Maria's Post: Representation of the colony in Mansfield Park

The colony or idea of the empire forms a significant and vital to understand, backdrop to Mansfield Park. Yet it cannot escape ones notice that it remains a very silent part of the novel, though it cannot be by accident that it remains so. It is obvious that Jane Austen intends to do so, to perhaps show this silence as a reflection of reality. In the entire novel, it is significant to notice that who talks and who remains silent is interesting to see. Thus Maria and Julia Bertram, as well as Mary Crawford are very vocal in every sense, whereas Fanny is silent. This association places the colony in a positive light. Yet the representation of the colony is somehow ambivalent in a sense. It is also associated with the slave trade, and lack of order, which needs the surveillance of Sir Thomas to somehow place order. In this sense a dialogue from the novel can be quoted:

“Did you not hear me ask about the slave trade last night?”

“I did- and I was in hopes the question would be followed up by others.

It would have pleased your uncle to be inquired of farther.”

“And I longed to do it-but there was such a dead silence!”

Whatever the ambiguity or ambivalence in Jane Austen’s representation of the colony may be, one fact can be established from the narrative which is that it is essential to maintain life as it is, at home. Even if there may be issues with colonization and domination, the existence and continuity of empire, in my opinion, remains in place without a shadow of a question placed.

Rebbia's Post: The clamor of the dead silence

Antigua is always mentioned in a context of apprehension or sadness. Mrs. Norris fearfully anticipates the death of Thomas and Tom Bertram when they travel to Antigua until a letter confirms otherwise and later Edmund mentions the danger that Tom must have faced while he was in Antigua. Similarly, the Bertram daughters are gloomy when a letter from Antigua informs them of their father’s return that will eventually put an end to their shenanigans and lastly, when Sir Thomas pre-maturely arrives from Antigua, the enlivened atmosphere suddenly turns into sullen one.

However, the surprising change in Sir Thomas’ nature after his return from Antigua changes the context in which this colony is discussed as well. His return from Antigua not only makes him kinder towards Fanny and but also wiser as he starts recognizing the shallowness of Mrs. Norris which eventually results in her removal from Mansfield Park. He also mentions Antigua in a positive manner when he talks about the balls that were held there, contradicting the previously implied perspective of the place as being uncivil and even dangerous.

 Why is Antigua now mentioned in a positive context and why does this coincide with the positive change in Sir Thomas?

Known for using her novels to offer criticism on social issues, my reading of the colony in the novel leads me to conclude that Jane Austen has employed a similar method in Mansfield Park to express her disapproval for slavery. Slave trade in the British Empire was abolished around the same time that this novel was published. However, it is important to note here that even though slave trade was abolished slavery was still in practice and the English were still free to hold slaves in British colonies an example of which is Sir Thomas who owned slaves in Antigua. History tells us that this exercise too would soon end 30 years later meaning that following the slave trade act of 1807, Sir Thomas would have begun facing problems in his plantation in Antigua. This is buttressed by the facts that we are told of the ‘poor returns from Antigua’ and that ‘a large part of [Thomas’] income was unsettled’ earlier in the novel. In addition, Sir Thomas’ early arrival from the plantation may suggest that things had not been working there even though Sir Thomas’ own explanation is that his business was successful and so that is why he could afford to come early. Why then is there dead silence when Fanny questions her uncle about the slave trade?

According to my reading, Austen expresses her disapproval for slavery by punishing Sir Thomas for owning slaves as when his plantation ceases to yield profitable returns he realizes that he will soon lose his colony. Moreover, Sir Thomas faces a number of obstacles after his return from Antigua as both his daughters elope with their lovers bringing disgrace to the family and his son, Tom, becomes grievously ill due to his profligate ways. This makes Sir Thomas see the errors in his ways (read owning slaves) and Austen allows Sir Thomas to redeem himself in that following all difficulties he becomes more human and hence is able to extend kindness to both Fanny, the metaphorical slave, and Antigua, the actual slave.

England; creating humans

England; creating humans

It is indeed sad that once the victory celebration of one human gender’s (female) emancipation from another gender (the infamous male) end, we begin to dedicate our focus to the enslavement of one civilization (the colonies) by the Superior race (British) and start lamentations again. Sad, indeed! But for the things one does for courses, grades and superb instructors we’ll read Mansfield Park in light of the presupposed empire and reinforcing colonial rule. Traces of dominance, authority and the right to control are presented as obvious, as Said points out ‘empire was a universal concern’. Fanny’s character of being meek and submissive was offered as organic and inherent to her (quite like how tea/cotton/jute plantation is JUST what a colonized land has to offer) where there must be permanence and inevitability in her slavery. She can never be sovereign. Eventually we find out that the salvation of Fanny too is in the apparent happy ending of her marriage with Edmund which is further complimented by the fact that the inherited estate is to be shared because Tom falls sick- a disease caught in the Indies! Said’s precision of judgements and analysis is commendable when he says that ‘the book is about how English culture has dealt with land, its possession, imagination and organization’. But this discussion begs another important distinction. While the parallel of Fanny as another colony under Lord Bertram’s government is plausible, we must categorize here that she is a peculiar and special case for Mansfield Park. The Indies were properties in the form of a land, while Fanny is in the form of a human. Investment in the lands were that of parliamentary and industrial sort; ‘relocating England’. Fanny while was subject to deeper and intimate investments; of virtue, morality and Christianity. This is exactly how England establishes its supremacy, above the French, Dutch and Portuguese, while all the acquired land doesn't last for the colonizers, the immortal humans exits the realm of time and adapt the divine-like traits of THE empire that turns out to be even more powerful than what a blood relation can produce. Such is the manufacturing ability of the government that it creates a human from the ordinary raw material of Portsmouth and declares it of worth. The power of Britain hence is so magnificent for Austen that she creates this timeless character, the job of every good writer, and keeps her standing erect to announce the superiority of the Empire’s righteousness and the consequent mediocrity of the rest of the world.             

