The Character of Mrs. Norris in Mansfield Park - 1136 Words

The Character of Mrs. Norris in Mansfield Park For any character there are three main ways of learning about them. Firstly, how the character themselves thinks and behaves. Secondly, how other characters respond to the character. Lastly, how the author discusses the character is very revealing. Each of these views of Mrs. Norris is provided by the author. Mrs Norris is only related to Mansfield Park through her sister, Lady Bertram. While she may not have managed to make the affluent marriage that her sister did, there is no doubting her love of money. Sir Thomas Bertram provides an income for Mrs Norris husband, a member of the clergy. This enables them to live in comfort and in close proximity to the house at Mansfield†¦show more content†¦Yet, once she sees a way of making herself seem charitable and generous, Mrs Norris is keen to establish contact with Mrs Price once more. Her wish to be involved in every aspect of her familyà ­s life conflicts with her standing on her sisters marriage to a Lieutenant of the Marines, but this does not seem to bother her. The language that Mrs Norris uses is very persuasive and there are few ways of overriding what she says. Even those who are close to her are shown not to expend much effort arguing with her. In her attempts to persuade Sir Thomas to take Fanny Price, she declares: [I] would rather deny myself the necessaries of life, than do an ungenerous thing. She is indifferent to others protests and has an answer to everything. Mrs Norris is presented as the sort of person who believes herself to be liked by all, but is actually hated by most. Mrs Norris has no qualms about favouring her niece, Maria, and also no worries about stirring relations between all three of her nieces at Mansfield Park. Rather than admonishing her nieces prejudices against their less fortunate cousin, she explains that Fanny is to be pitied and once more wastes no time in praising her nieces accomplishments: You must not expect everybody to be as forward and quick at learning as yourself. The superficiality of the praise perpetually being given to theShow MoreRelatedMansfield Park Marriage Analysis1556 Words   |  7 Pages Marriage as a Dubious Goal in Mansfield Park Jane Austen’s 1814 novel Mansfield Park begins and ends with the topic of marriage. In this regard it seems to fit into the genre of the courtship novel, a form popular in the eighteenth century in which the plot is driven by the heroine’s difficulties in attracting an offer from the proper suitor. According to Katherine Sobba Green, the courtship novel â€Å"detailed a young woman’s entrance into society, the problems arising from that situation, her courtshipRead MoreBritish Social Class in Mansfield Park by Jane Austen1742 Words   |  7 PagesMansfield Park is a complete socially oriented novel. In this novel Jane Austen closely describe the everyday life of rural middle class society, its gaieties and hardships, describing a distinct system of moral and social principles influencing people’s lives in that period, women status in the system and female life expectations. In the novel Austen shows the efforts of some trying to break the predetermined limitations in order to improve their social class and rank. Austen pointed out the socialRead MoreJane Austen s Influence On Society3452 Words   |  14 Pagescritics have analyzed the characters in her novels as being comparable to people Austen actually knew in her lifetime. 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Ironically, Austins goal was to demonstrate that superficial charm and wit are nice, but there are more important characteristics such as discipline, morality, and depth of character (MooreRead MoreVenturing into the Writing of Jane Austen1114 Words   |  4 Pagesabout marriage, and went more into her life and the way she chose to live it. After learning how she lived and about her life I Watched the BBC version of Mansfield Park, just to get a hold of what Mansfield Park really is. After the movie was done I had a discussion about it comparing to the PBS version of Mansfield Park. Then Compared Mansfield Park to Persuasion followed by Sense and Sensibility, all of which have an important source of silence which leads to Feminine power. 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