had a better idea of how immodesty strikes young men. It is the same today, but young women fail to realize it. Now instead of rushing to someone's house to get the gossip under cover of friendship, like the Lucas family, so they can then proceed to tell everyone they know, they can Tweet it. Instead of writing hasty notes, which are lies, about their excuses for leaving town suddenly, as Elizabeth Bennett had to do, when finding out about Lydia's " elopement ", she would just upload an Instagram video, running her image through a video to remove all signs of tears and stress, to tell all of her followers whatever cover story had been decided on. Frankly, other than the type of media used, things haven't changed much.

[@peccantis]

@@GotLostProductions and the modern excerpt might read something like this "Any comments, Mary? You're so deep, always reading books and articles and posting all those nuggets on your socials.” Mary wanted to say something quoteworthy, but kept drawing blanks. “She'll need a minute,” he continued, “in the meantime, why don't we see what Mr. Bingley's up to.”

[@rosezingleman5007]

I remember how my mother prefaced handing me a copy of Mansfield when I was (maybe) 13 years old. “Pay attention to Lady Bertram. That’s where the satire is.”

[@brendamcalpine1341]

Imagine the mileage Lady Bertram could have gotten out of “live, laugh, love.”

[@beemini3374]

My exact thought. 😆

[@queenofpixels5458]

Having not a lot to say but doing a lot of writing sounds like much of the internet today. Apparently, not much has changed.

[@a.westenholz4032]

I always interpreted Lady Bertram as a character who was emotionally lethargic (as well physically) and by inclination somewhat self-centered, though not in a mean-spirited way. She lacks the natural imagination to put herself in another's place, so has no ability to see beyond her own immediate POV and consider anyone else's needs or situation but her own. So unless the reality of what someone else was going through was made very clear to her, it just wouldn't seem real for her and her own wants of any sort would take preeminence. I do like how you pointed out JA's digs at the social conventions of letter-writing of the day in this manner. Since so many women especially often wrote, either simply to retain contact or to pass the time, but had little in particular to say, one can see how this style would be the result. Which makes me think that on the subject of letters in JA's day, it may not be so clear cut. Writing a letter in itself, regardless of content, was an indication that two people were keeping in touch and both parties were making the effort to exchange communication- even if there wasn't much to communicate. So as we say now about gifts, it's the thought that counts. That someone emotionally shallow like Lady Bertram used the style to suit her own needs is inevitable. Just as we might call someone without really having much to say, just to chat of nothing significant, merely to stay in touch with them. Sure there are some people who will when doing that, end up talking your ear off about nothing particular for an hour or so, but that doesn't mean just calling to stay in touch in itself is bad.

[@againtozelda]

Besides the brief mention you make of Edmund’s selfishness, I have never really seen or heard an exploration of that selfishness. I only seem to see responses taking Edmund at face value as Fanny’s romantic object. I would be very happy to hear you discuss it more!

[@glendodds3824]

All in all, I think Edmund had more virtues than failings. Some Austen devotees seem to have an axe to grind against him because he was upper class.

[@LadyIarConnacht]

Edmond drives me nuts. He straight-up tortures Fanny with his dumb infatuation. Imagine trying to make Mary Crawford into a proper Vicar's wife.

[@lizziebkennedy7505]

@@glendodds3824 His own utterance in the novel gives them some credible basis

[@Lu-li1ei]

@LadyIarConnacht I'm reading the novel now, I'm around the time Henry is trying to make Fanny fall in love with him. Edmund is already very infatuated. He definitely doesn't know Fanny loves him, neither that Mary has such a nasty heart. I get the feeling that he's rather blind to the evil of others, it feels like he's unable to think ill about anyone beyond what he thinks about Mr Rushworth. He can't even see the hatred of Mrs Norris as it is. He has good principles, but he's dumb.

[@edithengel2284]

Edmund ranks as the second weakest romantic interest in an Austen novel, right after Edward in "Sense and Sensibility." He formed Fanny's mind, yet he doesn't observe what almost amounts to her hero worship. He is pretty clueless: he doesn't see Fanny's near adoration for him, and he spends a lot of time trying to figure out how to make Mary a more virtuous woman than he knows he is. He condescends to Fanny, and disregards her feelings. I do hope he really values Fanny after their marriage.

[@AD-hs2bq]

The commonplace book is so interesting-I had no idea but it makes sense that there would have been such a place for household and personal notes. I appreciate knowing about this as part of the background in Austen’s writing. I am sure there is much context better understood by contemporary readers than those of today. Thank you for adding your historical knowledge; it makes such a difference. You’re so adept in creating greater depth and interest in classic literature.

[@DrOctaviaCox]

Many thanks A D - I'm glad that you found the video illuminating. Yes, indeed! - there are many elements of Austen's novels that she would simply expect readers to understand the significance, and implications, of.

[@frankupton5821]

Edmund has no empathy with other people. He can see when somebody is hurt or oppressed, but he cannot understand how they think. This is a drawback for a parish priest.