The Dependency of Mansfield Park on Antigua and Fanny Price

The theme of the colony did not seem very important on a surface-level reading of the novel. However, upon a closer reading, one can say that the colony is an integral part, producing manifold meanings into the novel as discussed below.

According to Edward Said, Sir Thomas “understands for the first time what has been missing in the education of his children, and he understands it in the terms paradoxically provided for him by unnamed outside forces, so to speak, the wealth of Antigua and the imported example of Fanny Price”. He then asks the reader to “note here how the curious alteration of outside and inside…outside becoming the inside by use…”

It seems that Austen has referred to the colony in passing, and casually, just to denote the wealth of Sir Thomas. However, this is not the case, for alternate references could have created the impression of wealth in the residents of Mansfield Park’s life. Austen chose to mention Antigua for a reason, and that was to highlight how Sir Thomas was using his power and taking advantage from slavery to run Mansfield Park. That is, without the existence of the sugar plantations in Antigua, life as it is in Mansfield Park would not have been possible. It is at the expense of these slaves, that Mansfield Park and its residents are up and running; some even using the wealth created extravagantly.

Similarly, the presence of Fanny, the “imported example” is much likened to the slaves of Antigua, who have no will of their own, and live life as dictated by Sir Thomas. Fanny lives a similar life in the first half of the novel, and upon Sir Thomas’s return, when Fanny questions him about the slave trade, “there was such a dead silence!” Perhaps because Sir Thomas did not feel he was accountable to anyone about his doings anywhere; be it Antigua, or Fanny’s presence and treatment in Mansfield Park.

As the novel progresses, one sees that Mansfield Park cannot function without Fanny Price, who has become the “spiritual mistress of Mansfield Park” (Said). Suddenly, Fanny becomes the most sought out person; “it was impossible for her not to be more looked at, more thought of, and attended to, than she had ever been before”. Even Edmund tells Fanny about how “pretty” and admirable Fanny has become in the eyes of Sir Thomas all of a sudden ever since his return, and Sir Thomas’s tremendously improved treatment of Fanny is obvious.

One sees here the immediate relationship between Mansfield Park and its dependence on Antigua, and Mansfield Park and its dependence on Fanny Price. As Said states, “what was wanting within was in fact supplied by the wealth derived from a West Indian Plantation and a poor provincial relative, both brought into Mansfield Park and set to work”. Upon comparison it can be stated that it is the outside which allows the inside to flourish and flow; that at the expense of the outside, does the inside flourish. It seems that Sir Thomas realizes and accepts the importance of Fanny’s presence, and how she holds Mansfield Park together, the same way he knows that it is Antigua which keeps Mansfield park running.

The Colony in Mansfield Park

    Though the colonies are never seen in Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, the dependency of the Bertram estate on Antigua for is upkeep is clear from the beginning. Though a baron, Sir Thomas’s lineage as being particularly old is never mentioned, and his constant attempts at contact making, first with Mr. Rushworth (a man of little merit other than his money) and later Henry Crawford, depicts a man who is still in the process of solidifying his foothold in the British elite. His house too is described as a “modern built house” suggesting that his is a family of new money. Thus the house, and the Bertram name has been built on the income generated in the colonies in the West Indies, a source foreign to Europe. Thus implying, as Edward Said writes in his essay Culture and Imperialism, a “wanting within”. Thus the colony in Mansfield Park, though mentioned a handful of times, is implicit as it is the basis on which the foundation of it titular setting has been built. This invasion of the foreign is particularly interesting, as there seems in the characters a general hesitancy to accept anything that seems un-British, for examples the French sexuality exhibited by Mary Crawford and it is only one who mirrors the morals and social attitudes of Thomas Bertram that can be accepted. It is for this reason that Fanny, another foreign element, is at the end the one who is assimilated into Mansfield Park.

    Both the money generated in Antigua and Fanny one bought to Mansfield Park are used to build up a front that holds true to British values of the time and neither holds in it any signs of its roots. Thus the colony is unapparent in the novel, as are signs of Portsmouth in Fanny.

Of Silence, Slavery and Mansfield Park

"Did not you hear me ask him about the slave trade last night?"

"I did - and was in hopes the question would be followed up by others. It would have pleased your uncle to be inquired of farther."

"And I longed to do it - but there was such a dead silence!”

This exchange between Edmund and Fanny holds immense important especially in relation to Austen’s reference to Antigua and subject of slavery. Edward Said interprets it “as to suggest that one world could not be connected with the other since there simply is no common language for both.”

At first this simply seems to suggest that similar to Austen’s novel the Bertham household has nothing to say about remark about slavery when in fact that organization of both is premised upon unfree people.

Interestingly this theme of silence is integral to understanding the hypocritical and profound disorder at Mansfield-where sisters wage an unspoken battle over Henry Crawford, where an intimidating father who exploits his daughters and where adultery occurs. All these events occur yet no one speaks about them or mentions them to others. It is remarked that “no sounds of contention, no raised voices, no abrupt bursts, no treads of violence were ever heard” at Mansfield Park. Yet when Fanny is in Portsmouth she craves this silence.

Said argues that “what assures the domestic tranquility and attractive harmony of one, is the productivity and regulated discipline of the other.” This is could imply the successful silencing of the “other” at the hands of the oppressor.  This is again reflected where Said mentions the phrase “complete subordination of colony to the metropolis”, the phrase itself has connotations of a forceful act which led to the silencing of the colony.

Silence is one of the most instrumental tools at the hands of the oppressor. By silencing the oppressed, the barbaric treatment of ‘others’ become the norm and no one questions it. The ‘other’ start some level start believing that they are responsible for their own treatment. And the silence of the masses continues to exacerbate the problem. 

Throughout the novel, the voice of the slaves is silenced as we never really get their perspective. Austen’s focus remains on the slave owners and their lives. The name of Antigua is mentioned a mere nine times in the novel again suggesting the silent role of the slavery in the novel and Austen’s lack of ability to openly criticize it. 

Mansfield Park/Colony?

