S03E05 Mansfield Park: Episode 5, Chapters 17-21
03/22/22 • 59 min
In this episode, we read Chapters 17 to 21 of Mansfield Park. We talk about Fanny’s moral trajectory during the theatricals, Mary’s casual acceptance of Henry’s behaviour with Maria, the cliffhanger ending of Volume 1 in the first edition, and Fanny’s question to Sir Thomas about the slave trade (with Harriet’s theory as to why she asked it).
We talk about Sir Thomas, first considering how he is presented in the text, and then how we reconcile this with the fact that his estate in Antigua is worked by enslaved people. Ellen looks at the clergy, including the presentation of livings, pluralism and absenteeism, and the career path for the clergy. Harriet talks about the popular culture versions.
Things we mention:
General and character discussion:
- John Wiltshire [Editor], The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jane Austen: Mansfield Park (2005)
- Sheila Kaye-Smith and G.B. Stern, Talking of Jane Austen (1943)
- Edward Said, Culture and Imperialism (1993)
- Lona Manning, In Defense of Sir Thomas (2021)
- Octavia Cox, Which is the worst marriage in Jane Austen’s novels? (2021 – YouTube video)
- HBO, The Sopranos (1999-2007 – television series)
Historical discussion:
- Susannah Fullerton, Susannah Fullerton’s Best Books about Jane Austen (2021 – YouTube video)
- Irene Collins, Jane Austen and the Clergy (2002)
Popular culture discussion:
- Adaptations:
- BBC, Mansfield Park (1983) – starring Sylvestra Le Touzel and Nicholas Farrell (6 episodes)
- Miramax, Mansfield Park (1999) – starring Frances O’Connor and Jonny Lee Miller
- ITV, Mansfield Park (2007) – starring Billie Piper and Blake Ritson
- Modernisations:
- YouTube, Foot in the Door Theatre, From Mansfield With Love (2014-2015)
Creative commons music used:
- Extract from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata No. 12 in F Major, ii. Adagio.
- Extract from Joseph Haydn, Piano Sonata No. 38. Performance by Ivan Ilić, recorded in Manchester in December, 2006. File originally from IMSLP.
- Extract from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata No. 13 in B-Flat Major, iii. Allegretto Grazioso. File originally from Musopen.
- Extract from George Frideric Handel, Suite I, No. 2 in F Major, ii. Allegro. File originally from Musopen.
- Extract from Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata&
In this episode, we read Chapters 17 to 21 of Mansfield Park. We talk about Fanny’s moral trajectory during the theatricals, Mary’s casual acceptance of Henry’s behaviour with Maria, the cliffhanger ending of Volume 1 in the first edition, and Fanny’s question to Sir Thomas about the slave trade (with Harriet’s theory as to why she asked it).
We talk about Sir Thomas, first considering how he is presented in the text, and then how we reconcile this with the fact that his estate in Antigua is worked by enslaved people. Ellen looks at the clergy, including the presentation of livings, pluralism and absenteeism, and the career path for the clergy. Harriet talks about the popular culture versions.
Things we mention:
General and character discussion:
- John Wiltshire [Editor], The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jane Austen: Mansfield Park (2005)
- Sheila Kaye-Smith and G.B. Stern, Talking of Jane Austen (1943)
- Edward Said, Culture and Imperialism (1993)
- Lona Manning, In Defense of Sir Thomas (2021)
- Octavia Cox, Which is the worst marriage in Jane Austen’s novels? (2021 – YouTube video)
- HBO, The Sopranos (1999-2007 – television series)
Historical discussion:
- Susannah Fullerton, Susannah Fullerton’s Best Books about Jane Austen (2021 – YouTube video)
- Irene Collins, Jane Austen and the Clergy (2002)
Popular culture discussion:
- Adaptations:
- BBC, Mansfield Park (1983) – starring Sylvestra Le Touzel and Nicholas Farrell (6 episodes)
- Miramax, Mansfield Park (1999) – starring Frances O’Connor and Jonny Lee Miller
- ITV, Mansfield Park (2007) – starring Billie Piper and Blake Ritson
- Modernisations:
- YouTube, Foot in the Door Theatre, From Mansfield With Love (2014-2015)
Creative commons music used:
- Extract from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata No. 12 in F Major, ii. Adagio.
- Extract from Joseph Haydn, Piano Sonata No. 38. Performance by Ivan Ilić, recorded in Manchester in December, 2006. File originally from IMSLP.
- Extract from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata No. 13 in B-Flat Major, iii. Allegretto Grazioso. File originally from Musopen.