[@ad6417]

He has no soul

[@sarahmwalsh]

What's really interesting and actually kind of heartbreaking about all of this is that Fanny Price has been sent away to Portsmouth by Sir Thomas in order to better appreciate the healthy air and comforts of Mansfield, and the benefits of a marriage to Henry Crawford. They have literally placed her in worse conditions where she is actually becoming ill herself because it's what her uncle wanted, and neglect her the entire time, only to show instant concern *and tell Fanny about their fears* when Tom becomes ill out of his own carelessness and stupidity (a fall after a night of carousing and drinking).

[@angelabby2379]

what do you mean? placing Fanny in her rightful home of her parents is "placed her in worse situation" and "she got ill" what in the snobbery is going on, oh yes getting ill from being at your own house

[@sarahmwalsh]

@@angelabby2379 Fanny's family was not much concerned with her for the 10 years she was living at Mansfield Park. Other than William, she had no contact with any of them. And her mother and father barely acknowledge her when she arrives, and are too occupied with the rest of the children (and her father is utterly neglectful of all of them) to show her much attention during her three months with them. Sending her "home" to Portsmouth is basically sending her to stay with strangers. To Fanny, who has been used to the clean air out in the fields and gardens at Mansfield, and who is prone to headaches and weakness, Portsmouth is extremely unhealthy. But Sir Thomas sent her there, into an environment totally the opposite of Mansfield, on purpose to make her appreciate what she'd be missing by turning down Henry Crawford. It's really a cruel thing to do.

[@angelabby2379]

@@sarahmwalsh NO! it was not you are completely wrong. it's not Sir Thomas's fault that Fanny's parents are neglectful and poor, that is her real situation if she didn't marry Henry Crawford, stranger? they are HER actual parents!! it's her birthright! no matter how little acquinted they were, there were parents who go on expedition for long time and barely see their children but they aren't stranger. what happened if Sir Thomas never took in Fanny Price in the first place, now you gonna blame him for Fanny being indulgent spoiled baby who can't even live at her actual home. i love how you blame Sir Thomas for Fanny's own spoiled manner, situation, poverty. If he had known he should just let Fanny rot with her family, ungrateful trash

[@lizziebkennedy7505]

@@angelabby2379That she loved her family in no way mitigates the deprivation and brutalities of the life. Seeing her father as he really was made her quite ill.

[@edithengel2284]

@@angelabby2379 She is literally placed in a less healthy situation. This is not snobbery. Her mother runs a slatternly house, her father is an alcoholic, and all but two of her siblings run absolutely wild. It makes Fanny ill. Whether Sir Thomas understands how bad Fanny's home is, I don't know, but he certainly knew it would not be as comfortable as Mansfield--and that was quite deliberate.

[@mandi96]

Gosh, Lady Bertram sounds like an actual person in the second letter, unlike the insipid doll she is for most of the book! I like this a lot, as it humanizes her a bit.

[@MarleneHen]

Insipid doll - ha! 😆

[@bethstovell8608]

This was so insightful! Another element I found telling about Lady Bertram’s first letter is the way her false concern for Tom’s situation is highlighted by her thinking that she needs Sir Thomas more than he does. She is concerned only for how Sir Thomas leaving might disadvantage her rather than help her son “the poor invalid.” This too highlights her selfishness and lack of maternal care in the first letter.

[@nataliameylunas117]

When one is overwhelmed by news on upsurge of omicron cases and riots in Kazakhstan, a dose of Jane Austine offers a respite, and Dr. Cox’s lectures are a perfect means of providing it. Thank you!

[@cminmd0041]

I was just thinking about how Lady Bertram's first letter where she talks about "the poor invalid" sounded so much like the talking points "It's only those with comorbidities" to minimize the death of thousands of people from Covid.

[@JudithKlinghoffer]

It is written that it's difficult to catch Austen in the act of greatness. Well, in this video, you do it superbly.

[@elizabethfairhead3405]

Yes, quite so, such brilliant satire in these passages, which you point out so precisely. Made me laugh all over again!!

[@mesamies123]

Virginia Woolf is relieved!

[@DrOctaviaCox]

Thank you Judith - a lovely compliment indeed!

[@AMoniqueOcampo]

Imagine if Jane Austen existed now. I can see her poking fun of social media.

[@marycrawford1594]

Surely 'the medium is the message' was just as true in Jane Austen's day as it is now. Your 'close reading' of Lady Bertram's letters to Fanny is matchless, and thank you for that. I personally interpreted Lady Bertram's wish to write to Fanny, even when she has nothing much to say, as a clear sign of her affection and longing to make contact with a loved one. This becomes clear when she almost cries out in a letter how much she wants Fanny to come back to Mansfield. Isn't love always a bit selfish? Edmund, on the other hand, is the one who uses Fanny as an outlet for his feelings. Returning to the medium being the message, while both Lady Bertram and Edmund are content to write anguished letters to Fanny, interestingly, the only person to take the trouble to actually visit her in Portsmouth is Henry Crawford. Perhaps he did hold her in higher esteem than her family, as he claimed. Perhaps he did just get trapped by Maria and his own vanity. Always my favourite novel. Endlessly fascinating.