The title of the novel itself represents colonialism. Mansfield Park is shown as a place in the novel which is full of interactions between slaves and the slave owners. Mansfield Park is being depicted as a colony with Lord Bertram as the master. The novel was finished in 1813 by Austen when six years had passed to the abolition act of transatlantic slave trading. But the novel has been set to ‘about thirty years ago’ that was beginning of the abolition movement. This depicts the level of interest Austen showed in this controversy surrounding around abolitionism of slave trade and her interest is evident in the novel as well. For an instance in chapter 21 of the novel, Fanny talks to Edmund about Sir Thomas’s slave plantation is Antingua “did you not hear me ask him about the slave trade last night? - but there was such dead silence! “Sir Thomas and and the other Bertrams just sat in silence when Fanny asked this question from her uncle. Their indifference reflects disassociation of the upper class such as the Bertrams from the lives of the slaves, let alone talk about them.

Fanny is depicted as a slave in the novel who rises to her own freedom from her sense of morality. An analogy can be drawn between Fanny and Maria Edgworth’s black slave in her story “The Grateful Negro” (1804). On the other hand Mrs. Norris who can be compared to a slave trader from how she treats and thinks of Fanny, loses her power towards the end of the novel as laws are being passed that are reducing the powers available to slave owners and empowering slaves.

There are also instances in the novel where the Bertram girls express the female oppression that is evident in Mansfield Park. When Maria is visiting Mr. Rushworth’s home she comes across a locked gate and remarks: “that iron gate gives me a feeling of restraint and hardship, I cannot get out." The feelings of the Bertram girls show how Mansfield Park is accurately depicting the presence of slave trade In England. The way these girls gain freedom from this oppression themselves, however, is just sad.

How Fanny adapts to this by the end of the novel is rather surprising. She visits Portsmouth and on her way back chooses her sister Susan as a suitable companion for her to take back with her to Mansfield Park. It’s like Portsmouth is like a metropolis of a slave market from where she chooses the best one. Fanny is shown to have embraced imperialism.

Farheen's Post: Antigua as a Trope of the “Imperialist Mission”

The cryptic use of Antigua in Mansfield Park needs to be decoded with reference to the political, economic and social conditions of 19^th Century Imperial Britain.

The novel engages in the social conversation of that time when it makes allusions to slavery, common in the colonies especially the West Indies. The judgment passed in Somerset v. Stewart by Lord Mansfield making slavery unlawful on English soil heavily influences the name of the novel. The mention of the slave trade by Fanny on Sir Thomas’ return from Antigua is met by silence which signifies the apathy of engaging with the concerns of the indigenous people. Their existence was almost entirely ignored. Edward Said makes the argument that English literature in the 19^th Century alluded to colonies only acknowledging their existence in the periphery of their conscience but ignoring their independent cultural identity. By doing so, the British government controlled the domestic attitude about the colonies as merely extensions of the mainland where the English culture and rule was intact and in full force.

Mansfield Park joins the tradition of similar narratives by following the story of an English domestic establishment that sustains its particular lifestyle in England by engaging in trade with plantations in the colonies. Antigua instead of India being such a source of trading wealth suggests that the Bertrams were part of the emerging middle class of British society. This might have been to facilitate a low-born cousin to rise to the position of mistress of the manor, however it may have been so since India (East Indies) was perceived by Europeans as a place with an independent cultural and economic identity. Antigua however did not enjoy such a reputation of independent heritage so its mention in MP is vital for reinforcing the righteousness of the Imperialist project to maintain control over the Empire.

Britain’s imperialist mission encompassed spreading “civilization, commerce, and Christianity” is furthered with reference to Antigua rather than Canada since a West Indian colony in which natives referred to as Creoles outnumbered white settlers. Creoles were seen as uncivilized, ignorant, and in need of spiritual enlightenment — desperately in need of guidance from the superior white man. Thus, the specific use of Antigua in Mansfield Park succinctly conveys the domestic attitudes towards and as a result of the Imperialist mission.

The colony in the novel

“The empire must be maintained, and it was maintained”

In his essay, Said analyses a wide range of literary texts, which he uses as sources for understanding the dynamics of the whole imperialist enterprise. Mansfield Park represents the center of the empire, the imperial holding of sorts. It is the place where moral values are upheld and it is important to point out that this location is distinguished from all other locations within the novel because of these very values. The colony, on the other hand, is the ever-present but more importantly, silent reference within the novel. Sir Thomas Bertram’s livelihood whisks him away to this foreign land for months on end and yet his business activities are hardly ever mentioned in detail. According to Said the geographical locations that underlie Western fiction are built into a hierarchy within which “the metropolitan center and, gradually, the metropolitan economy are seen as dependent upon an overseas system of territorial control, economic exploitation, and a socio-cultural vision: without these stability and prosperity at home would not be possible” Thus the colony serves a very important purpose within the novel for it services the British imagination. Antigua is not allowed to infiltrate upon the estate but rather it stands as a direct parallel to it. Though Austen displays the “audacity” to speak about the existence of these colonies, she does not explicitly condemn them. As Said says, ”Austen sublimates the agonies of Caribbean existence to a mere half dozen passing references to Antigua.” In this way the colony is not just physically exploited but constantly devalued as well.

When Fanny returns to Portsmouth, her perspective of her own home is completely altered. She sees it through the eyes of the colonizer, lamenting at the “smallness of the house, the thinness of the walls” and the fact that her return fails to elicit any response from her father. There is almost a superiority that she attaches to her cultured self that is a direct result of her stay in Mansfield. She serves as a critical instrument of the empire in the novel, almost as a lens, for she provides a change in perspective. She looks to reform people in her home space to an ordered setting, which is the same logic that the colonizer sets out with. Portsmouth then stands as a parallel to the uncivilized colony of Antigua.

A perfectly transformed subject and the national imagination.