- Extract from George Frideric Handel, Suite I, No. 2 in F Major, ii. Allegro. File originally from Musopen.
- Extract from Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata&
Previous Episode
S03E04 Mansfield Park: Episode 4, Chapters 12-16
In this episode, we read Chapters 12 to 16 of Mansfield Park. We talk about why Fanny refuses to act, why Edmund agrees to join in, the sheer amount of comedy in the scenes of the theatricals, and the Cinderella aspect of the plot.
We talk about Tom Bertram, and then Ellen looks at theatre in the Regency period, and why Fanny and Edmund disapprove of the the theatricals. Harriet talks about the popular culture versions, including some modernisations and a variation that she hasn’t looked at before.
Things we mention:
General and character discussion:
- John Wiltshire [Editor], The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jane Austen: Mansfield Park (2005)
- Lionel Trilling, “Mansfield Park“, Partisan Review 21 (September-October 1954): 492-511. Also published in Encounter, September 1954: 9-19.
- Sheila Kaye-Smith and G.B. Stern, Talking of Jane Austen (1943)
Historical discussion:
- Chuck Hudson, ‘Theatre in Georgian England’ (2015)
- Elizabeth Inchbald, Lovers’s Vows [full text on Project Gutenberg] (1798)
- Deirdre Le Faye [Editor], Jane Austen’s Letters (1995)
- Lionel Trilling, “Mansfield Park“, Partisan Review 21 (September-October 1954): 492-511. Also published in Encounter, September 1954: 9-19.
- Claudia L. Johnson and Clara Tuite, 30 Great Myths about Jane Austen (2020)
Popular culture discussion:
- Adaptations:
- BBC, Mansfield Park (1983) – starring Sylvestra Le Touzel and Nicholas Farrell (6 episodes)
- Miramax, Mansfield Park (1999) – starring Frances O’Connor and Jonny Lee Miller
- ITV, Mansfield Park (2007) – starring Billie Piper and Blake Ritson
- Modernisations:
- Westerly Films, Allagash Films, Metropolitan (1990) – starring Carolyn Farina and Edward Clements
- YouTube, Foot in the Door Theatre, From Mansfield With Love (2014-2015)
- D.E. Stevenson, Celia’s House (1943)
- John Mullan, Live at the Hay Festival (2014) [YouTube] – referred to in the discussion of Celia’s House
- Variations:
- Lona Manning, A Contrary Wind(2017), A Marriage of Attachment (2018) and A Different Kind of Woman (2020)
For a list of music used, see this episode on our website.
Next Episode
S03E06 Mansfield Park: Episode 6, Chapters 22-25
In this episode, we read Chapters 22 to 25 of Mansfield Park. We talk about the friendship between Fanny and Mary, the tension between Mary and Edmund, Henry’s plan to make Fanny fall in love with him (and Mary’s reaction), William’s view of Fanny, the tour de force of Chapter 25 (the Speculation chapter), and Ellen’s articulation of why she cares about what happens to Fanny.
We discuss Dr and Mrs Grant, then Harriet’s partner Michael talks about the navy, with a focus on the process of passing from midshipman to lieutenant. Harriet talks about how adaptations and modernisations treat these chapters.
Things we mention:
General and character discussion:
- John Wiltshire [Editor], The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jane Austen: Mansfield Park (2005)
- Pam Perkins, “A Subdued Gaiety: The Comedy of Mansfield Park“, Nineteenth-Century Literature, Vol. 48, No. 1 (Jun., 1993).
- Sheila Kaye-Smith and G.B. Stern, Talking of Jane Austen (1943)
- Barbara Pym, Excellent Women (1952)
- Mary Grant Bruce, Back to Billabong (1921) [NB Goodreads has put up a quite misleading cover illustration.]
- Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (1847)
- Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist (1838)
- Charles Dickens, David Copperfield (1850)
- Kate Douglas Wiggin, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1903)
- L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables (1908)
- Eleanor H. Porter, Pollyanna (1913)
- J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997)
- Frances Burney (Burneyesque heroine)
- Elizabeth Goudge, Henrietta’s House (1942)
Historical discussion:
- Brian Southam, Jane Austen and the Navy (2003)
- Samantha Cavell, Playing at command: midshipmen and quarterdeck boys in the Royal Navy, 1793-1815 (2006) [Master’s thesis] and A Social History of Midshipmen and Quarterdeck Boys in the Royal Navy, 1761-1831 (2010) [Ph.D. thesis]
For a list of other references and music used, see this episode on our website.
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