[@elizabethfairhead3405]

Yes, agreed, and Fanny feels so starved of contact in Portsmouth that she is actually grateful for Lady Bertram’s nothing correspondance. I too return again and again to this book.

[@di3486]

Oh, don’t get fooled by Crawford. Narcissists in the love bombing stage would go to the moon and back for you.

[@jediping]

@@di3486 Came here with a similar POV. He is interesting in Fanny for how she makes him feel. She doesn’t want him in Portsmouth, but he goes there anyway. If he truly cared about her feelings, he would long ago have stopped pursuing her. He only decided to go after her because he was bored, not because he thought her actually worth his time. Very selfish and self-centered. He’s just louder about his selfishness than Edmund. (Who I always want to smack on the head.) Fanny deserves way better than any of this lot!

[@di3486]

@@jediping On point. Fanny is a smart cookie and respects herself enough to see through crawford’s mask.

[@stephaniew.8678]

I think Edmund is flawed, no doubt about it, and he takes Fanny for granted to a sad degree. But in a family like his, full of self-centered people, he is the only one who loves and respects Fanny’s wishes and mind, albeit imperfectly. He spent a lot of time making sure her education was amplified and improved, in a day when many young men wouldn’t have cared in the slightest about such things. He also cares about her health and feelings. But he can’t escape some degree of human selfishness; I think he’d be 2 dimensional if he had been written that way. Edmund is swept away by Mary Crawford’s beauty and lively mind- she’s hot and smart on the outside, but cold and dead in her soul. When he finally sees through her (which takes time) he falls out of love about as fast as any person can.

[@annalston1653]

I love the context Dr. Cox provides about common-placing. I had always assumed Lady Bertram's epistolary style deliberately emulated the style of all the other wives of MP's and was merely meant to maintain social and political connections rather than to actually be a creative pursuit or disseminate information.

[@reginawhitlock4227]

I always thought it meant she didn't have to pay postage

[@nancywhite2014]

What a fascinating analysis of Lady Bertram. It brings to my mind in comparison, what common placing Lady Catherine de Bourgh would compose. It seems with all her “advice giving”, that she could have a complete library filled with volumes of common place books. Probably a whole wing in Rosings. 😉

[@cynthiafullerton648]

Lady Bertram seems to be a warning of the mental and emotional degeneration that can result from too much comfort and ease. This lack of mental and spiritual function appears in her flowery and insubstantial writing style. When Lady B becomes genuinely frightened by the reality of her son's illness, it seems to snap her back to something more like a human being capable of sincere emotion. It's a clever device for depicting such a profound change. I have always suspected that Mansfield Park might have been Austen's way of looking into the futures of the Bennet sisters, either for moral instruction or just for fun. I submit that Mrs. Price is Lydia's future, and Mrs. Norris is Mary's. I can never decide, though, which of the sisters becomes the airheaded and isolated Lady Bertram.

[@ezb6798]

Dr. Cox: I would love to hear your take on Edmund Bertram. The teaser you dropped into this video about him intrigues me greatly.

[@EmoBearRights]

I dislike Edmund intensely and quiet, passive selfishness does sound like him along with priggish, sanctimonious, blinkered, hypocrisy.

[@rufescens]

I second your request!

[@sonitagovan]

I would also love to hear your thoughts on Edmund. To me he has always felt unworthy of Fanny Price....I feel similarly of Edward Ferrars in Sense and Sensibility.

[@annelyle5474]

@@sonitagovan I feel more charitable towards Edward Ferrars after watching the BBC adaptation, where he comes across as more earnest in his admiration for Elinor and more deeply pained by his youthful error of proposing to Lucy. You have to remember that he is constantly being browbeaten by his family (especially, I imagine, by his odious sister Fanny) for wanting to be a clergyman instead of a statesman, which is enough to turn anyone into a nervous wreck. I like to think that his brother Robert took his place as the family's punch-bag on account of marrying Lucy Steele, enabling Edward to finally have a chance to blossom!

[@Izabela-ek5nh]

I also never could like or even approve Edmund. I felt almost guilty for that, because he is supposed to be such a kind and warm character but I always felt him as a bit of fraud.... (I love Edward Ferrars tho! :) )

[@authormichellefranklin]

Though Lady Bertram is a bit of a detached wag, especially when she offers Fanny a puppy inappropriately, she does care for her, despite what her letters might recommend. When Fanny comes home and is actually in front of Lady Bertram, Lady Bertram falls on her neck and says only now she can be comfortable. She's a lovely character.

[@Cat_Woods]

I don't know, I find this creepy in real life - people who sincerely consider you a dear friend when in their presence but literally can't consider your existence when not in their presence. You might feel valued at first, but sooner or later, you will come up against the fact that you are not really a person to them. More like a prop on their stage.