Mansfield park contains several references, both explicit and implicit to the idea of colonization and seems to have an underlying theme of a form of national domesticity in a large imperial holding. From this theme of colonization comes the perfect subject, that is Fanny who continues to develop within the colonial framework, with ideals necessary for the continuity of a particular colony.

Fanny comes to Mansfield as a 10 year old blank slate and develops her morality through the ways of Edmund. In some sense she comes to portray a sort of Christian morality that is important in gauging how the colonized subject becomes representative of a national idea of morality. For instance Fanny's immediate agreement with Edmund regarding Mary Crawford's 'somewhat' improper behaviour in the choice of words for her uncle and her disapproval of rehearsing 'Lovers Vows', show her to be an instrument in judging morality. Apart from this, Fanny appears to have been transformed completely in terms of her general mannerism and behaviour as well, in terms of her gaining more knowledge etc. Here the contrasting features of someone who is colonized and someone who is not are shown through her visit to Portsmouth. She arrives at Portsmouth only to be completely startled at the miserable and disgusting air of the place, showing how someone who is colonized is perhaps in a far better position economically as well as better off  in terms of civility. Not only is her behaviour analogous to that of a colonized being, but the general features of Portsmouth as having an unordered, lawless character are reflective of how such a place is outside the boundaries of a 'national imagination'.      

Other screaming evidence that reminds me of Fanny actually playing the double role of a colonized subject is that of her relationship with Thomas Bertram who in this case plays the role of the colonizer. More specifically the peculiarly possessive response Thomas Bertram has to her rejection of Henry's proposal, highlights how the colonizers operate such as to impose their own ideas onto the colonized completely, right down to their very personal decisions. In this way the idea of a microscopic-household related domesticity translates into a sort of national domesticity that may be applied for the case of a colonized-colonizer relationship.

Hence, in some way the point Said makes regarding how the colonized benefits from the process itself makes sense when analysing Fanny's own character development. However, once the relationship between Fanny and Sir Bertram is analysed, to me the process of colonization only appears a breach upon a degree of personal freedom that every individual must be entitled too.   

     

      

.......

‘Mr. Bertram set off for B___,’

‘His business in Antigua had latterly been prosperously rapid, and he came directly from Liverpool,..’

Above are some of the references which reveal the silence of the place from where the Bertram family draws all its wealth from. Though Thomas Bertram’s absence from Mansfield Park is being talked about in the course of the novel, he is never shown to be present in Antigua. It is that grey area where he is only engaged to look after his business. Also, the place where Thomas Bertram sets off to cater to his business is only referred to as ‘B____’, indicating that it is not important for a reader to know that detail.

Moreover, there are also Eurocentric references in the novel which convey the idea of the importance of a mighty empire. When Fanny comes to Mansfield Park, she is considered to be a very stupid person initially as she ‘cannot put the map of Europe together’ but she does know about the ‘Isle of Wight’, despite all her ignorance. This says a good deal about the idea of British as one mighty empire which is the heart of everything.

Lastly, there is also a lot of emphasis on an authority figure which brings order and discipline in the lives of people living around. This idea ties in closely with the colonial masters’ mission of bringing civilization to the uncivilized and disorderly. In absence of Sir Thomas’s absence from Mansfield Park, a lot goes wrong. There is frivolous engagement going on between the young people, Mrs. Bertram is indifferent to everything and Mrs. Norris is not suitable to take up the role. Mr. Thomas’s return changes things to a great extent. ‘Under his government, Mansfield was an altered place.’ In the second part of the novel, this colonial authority is also displayed by Fanny who takes up the charge of fixing things in Portsmouth which are disordered and dirty. She is repelled by the dirtiness of things, ‘smallness of the house’ and ‘thinness of the walls.’ She has internalized the ‘good’ values and lifestyle of Mansfield and finds everything in her own home in Portsmouth repelling, creating the dichotomy between civilized and uncivilized.

The Colony in Mansfield Park, A Said and Maryam Wasif inspired analysis

The Colony in Mansfield Park

In Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, the concept of a colony holds a rather nuanced meaning for me. The obvious thing to note about it is the scarcity of reference – the word colony or the colony in question “Antigua” has been mentioned according to Said, “a mere half a dozen times of passing reference”. At face value, it might seem that this relegates the colony in terms of importance to the periphery, in stark contrast to the metropolis of the English imagination that happens to be Mansfield Park. However, the brilliance of Said’s argument in my opinion lies in him pointing out the contradictory nature of this relegation. Even though Mansfield Park happens to be the metropolis and Antigua the periphery, the metropolis or the core wouldn’t be so without the periphery. In an almost Hegelian way, the interaction of the periphery and the core and the otherizing that takes place hitherto, fuels the nationalism of the English imagination that terms these colonies as mere agricultural “estates” or “extensions” as Mill’s quotation in Said would have it. Once, the otherizing process reaches its natural conclusion, the colony becomes a point of contrast for the adherents of the English imagination. To begin with, according to Said, the dominant discourse of the one wielding power “assumes the silence” of the dominated. By virtue of falling outside an exclusive national outlook, a lot of processes including spatial and territorial “incorporation”, “inclusion”, “Direct rule” and “coercion” take place but due to the fact that the imagination is exclusive and its exclusivity is dependent upon its superiority, the inferiority of the colony and its recognition is assumed and the “acknowledgement” necessary is never forthcoming.

Even if and when the acknowledgement does come, its one which is more or less, always tinged by a degree of condescension. Fanny considers her uncle’s talk of the West Indies as something entertaining. This doesn’t imply a sense of true curiosity because an objective and non-partisan listener would find them informative or satiating. The degree of hilarity implied via the use of the word entertaining shows the same superiority, encapsulated in the English imagination and typified and epitomized by Fanny that Said was so quick to point out. The fact that the colony is merely seen as an “object” to support and sustain the empire can also be extrapolated via the reference made of the East Indies as the place where William could get a shawl. If East Indies was a human being, people would allege Austen of gross commodification and dehumanization. In this context, though, this only holds up Said’s argument about the periphery’s identity as a source of convenience to the metropolis. Another instance where we can see the chauvinism intrinsic to the English imagination is the musings of Mrs. Price in which she is wondering whether Sir Thomas would take send her eldest of 10 years old to the West Indian estate as “no situation could be beneath him”. This shows, firstly, a very pessimistic view of the colony as a place that wasn’t the safe haven that England was and going there would be unfortunate to say the very least. Also, it could be seen as a place for disposing of the excess for the economic situation of Mrs. Price made William a burden she would love to get off her chest.

