Chapter 4
Sir Thomas and his first son Tom are away therefore Edmund now has the responsibility of being the man of the house. Lady Bertram does not miss them and is happy on the sofa while both her daughters (Maria and Julia) go husband hunting with Mrs. Norris in her place. Fanny is left out of the hunting and stays at home to attend to Lady Bertram’s needs and to keep her company.
The old grey pony dies, therefore Fanny has no one to ride. Edmund, being the gentleman he is, is appalled and trades one of his three horses for a suitable ladies mount for Fanny. Tom finally returns from Antigua. Maria meets Mr. Rushworth a man of large fortune and feels that it is her duty to marry him and accepts his offer. All but Edmund are happy and see no fault.
Fanny is now eighteen. Mr. and Miss Crawford arrive in Mansfield and join their sister Mrs. Grant at the parsonage. They are sophisticated young people of good fortune and fit in well. Mrs. Grant immediately starts matchmaking for them both and concludes that Miss Crawford’s twenty thousand pound dowry will suit Tom Bertram a Baronet’s son quite well and that Henry Crawford would suit Miss Bertram.
Chapter 5
The Crawford’s finally meet the Bertram’s and all are content. Since Maria is already engaged to Mr Rushworth, Julia has now claimed Henry and is ready and eager to fall in love with him. Henry Crawford and his sister Mary Crawford discuss the “manoeuvring business” of marriage with Mrs. Grant. Despite her qualm on marriage, Miss Crawford has her sights set on the eldest Bertram son Tom, but he leaves. Mary then begins to question Edmund on whether Fanny is ‘out’ or not, and concludes she is not ‘out’.
Chapter 6
With Tom Bertram not around, Miss Crawford shifts her attentions elsewhere. Aunt Norris and Dr. Grant discuss the charms of a Moor Park apricot! Sotherton improvements are talked about much further and removing the avenue is proposed which alarms Fanny who quotes Cowper, ‘Ye fallen avenues, once more I mourn your fate unmerited.’ She expresses a desire and dream to see the avenue before it is cut down. Miss Crawford’s harp is in transit from London, but delayed by the want of a cart in the country during harvest. Edmund is taken aback by some of Mary Crawford’s wild speeches about her uncle the Admiral. Mrs. Grant tends to brag about the improvements that her brother Henry Crawford made to his estate Everingham, and Julia Bertram suggests he advise Mr. Rushworth with his plans for Sotherton. Mrs. Norris sees her niece’s anxieties in Henry Crawford being separated from them and suggests that they should all go to Sotherton, except for Fanny who must attend to Lady Bertram.
( I am reading at a much faster pace)
Related articles
- My summary – Mansfield Park chapters: 1,2 & 3. (sarahstokes.wordpress.com)
The Room of Requirement. 