[@lizziebkennedy7505]

Are you basing that on the book?

[@HRJohn1944]

Thank you for another fascinating lecture. I picked up a video on KZbin about JA recently (unfortunately, I haven't been able to find it again) in which Howard Jacobson, speaking about F R Leavis' admiration for JA (I think expressed in "The Great Tradition"), said "He (Leavis) described 'Mansfield Park' as 'the first modern novel'" - I would love to hear your views on this.

[@kiddpenn]

I hadn't noticed it to that extant! I guess I gave her too much credit. Since I knew Lady Bertam was very low energy, I assumed "I take up my pen to communicate" meant that she is so genuinely alarmed that even her, the sleepy Lady Bertram, is putting in the tedious hard work to write a letter! I didn't consider that she actually wanted things to write about. And I thought maybe her fluffy writing style was more an old habit of how she learned to write. But I did think it was weird that she called Tom the poor invalid, and I saw how much more urgently she wrote after seeing him. So I can see now how this was commentary on more shallow writing habits. I didn't know about commonplace books either. Thanks for the analysis!

[@MindiB]

As always, a stimulating mix of literary close-reading, character analysis, and historical context. Thank you for another delightful opportunity to expand my mind!

[@AnnNunnally]

Bookmarks on websites are my version of common place book entries.

[@bethanyperry5337]

Thank you again for the depth you provide for reading my favorite author.

[@londongael]

Poor Lady Bertram! Yes, she's dull and empty-headed, but she can't really help it. She has done what was probably the only thing she was brought up to do - made a "good" match, and now she doesn't know what to do with the rest of her life. She could, and arguably should, concern herself with her children's upbringing and education, but I imagine Sir Thomas and Mrs Norris have left her little scope there. She doesn't know what she thinks, or likes, or enjoys, until Sir Thomas tells her - his need to control everything and everybody dovetails with her apathy and listlessness. I think she's a bit depressed. Neither she nor Sir Thomas intended to ruin their children, but the two of them in combination, and with the eager help of Aunt Norris, end up doing a pretty comprehensive job of it. The second letter redeems her somewhat - she has a little bit of her soul left. Sometimes I think "Mansfield Park" is really a horror story - the tiny, claustrophobic society reminds me of Huis Clos, and the "happy ending", where Fanny marries the awful Edmund - who never loves her - and becomes Mrs Norris 2.0, does little to convince me otherwise.

[@marycassidy1695]

I like Edmund, and except for his fascination with Mary Crawford until he wakes up to her amorality, he's the only one that really is kind to Fanny.

[@Avenue_ad_Astra]

A lot of people seem to dislike Edmund but I don't really see why. He has always been kind to Fanny and he does love her - he calls her "one of his two dearest" or something similar - but I think he sees her as more of a little sister (the one he never had) and closest confidante and does not suspect her true feelings, since in true character she never actually gives him any indication of them. At least I never noticed her saying or doing anything that would let him know.

[@lizziebkennedy7505]

Gosh, that's a dystopic way of looking at it. But she loves him. Perhaps that's enough...

[@edithengel2284]

@@marycassidy1695 A sort of condescending kindness, in my opinion.

[@strll3048]

Amazing! Close reading indeed. You are quite a genius, in my opinion. Thank you so much.

[@dorothywillis1]

Another excellent analysis! I only have two things to add. Well, three. The least important is to point out that Harriet Smith's Riddle Book is a sort of commonplace book. Second, as an MP, Sir Thomas can frank all those pages and pages of twaddle. If he or Lady B.'s correspondents had to pay the postage her letters might not find recipients. (Having been received, I wonder if they were ever read.) Third, I am reminded of the Palliser sisters in "Can You Forgive Her," written in 1864. "their [the sisters'] delight is in writing. They sit each at her desk after breakfast, and go on till lunch. There is a little rivalry between them, not expressed to each other, but visible to their friends. Iphy certainly does get off the greater number, and I'm told crosses quite as often as Phemy, but then she has the advantage of a bolder and larger hand." There is more about ladies' correspondence, showing the practice was still common a generation later.

[@frankupton5821]

It's not clear that Sir Thomas still is an MP by the time of the main action of the book. There is no mention of it then, or of his going to Westminster. Instead, he feels able to absent himself in Antigua for an extended time.

[@dorothywillis1]

@@CandiceGoddard Perhaps you did not intend it, but I found the tone of your comment unfriendly and unsuited to the easy atmosphere of the discussion we usually have here. I used the term "generation" in a casual way it is usually used in conversation and I don't see why the matter is of any importance. If I understand correctly what you are saying in the rest of your comment, you agree with me that throughout a great part of the 19th century there were ladies in England who filled their time with voluminous correspondence of little interest to anyone, then or now. (BTW, it's 1865, not 1965. I assume a typo.)