Mahnoor Shahid's Post: The Colony in Mansfield Park

The reality of slavery and colonialism though scarcely explained and subtly mentioned at many points in the novel is prevalent in the functionality of Mansfield Park. On the surface, Mansfield Park is a home to the Bertrand’s and their guests but as one goes to the roots of the characters and examines their roles and positions within this setting, their roles as colonizers fall into place. Characters such as Fanny Price and Sir Thomas are prime examples of this.

Sir Thomas is directly involved with a colony as he leaves Mansfield to go to Antigua and settle his affairs there whereas, Fanny is indirectly playing Sir Thomas’s role as a colonizer or imperialist as she takes it upon herself to transfer her family to a more orderly atmosphere.

 Mansfield Park and Portsmouth can be seen as two contrasts as one (Mansfield) reflects England’s metropolis, a civilized orderly place whereas Portsmouth is seen as a slave market in this metropolis. Hence, it can be said that Fanny is like an imperialist going to a slave market (Portsmouth) and as she goes there she feels out of place and superior to her siblings due to her polished environment at Mansfield. She takes her advantageous upbringing as her duty to pass on her superior knowledge. Thus her bringing Susan to Mansfield is an act that coincides with the British going into the West Indies to civilize the people and create colonies.  This analysis coincides with Edwards Said’s views as he says; “I think Austen sees what Fanny does as a domestic or small scale movement in space that corresponds to the larger, more openly colonial movements of Sir Thomas, her mentor”

Said also points out that Antigua is seen as a “usable colony” as the British go there and bring back what they can make use of just as Lady Bertrand expects her husband (Sir Thomas) to bring her back a shawl. Fanny’s bringing Susan to Mansfield can be paralleled to this as she sees good in Susan, a good that can make her useful. This is evident when Fanny observes Susan’s character as she thinks to herself “Susan saw that much was wrong at home, and wanted to set it right.”

Haniya's Post: The Colony in Mansfield

The function of Space is an important theme when looking at Mansfield Park.  Said asserts that “Mansfield Park is very precisely about a series of both small and large dislocations and relocations in space that occur before, at the end of the novel” it coincides with the colonial/imperialist mission of naturalizing lands and organizing space; just like Mansfield is seen as an ordered and organized place in contrast to Portsmouth. This reallocation and organization of space is most evident at Mr. Rushworth’s estate Sotherton.

The walls beyond his estate were referred to as “wilderness” which corresponded to the colonial mindset of lands outside their motherland or the metropolis as being wild and unorganized. The grounds of the Sotherton estate were “bowling-green and the terrace.” It was an artificial way of organizing the “wilderness.”  The avenue that had the old trees was being cut down to “open the prospect amazingly” shows how colonizers reallocated and dislocated spaces to organize a place. The woods at the Rushworth estate were also planted and “laid out with too much regularity.” We see a very conscious effort of the colonizer dominating nature and taking over the space to organize it to suit him. Mr. Rushworth also wants to give the old house a “modern dress” which the colonizers also did to native lands; they took away their culture, history and tradition and replaced it with modern imperial ones. Whatever happens in the colony is not talked about at home and the morally sick are sent there for instance Tom is sent to Antigua. Similarly, when Maria and Henry jump over the gates and escape into the wilderness, the reader does not get to know what happens there and what the two characters are up to; the “wilderness” and the grounds beyond the gates are like Antigua about which we do not know much. 

Colonies and The Mansfield Park

According to Said’s article, in approaching Mansfield Park three interpretive themes come into central focus:  order; slavery and empire; and, finally, marriage.  All these themes work together to reveal what Austen may have intended her readers to understand about Mansfield Park or society in general. One of the most prominent themes is of strong presence of colonies. There are thematic elements of slavery within Mansfield Park.  There are direct references to an estate held in Antigua by Sir Thomas, and implicit in these references is the presence of slaves on such a plantation; this implication is never stated explicitly.  The novel was written and is set in a time when slavery was still practiced within the British Empire, though the buying and selling of slaves was by this point illegal. Said argues that even though Austen has indirectly mentioned about Sir Thomas’s Caribbean property, she was well aware of the ‘evident historical realities’. Even though there is a casual reference to the colonies held by Sir Thomas but it is very important to formulate the whole novel and also develop one of the central themes of ‘order’. Sir Thomas’s control and order could be seen by analyzing his conduct in Mansfield and also when he is away.

In her novel Austen portrays that the survival of England is dependent upon its colonies because of which Sir Thomas has to go ‘abroad’.  Also these colonies; Caribbean, India, Antigua and Mediterranean, are looked down upon because of which gentlemen who are unsuitable for nobility are sent to these colonies. Also these are a source of fulfilling their lust as Mrs. Norris demanded William to go so he could get her shawls,

“That I may have a shawl. I think I’ll have two shawls.”

All these factors point out to the fact that even though colonies were indirectly and scarcely mentioned in the novel but they do play an important part in building the theme of the novel and also giving body to the characters.

Mansfield Park and Colonies

According to Said’s article, in approaching Mansfield Park three interpretive themes come into central focus:  order; slavery and empire; and, finally, marriage.  All these themes work together to reveal what Austen may have intended her readers to understand about Mansfield Park or society in general. One of the most prominent themes is of strong presence of colonies. There are thematic elements of slavery within Mansfield Park.  There are direct references to an estate held in Antigua by Sir Thomas, and implicit in these references is the presence of slaves on such a plantation; this implication is never stated explicitly.  The novel was written and is set in a time when slavery was still practiced within the British Empire, though the buying and selling of slaves was by this point illegal. Said argues that even though Austen has indirectly mentioned about Sir Thomas’s Caribbean property, she was well aware of the ‘evident historical realities’. Even though there is a casual reference to the colonies held by Sir Thomas but it is very important to formulate the whole novel and also develop one of the central themes of ‘order’. Sir Thomas’s control and order could be seen by analyzing his conduct in Mansfield and also when he is away.

In her novel Austen portrays that the survival of England is dependent upon its colonies because of which Sir Thomas has to go ‘abroad’.  Also these colonies; Caribbean, India, Antigua and Mediterranean, are looked down upon because of which gentlemen who are unsuitable for nobility are sent to these colonies. Also these are a source of fulfilling their lust as Mrs. Norris demanded William to go so he could get her shawls,

“That I may have a shawl. I think I’ll have two shawls.”

All these factors point out to the fact that even though colonies were indirectly and scarcely mentioned in the novel but they do play an important part in building the theme of the novel and also giving body to the characters.

WILLIAM PRICE: Austen's Tribute to the Empire (in 550 words!)

Upon my first look at ‘Mansfield Park’, I naturally found myself captivated by the intricacy of relationships dominating the plot (hoping Fanny would succumb to Henry Crawford’s charm), absolutely blind to Austen’s artistic integration of colonialism into the world of Mansfield. Exhibiting her loyalty to the ‘Empire’, and her adherence to its “moral and social values” as Said puts it in ‘Culture and Imperialism’, she exhibits her unwavering loyalty to Britain’s domination – manifested by its imperialist expeditions. The strong colonialist undercurrent ingeniously ends up delegating a functional role to the Empire; it drives the entire action of the novel without calling explicit attention towards itself, and simultaneously allows Austen to weave a critique of the essence of ‘national domesticity’ into her writing without going against her unquestionable position of subordination to the Empire’s wishes.

This blog post will focus on one aspect of the massive theme of ‘The Colony in Mansfield Park’ – how William Price is Austen’s carefully constructed tribute to the British Empire’s supremacy.

Since the Bertrams, who enable three Price siblings to rise above their constricted domestic circumstances, are governed by the patriarchal rule of Sir Thomas (whose association with Antigua easily makes him representative of the Empire’s colonial ambitions), William’s Horatio Alger-esque rise to social status is symbolic of the multi-faceted benefits linked to colonization, and becomes testimony to Britain’s sensibility in spending time and effort on such expeditions. Austen validates the merits of imperialism for all its participants by representing William through the lens of Henry Crawford, who “wished he had been a William Price, distinguishing himself and working his way to fortune and consequence”. Henry holds the “highest respect” for the young sailor whose “heroism” and “usefulness” at sea make his “own habits of self-indulgence appear in shameful contrast”. Here, it is important to appreciate William’s accomplishment – by managing to fire Henry Crawford’s “fancy” enough to actually make him want to seek ambition, he has given an aimless philanderer hope for direction. By making a high class gentleman aspire to be a sailor with a rags-to-riches narrative, Austen is able to demonstrate the sheer power imperialism holds in being an effort worth embarking upon.

William’s character also becomes a subtle revelation of the global preeminence of the British Empire through the “great deal” he has seen. He is described as having “been in the Mediterranean – in the West Indies – in the Mediterranean again”, and before the novel ends he is surely on his way to India. This points out an important element I don’t have enough words left to discuss, how the Empire ranks colonies according to a certain hierarchy, and William has to go through the rigor of experience in the lower order colonies before he is deemed worthy enough to touch the East.

Austen also touches upon the cultural enlightenment brought about by imperialism, through the way Sir Thomas engages in conversation with William about the “balls of Antigua”, and encourages his nephew to similarly recount “the different modes of dancing which had fallen within his observation”.  Association with new civilizations entails luxury of knowledge, experience and materialism only the Empire’s finest can afford, most clearly emphasized by the way Lady Bertram expresses an interest in acquiring not one, but two Indian “shawls” (all the more significant because she cares about something that’s not her “pug”).

"Dead Silence"

Edward Said in “Culture and Imperialism” is quite right in emphasizing the economic dependence of the Mansfield estate on colonialism thereby making slavery and the slave owner one of the most critical concerns of the novel, Mansfield Park. Antigua in the novel is not only the personal piggy bank for the Bertrams but is also the home of riches where Lady Bertram can get valuable shawls. Yet no one in the novel except Fanny questions the on-goings in Antigua and her attempt to discuss the pressing issue with her uncle is also followed by “dead silence” while his children sit “without speaking a word”. This silence shows Sir Bertram’s position of not being answerable to his subjects but more importantly reveals his shameful dependence on a business that he would prefer to pass over in silence. Any answer would not be a satisfactory one for Fanny who dared to question the position of the oppressed people in Antigua and neither for her uncle who would have to expose himself as vulnerable and in front of the domestic slave of Mansfield Park. In fact Sir Bertram’s indifference or neglect of his colonized subjects is evident in the fact that the term ‘slave’ is never used in the novel by the slave owner, his family or the narrator. It is only used by Fanny as she gives an account of her conversation with her uncle to Edmund saying, “Did you not hear me ask him about the slave trade last night?” Thus Sir Bertram’s silence becomes even more significant as it highlights the moral indifference of Fanny’s younger cousins and their father to the slaves and in doing so puts the concerned Fanny on a higher moral pedestal. We also see Edmund as the other good character when he encourages Fanny to spur more such inquiries as it would make the “family’s evening conversation more – not less – comfortable.”

Later in the novel when Sir Bertram seems eager to discuss the issue, she doesn’t want to pursue the topic anymore for she too realizes that her position in the household hierarchy does not allow her to do so. When his own children remain silent on their father’s ethical interests and economic projects, there Fanny feels uncomfortable talking about Sir Bertram’s colonial holdings and wealth. She does not want to ruin the civil relationship with her uncle and indicates to Edmund a possibly happy association saying, “I love to hear my uncle talk of the West Indies....It entertains me more than any other things have done.”Therefore, we see a forced silence on Fanny’s part as she shuns any possible discussion on her uncle’s slaves keeping in mind her fragile existence in his household.