[@DrOctaviaCox]

That is an excellent point, Dorothy, about Sir Thomas being able - as an MP - to frank all Lady B's letters for her. The usual practice at the time was for the _recipient_ rather than the sender to have to pay for a letter (can you imagine how galling it would be to have to pay to receive someone else's banal twaddle?! - especially if money was tight). But MPs had the authority to send and receive letters free of charge by signing their name on the letter's outside (called 'franking'). And now you've brought it up... JA makes a really interesting point about the casual misuse of power in reference to franking letters elsewhere in the novel. Very early in the novel Edmund blithely tells Fanny that Sir Thomas will frank her letter to William (her brother): "[Edmund:] '...as your uncle will frank it, it will cost William nothing.'... Fanny thought it a bold measure." (ch.2) As the footnote in the Oxford University Press edition states, "It was a much practised abuse of the system for MPs to frank letters on behalf of other people" (p.394). They were only supposed, of course, to frank letters concerning government business. In this case it is for a nice cause, so it is hard to criticise Sir Thomas for it, but it would still be using public money for private ends.

[@DrOctaviaCox]

@@frankupton5821 Sir Thomas is still an MP it seems - despite as you say his extended period away in Antigua - which we can gather from a remark of Mrs Grant's about Mr Rushworth also going into Parliament. She says “I dare say he will be in parliament soon. When Sir Thomas comes, I dare say he will be in for some borough, but there has been nobody to put him in the way of doing anything yet” (ch.17). Perhaps the fact that he feels able to absent himself despite being an MP reveals rather a lot about how seriously he takes serving his constituency...

[@dorothywillis1]

@@DrOctaviaCox I guess Sir Thomas was doing something that was technically wrong, but he certainly has a lot of literary company! People are having letters franked for them all the time and no one seems to have any problem with it. I can't even remember Plantagenet Palliser refusing to frank a letter for Lady Glencora!

[@psalmseasytoplayandsingfor3637]

Despite you are a terrific argumentation for how Lady Bertram doesn't CARE as much about things and even her husband, but is more going through the motions, underneath it, I think one thing that she is showing is that she DOES CARE about Fanny. And she may even care about her husband more than her words. She is distressed and yet doesn't have the emotional depth to show it well. This was an excellent exploration!

[@megankilinski4580]

Love your videos! I really appreciate the added context of contemporary dictionaries and other contemporary sources that give insight into the works. Thank you for all your work

[@stbananastein]

I know this wasn't the intent of this video, but this has also made me think about my own, modern version of amplification (mostly spoken, but sometimes written), and I'm trying to adjust to do it less.

[@athag1]

I love these deep dives into Jane Austen style! They help my own writing. The idea of phonocentrism has been buzzing in my head ever since I saw that video and this lecture is about to add to it.

[@michellecluff9631]

🙌 Mansfield Park content=my jam!

[@SarahElisabethJoyal]

Honestly I think her ladyship is just doing what we all did when we were desperately trying to make the word count at school. Somebody should tell her that letters aren't generally submitted for a grade.

[@katycollie7952]

I get the sense that Lady Bertram is chronically drugged... Weren't opioids a popular novelty among the nobility around this time? I was actually impressed that she was such an enthusiastic correspondent to Fanny during her absence, given her general lethargy

[@AnnalisaDugard]

Thank you! This is exactly what I've always thought. She wasn't 'there' enough to realise that her daughter was throwing away her reputation with her 'rehearsals' with Henry Crawford. Also, she seems to nod off at the slightest opportunity, even her speech is vague

[@mouseketeery]

Thank you for enlightening me on the Commonplace Book. I'd heard of it, or rather, seen it mentioned in novels, but I didn't quite understand its purpose before.

[@Henry-tn1jb]

Thankyou for another superb lecture. I really enjoy these and they make me rethink old favourites

[@seilanemsei]

Happy New Year! I have recently come accross your chanel and it's been delightful to listen to your views on Jane Austen's novels and characters.

[@stephaniew.8678]

I am so pleased you made this video- thank you. I always relish the flurry of letters at the end of MP- they are the icing on the cake for the character developments of Lady B, Mary Crawford, and Edmund.

[@christopherbarber9351]

I appreciate your direct and clear style!

[@s.h.741]

Excellent as always, thank you. May I add - Sir Thomas' being a member of Parliament also means that he can frank her letters, i.e., it's a cheap hobby to trade in what is basically gossip.

[@AnnalisaDugard]

Exactly; it means that she can write pages and pages of fluff without costing her correspondent anything

[@sonitagovan]

Happy New year Dr Cox. Thank you for this video. I am currently rereading Mansfield Park so I was really excited to listen to it. Please may you do an in depth video on Northanger Abbey. It's my least favourite Austen book and I want to understand why so many people love it....what am I not getting. Thank you for the videos I really love them and I appreciate all the work you put into them.

[@nickwilliams7547]

Thank you Octavia. As always, you provide a fascinating insight into Austen and how superbly her work is crafted.

[@han100nah]

I really like your videos! Thank you very much for your great content. Will there ever be a video about Lady Susan? I would really enjoy that.