Austen's image of the Colony in Mansfield Park.

If one is to look at the role that the colony plays in Austen’s Mansfield Park, then he/she will have to look at the picture that Austen paints of the Bertram family and their social standing as well as their attitudes towards it.

As Said says:

“Sir Thomas’s overseas possessions- … -give him his wealth, occasion his absences, fix his social status at home and abroad, and make possible his values to which Fanny Price (and Austen herself) finally subscribes.”

Given that Sir Thomas’s status is derived mostly out of his colonial possessions, and the underlying plot of the novel is Fanny Price’s social mobility to the status enjoyed by the Bertram family, the role of the colony is of utmost importance. The colony is the source of Bertram wealth and power. Moreover, as per Said, "the right to colonial possession helps directly to establish social order and moral priorities at home".Which means that the whole theme of morality that exists in MP is a direct function of the Colony possession.However,the colony only exists as a source of the said wealth and status. It is a possession to be owned, its people however do not merit any consideration. They are just there and they should have nothing to say. As Said says:

    "The universalizing discourse of modern Europe and the United States assume the silence, willing or otherwise, of the non European world. ... But there is only infrequently an acknowledgement that the colonized people should be heard from, their ideas known."

Assuming the silence of the colonized, Austen, like most of the other British writers of that time paints the Colony with a very imperialistic brush. The picture of the colony which Austen paints goes hand in hand with the British national narrative i.e.

1) its good to have a colonial plantation or two if you are willing to put up with the colonised; 

2) Colonies are a good place for fripperies like shawls and the sort; 

3) Colonies must make money and give us power otherwise what is the point.   

Given this context, what can be concluded is that a colony is a vastly important possession to have. As for the question of the colonized- there is nothing to ask or tell- they are a people “without history”. (Or in many cases they are not even a people- so don’t be impolite by asking about those sad colored things.)

The Colony in Mansfield Park

Edward Said criticizes the treatment of colonies in nineteenth century British novels. The novel, “fundamentally tied to bourgeois society”, presents the upper class ideals of English nationalism while simultaneously reinforcing British imperialism. Colonial expansion is not only presented in a positive light but considered a necessity for the colonizer in order to maintain a certain lifestyle.

As Said points out, the colony, Antigua in the case of Mansfield Park, though significant to the novel itself is only mentioned in passing. The name is used only when absolutely necessary, which comes out to a total of nine times in the entire novel. Other than references to Sir Thomas’ business affairs and travels Antigua is referred to once: when discussing “different modes of dancing” at the ball. Not only are Lord Bertram’s actions in the colony irrelevant but the very idea of Antigua as a colony is ignored. The colony is merely a topic for idle conversation, or, in Fanny’s opinion “entertain[ment]”.

The topic of slavery has been given somewhat similar treatment. The word slave is first used by Fanny when she reminds Edmund of Sir Thomas ignoring her question about it. Since Sir Thomas is not presented as the moral compass anyway, his lack of response only shows his true nature when it comes to compromising principles. On the other hand, Fanny’s desire to question her uncle’s morality, one she is evidently indebted to, is a contrast. Slavery is relevant only to the extent that it is used to define the characters, or as Said put it: “importance of empire to the situation at home”.

            While the novel does seem to have an unapologetic tone, Said writes that it is unreasonable to “expect Jane Austen to treat slavery with anything like the passion of an abolitionist or a newly liberated slave”. However, her casual use of the word slave is quite unforgivable [“Miss Crawford was not the slave of opportunity”]. At a point in time when slavery was very much a reality, such a use of the word seems insensitive. Although slavery in England was not banned till 1833, slave trade had already been abolished, which suggests that opposition to slavery did in fact exist at the time.

            Judging from the slave narrative of the novel, Jane Austen was very much aware of slavery at her time. She, however, chose to highlight the position of women within England rather than addressing the issue of imperialism itself. Her own attitude, towards the institution of slavery, might not have been in line with cosmopolitanism.

Colony in Mansfield Park: The role of Antigua in the novel.

The luxury of Mansfield Park and the life that Fanny Price is able to live there is sustained by the estate in Antigua. Said argues that, “what assures the domestic tranquility and attractive harmony of one, is the productivity and regulated discipline of the other.” Because, Lord Bertram is managing his colonial plantation, his domestic estate can survive; domestic sustainability can only be achieved if the colonial lands provide for them. However, Said fails to question the “disharmony” that exists at Mansfield and Fanny’s place within it.

The constant mention of Antigua means that the colonial narrative is ever present in the readers’ consciousness. However, Said feels that the slight references to Antigua do not do justice to it. Sir Thomas’s colony is isolated from his family which remains millions of miles across the globe. And Said has a fair problem with that. We hear of the slave owner, not the slave so, the slave is just a far off entity whose presence is implied and whose work results in prosperity for Lord Bertram. Even Jane Austen focuses on this issue in Lady Bertram’s treatment of India as a place only good for the commodities it can offer, “I may have a shawl. I think I will have two shawls. His ultimate point is that the ‘Antigua’ seen in Mansfield Park is no more than a place for work, necessary for obtaining personal luxuries and fortune for the locals of Britain. Austen does not deny this in her novel, but she does not shout about it either.

Said also portrays Fanny and Lord Bertram as having a more compatible relationship than actually present. In fact, Fanny defies Bertram’s wishes in her choice to marry Edmund, further when she questions him about the slave trade, and is met with “dead silence”, it seems that in fact she is not accepting it, but is implying a connection with the slavery practiced in Antigua and the paternal practice of selling off one’s female dependents into matrimony, to gain social standing.