[@zappababe8577]

The "common-place" books must have been a wonderful resource, in the days before the Internet! A place I used to work at had what they called a "bible" where they had jotted down information, contacts, figures and calculations that they had found useful as the business grew. I thought that was a very good idea and it got looked into or added to every day.

[@willstevens4289]

Many thanks - a really interesting commentary.

[@profearthurito6993]

Greetings and blessings from San Juan de Lurigancho, Lima, Perú.

[@HeyAllyHey]

Thank you for this video. I enjoyed Lady Bertram’s letters in MP. It was the first time that you get true insight into the workings of Lady B’s mind. I did pick some things you pointed out but a lot went over my head. Great video 👍 😊

[@beemini3374]

Thank you for explaining common-placing. I read mostly e-books now and older books usually don't come with endnotes, so I have to do my own research (aka your channel) for explanations. Your explanation of common-placing instantly made me think: like a Pinterest board? Nothing is new under the sun.

[@Khatoon170]

How are you doing dr octavia iam new subscriber Arabic lady citizen we are as foreigners subscribers as overseas want to increase our cultural level improve our English language as well actually i studied English language and literature till second year and left college it’s will of god not mine i still remember Jane Austen as famous novelist her famous novel pride and prejudice now you mentioned famous character in novel Mansfield park if you please I gathered main information about famous character in novel briefly here it’s lady Bertram is fanny aunt mrs Morris sister and mother of Bertram children she was known as quite beauty in her youth received her title through advantageous marriage to sir Thomas she is sluggish unemotive slow to follow conversation generally found on her. Sofa she seems more interested in behavior of her beloved pug than lives of her four children hesitancy to leave drawing room forces fanny to forgo social events in order to provide her with company thank you for wonderful cultural documentary channel stay safe blessed iwish for your channel more success and progress I have great pleasure to be one of your subscribers of your channel stay safe blessed good luck to you your dearest ones

[@Khatoon170]

Sorry imean we are as foreigners subscribers as overseas students I wrote in hurry

[@MysteryMommy1]

This was a lovely video

[@TVandManga]

Really interesting!

[@charlottefasi3557]

Thanks!

[@Foudedanse]

I really enjoyed this! More Mansfield Park please.

[@nyckolaus]

excellent!

[@katherineroddy9190]

I'd love it if you analyzed Mrs. Elton's conversation!

[@c.w.8200]

This comes at the perfect time, just reread Mansfield Park. I'm a little curious about all these crafts the women made back then, also in the other Austen books the women basically only read, go on walks and do crafts...

[@catgladwell5684]

They were intelligent women in their twenties. Today, they would have a career or be at university. Imagine the frustration the narrowness of their lives must have caused them. Who wants to spend a life doing embroidery, or anything else that would just be a hobby now. I have no doubt that most of them made the best of it but they must have been stir crazy.

[@c.w.8200]

@@catgladwell5684 Well, some people do these kinds of crafts for a living, textile arts, teach embroidery or something but yeah, I do agree. I think women could at least help manage an estate or advice their husbands and do some networking after they were married but it must have been super frustrating to be excluded from so many career paths.

[@kittykatz4001]

@@c.w.8200 Your mention of crafts for a living: I know of a woman who is a professional knitter. She crochets too. She books a room each month at her neighborhood library and either teaches ppl how to get started with knitting (she brings supplies) or makes herself available to help ppl who are already undertaking a knitting or crochet project but need some help or advice.

[@OmoyeUduehi]

Thanks

[@charlotteinnocent8752]

Thank you! A lot goes over the head of someone who doesn't know what was trending in the century the books were written in, and we miss a lot of the meaning. I never knew about the common place thing for example. And more!

[@bookmouse2719]

Oh a Commonplace book, I didn't know it had a name. Sort of journaling or keeping a diary of ideas, I have always done this without knowing. lol.

[@ad6417]

Narcissistic people always have a great need for a commonplace book. It serves both their inherent laziness and their grandiosity at the same time.

[@edithengel2284]

That may well be true, but it is also a useful practice for better balanced people as well.

[@susannekalejaiye4351]

I think her governess probably taught that style. It seems replicated in some of Mrs Norris's speech and even in Mrs Price.

[@jennysedgley8284]

Was Lady Bertram the character who takes a lot of laudanum? Might her emotional detachment be a function of intoxication and/or addiction?

[@jennysedgley8284]

@@i.b.640 aha, thank you. Long time since I've read the book....

[@markteltscher9746]

Do you have an opinion if Mrs Norris character is based on the real slaver Robert Norris or the fictional character Mr Briggs in Cecelia by Fanny Burney?

[@kryscall4544]

Thanks for teaching about commonplacing, which I guess were the memes and Oprah quotes of the day. Also, thanks for pointing out that both letters from lady Bertram followed the same outline, news first, what she wanted next, what Sir thomas determined would actually occur last and not a once asking how Fanny is doing or how she feels about Tom's illness. Lady Bertram is consistently presented by the narrator as such a useless person to everyone around her, her only positive attribute seeming to be her love of her pug. But perhaps she is not as dull as presented since, if she had taken some responsibility for the education of her children, she would have been caught between Mrs. Norris's vehement and proprietary overindulgence of Julia and Mariah and Sir Thomas's (later regretted by him) attempt to balance that influence with fearsome commanding sterness. Many times it is made clear that his use of the term "advice" is meant as a direct command, and both girls run away from him as soon as there is any opportunity of escape. I wonder if Lady Bertam's complete lack of personality and responsibility is a way of being married to Sir Thomas without experiencing his own character to the painful degree that it was felt by others who, like her, were answerable to him. You wonder what a man of his intellligence sees in her until you hear at the very end of the novel that he never got to know the dispositions of his daughters and wishes that he had in order to prevent Mariah's escapade and exile. As far as we know, he never gets around to wondering what his wife is really like, and she may prefer that. Dr. Cox, you make me miss the days when people sat down and wrote paper letters. But there can be more distance in that format, as you noted. Is it possible that Lady Bertram is using dissasociation as a means of self preservation in her marriage, and that is why she cannot feel that Sir thomas was gone and that she must have missed him until he returns, or truly feel for her son until he is fading before her eyes? Sorry this is so long. You have the most fascinataing literary analyses I have ever encountered, and they stimulate endless thought.

[@electraruby4078]

Octavia May I ask which of Austen's books you rate most highly? I choose Mansfield Park

[@Hollis_has_questions]

Ditto.

[@thomascampbell3836]

The letter is focused on lady Bertram, rather than Tom. I feel Jane Austen describes ‘borderline personality disorder’ in lady Bertram.

[@Fray4all]

I have to admit I rather like the idea of common-placing IRL practice.

[@lastchancemonicam3948]

May I request a video please? Jane Austen and Charles Dickens wrote during the same time period, but Austen romanticizes it whilst Dickens is more brutal. Is the difference between them just city life v country life or rich v poor? Even when Dickens portrays the rich, he doesn't do so with Austen aplomb. I would like a video comparing the disparity and contrasting both the socioeconomic differences and writing styles portrayed, please. Happy New Year.

[@athag1]

Charles Dickens was 5 years old when Jane Austen died. They were not really contemporaries

[@beverleyhorne7104]

Dear Dr Cox, I am currently trying to do my masters on Jane Austen and her letter writing, and wondered what your thoughts were why does Willoughby visit Elinor and Marianne instead of writing a confessionary letter, as done in her other works? Many thanks 🙏🏻, Beverley

[@lizziebkennedy7505]

Perhaps in order not to record what he wished to say or have it opened by another? If does him no credit.

[@marianneshepherd6286]

It's interesting to compare her letter on her sons illness to Jane writing too Lizzy about Wickham and Lydia's elopement. Jane's letter is full of urgency and right to the point about what they know has happened to the runaways.

[@marycassidy1695]

I'm surprised there's been no critique on mrs. Norris. She and the Crawford's other reason this is the only Jane Austen novel I do not own. Misses Norris's unkindness to Fanny is so so so annoying. I can't get past her.And when the crawfords show up, I am done. Lady Bertram is not very bright. it seems all she cares about is her little Pug. And she may not realize it, but she does appreciate Fanny. Fanny is the only one who shows her any attention and kindness. Her husband is a bully and her children are narcissists.

[@karencrawley7377]

Thank you for this analysis. An another topic, why do you think Susan was allowed to come to Mansfield Park and what conjectures do you see for her future?

[@lonamanning4610]

I think Susan is necessary to the plot because she prevents Edmund from telling Fanny about his final conversation with Mary Crawford on the way back to Mansfield Park. This prevents Fanny from hearing about the conversation until later in the novel. Also, now that the reader is thinking of Fanny and Edmund as romantic partners, not cousins, Fanny needs a chaperone if she is going to travel for a day and a half with Edmund...

[@edithengel2284]

In a literal sense, because Fanny was going to leave Mansfield Park to live with Edmund, and Lady Bertram could not live without a companion. Susan seems to have been a more active person, but I wonder if she ever managed to escape the boundaries of Mansfield to find some society and a husband. Perhaps Sir Thomas would have had an eye out for her.

[@melodie-allynbenezra8956]

At 10:04 - Besides focusing on the fact that Fanny might not be interested in her extended version of blather... There is nothing that says that Lady Bertram cannot send the same information that Edmund did, in her own style. So... Fanny could get two different perspectives of the Grants departing to Bath. I think the fact that Lady Bertram finds fit to complain about not having the chance to give the news first is silly. But then again, Lady Bertram herself is very silly.

[@kristenkewley5593]

Just have to put it out there that I actually LOVE Lady/Aunt Bertram

[@lovescatsthing]

So common placing was a bit like today's cut and paste of standard responses?

[@lindseybailey2944]

Jane Austen would have a thought or two on mainstream American news media.

[@stephanieashworth6317]

So, did Edmund share his letter to Fanny with Lady Bertram before mailing it off to Portsmouth? I know sharing letters was a common pastime in Jane Austen's world but her particular knowledge of the contents of Edmunds letter seems a bit peculiar.

[@londongael]

Something that just occurred to me, thinking about Lady Bertram. Do the characters in Mansfield Park personify the Seven Deadly Sins? Some initial thoughts: Pride - Sir Thomas, of course. Even the good things he does - ordering the carriage for Fanny, having a fire laid in her room - come from pride. "My niece, walk to a dinner engagement?" Sloth - Lady B, pretty obviously. Her lack of engagement allows Mrs Norris to flourish. Lust - Henry Crawford. In his case, as much lust for power as it is sexual. His primary aim is to have power over women, which is why, initially, he wants to make "a small hole" in Fanny's heart. Gluttony - Dr Grant. Nuff said. Envy - to the extent that it overlaps with jealousy, Julia Bertram might be a good candidate. I'm saving Mrs Norris for later. Anger - There are many characters suffering from suppressed anger - how about apparently easy-going, self-destructive Tom? The most angry character is, I think, Maria. She is trapped, and angry with her father, with Mr Rushworth, with her sister, with Henry, and probably with herself. I think Mary Crawford is also an angry person. It shows in her cynicism, in her vulgar jokes (a classic sign of aggression) and risk-taking behaviour (at cards, in Lovers' Vows, in love). Like her brother, she has a will to power, but, in her case, it is constantly thwarted. Avarice - Mrs Norris. This vice is also known as covetousness and greed. She certainly covets her youngest sister's importance as the wife of Sir Thomas Bertram, her wealth and her children. She feels hard-done-by, and grabs everything she can to compensate: Fanny, her Bertram nieces, as many free Mansfield lunches as she can get, cuttings from Mr Rushworth's garden and a nice, big piece of baize that's just going begging. Her voraciousness is undiscriminating. The Deadly Sins are not the most obviously heinous ones, they are the mental habits that slowly kill the soul, and you don't have to be religious, as Jane Austen was, to see some psychological truth in that. In Dr Grant's case, it kills the body as well, and in Tom's case, it nearly does. I'm sure this is not an original thought, but I'd welcome any comments. Edit - Definitely not original - here's a posting with a slightly different attribution of the "sins": www.austenauthors.net/seven-deadly-sins-mansfield-park-jane-austen/ and there are probably others out there.

[@marycrawford1594]

I take your point, and you make interesting observations, but the characters have to be seen in the light of having very little choice, especially the women. Sir Thomas dominates Mansfield Park and his family so thoroughly that he can't even see the effect he's having. Yes, Lady Bertram might be seen as slothful, or rather indolent, but she is completely under her husband's thumb and the easiest way out for her is to do nothing. The younger brother, Edmund, and the younger sister Julia, at least have the spirit and gumption to stick with their life choices and make them work. The elder brother Tom and the elder sister Maria, cannot live with their foolish choices. But to me the finger of blame ultimately has to point to Sir Thomas, when someone takes on the role of dominating other people he or she also has to take the responsibility when things go wrong. The blame, or the 'sin' is not equal.

[@NathalieO]

It is my least favorite novel. But the style is still so entertaining!

[@billiebelle7585]

I would love for you to do videos on Emma, i love your videos but I don’t see anyone talking Emma

[@Hollis_has_questions]

I don’t see it as you do. Fanny is very empathetic; she understands her aunt better than Lady Bertram understands herself. Just as Fanny really pitied Mr. Rushworth and did not judge him too harshly if at all, so she loved and sincerely felt for her Aunt Bertram’s tribulations. I believe that, beneath the criticism and sarcastic eye of the author, Fanny was a softy. She could not, until pressed by both Crawfords, think negatively of a person. What she thought of Aunt Norris I have no idea. Do you?

[@bookmouse2719]

Let us be glad that Lady Bertram was a character in a book and not a real person, insensitive Mother.

[@AnnalisaDugard]

Am I the only one who thinks Lady Bertram was addicted to laudanum?

[@charlesiragui2473]

All three of the Ward sisters seem to have been ingrained narcissists. None of them seems capable of feeling real empathy, not seeing others as having real feelings or opinions. People are extensions of their own needs and wants. Is Austen pointing to some genetic heritage? Would that reflect to some extent on the children of Sir Thomas Bertram? Is Edmund less empathetic because of his mother? He cannot feel either Fanny's or Mary's actual feelings and opinions. Certainly Mrs Rushworth is extremely narcissistic.

[@kirbycairo]

You say that Austen is engaged in an act of "mocker" but the very concept of close reading was conceived so as to exclude anything outside the text, and irony is indemostrable in the text. I have been involved in English theory as a teacher, writer, and (of course) reader for nearly 50 years and almost everyone who claims to be engaged in "close reading" is hypocritically using this concept to pursue their own (usually hidden) ideological agenda. You seem to be no exception. Close reading is a fantasy concept dreamed up by English professors to attempt to create "correct" readings and to devalue the opinions of non- professionals.