Said is of the view that, “Jane Austen sees the legitimacy of Sir Thomas’s overseas properties as a natural extension of the calm, the order, the beauties of Mansfield park, one central estate validating the supportive role of the peripheral other” which is quite true since, the money to sustain the estate and provide domestic sustainability is provided by the colonial estate. Hence, we can say that Austen references to Antigua and colonialism are definitely complicit in normalizing ideas of empire in the British consciousness.

That conflicting thing called 'Abroad'

In projecting what Raymond William calls a 'knowable community' of Englishmen and women, Jane Austen, Gorge Eliot and Mrs Gaskel shaped the idea of England in such a way as to give it identity, presence and ways of reusable articulation. And part of this idea was the relationship between "home" and "abroad". Thus England was surveyed, evaluated, made known, whereas "abroad" was only referred to or shown briefly without the kind of presence or immediacy lavished on London, the countryside or northern industrial centres such as Manchester or Birmingham.
(Culture and Imperialism, Edward Said)
There's this painting of queen Elizabeth I(on the right) in which she has her hand lightly resting on the globe, not furiously clutching or anxiously holding on to it, rather the hand is delicately put on the globe as if recognizing it's presence and her ownership of  it. I couldn't help but think that it was exactly in line with the idea of "abroad" represented in the Eighteenth century British novel. Novelists don't hold on to "abroad" like their story depends on it rather "abroad" like a ghost hovers in the air, recognised and mentioned in passing a couple of times. This ghost in a way assists to establish the reality of "home" which becomes all the more real due to the presence of the unreal ghost.
This idea is affirmed by Said in the argument in the quoted passage above. Said rightly asserts that the "immediacy" of the reality of home is made all the more striking due to the presence of abroad "which is only referred to". This argument applies well to Mansfield Park. Though Antigua, Sir Thomas's estate, is the place which provides "identity" and "presence" to Mansfield Park but it is only shown in the slightest of ways to the point that we, as readers, hear of Sir Thomas's letters home but are never presented with evidence of those letters because of their connection with "abroad".
 But with regard to Said's argument, I felt that there's a salient nuance in the relationship of "abroad" and "home" which has been missed, that is, the idea that abroad is a natural extension of home. This same idea would propel a monarch of England to show ownership of the globe because the monarch- by extension then, becomes an authority for abroad as well; England becomes the Great Empire. Abroad then in a sense is not that which is non-home but that which is in a twisted way, is under the ownership of the home, is important for the economic betterment of home; yet in the imagination of the residents of home it is a far flung reality. Maybe that's reading too much into it. But then abroad is a conflated entity, lurking somewhere between the home and non-home- at least in the British colonial sensibility.

The Colony in the Novel: Fanny as a colonized subject

“The Bertrams slave plantation in Antigua is mysteriously necessary to the poise and the beauty of Mansfield Park” (Said).

Jane Austen positions the colony in the setting of Mansfield Park in a very pointed manner to depict how Sir Thomas treats his business in Antigua in a casual behavior. She highlights this attitude through the minimal references being made to Antigua. Said quotes Mill about the purpose of the colonies and states that the colonies are “to be considered as hardly anything more than a convenience” (Said).

A link can be made to a post-imperialist setting if a parallel is drawn with Fanny Price – the colonizers never considered the colonies as independent nations and the colonies were still regarded as weak and disadvantaged afterwards as well. Fanny Price moved from a small space to a large one, but at the end of the novel she is still situated in Mansfield Park and continues to serve Sir Thomas and his family. After all, social mobility is only possible to a certain extent.Apart from Antigua as a reference to a colony, Portsmouth can also be seen as a colony. Fanny Price moved from Portsmouth to Mansfield Park to serve Lady Bertram, similar to the fashion in which the British colonies served Britain in terms of material goods and manpower.  When the Bertram’s initially made the decision to take up the responsibility for Fanny in their home, it can be suggested that this signified the success Sir Thomas would face in his business in Antigua. Similar to Antigua, Fanny was an investment which proved worthy in the end when Edmund decided to marry her.

With this analysis of Portsmouth as a colony and Fanny’s upward movement to Mansfield, it is interesting to note how throughout the novel Lady Bertram makes several mentions of how she cannot do without Fanny’s services.  When Fanny journeys back to Portsmouth Lady Bertram feels the need for Fanny in Mansfield; colonizers show a dependency towards the colony for their personal well being – how else will Lady Bertram get her shawls and where from?!

As Edward Said stated, “the metropolis gets its authority to a considerable extent from the devaluation as well as the exploitation of the outlying colonial possession.”

The emancipation (read Anglicization) of the colonized subject: Fanny Price

The Bertram household functions as a microcosm for the nation. When she arrives at Mansfield Park as a ten-year-old, she is immediately relegated to an inferior status. As the cousin of the Bertrams, she is brought to the household for a chance at a better life. Yet Mrs Norris immediately implies that "it is not at all necessary that she should be as accomplished as you are; -- on the contrary, it is much more desirable that there should be a difference". And each one of them sure throughout the course of the novel that she remains different. She lives in the attic; potential husbands are always suggested for Maria and Julia. Fanny always remains on the sidewalks. This is especially highlighted in the incident at Sotherton when the group goes into the wilderness and Fanny is left alone on the bench while Edmund and Miss Crawford foray into the woods: "She watched them till they had turned the corner, and listened till all sound of them had ceased." She is always portrayed as week and suffering from poor health, a notion the imperialists always connected with the colonized subject and his surroundings. By way of such a representation, the master also successfully lent effeminate characteristics to the colony. And thus rendering the subject and the colony incapable of taking charge for himself or worthy of Liberty. Amidst the politics of imperialism, as Gayatri Spivak writess, "the voice of the colonized female is lost between the object-constitution of imperialism, marked by the espousal of the woman as object of protection from her own kind". 

She is constantly reminded of the indebtedness she must feel towards the Bertrams for they have provided for her needs and made her who she is. her prior education and knowledge is looked down upon, "her cousins found her ignorant of many things with which they had been long familiar". "They thought her prodigiously stupid" for she "cannot put the map of Europe together -- or my cousin cannot tell the principal rivers in Russia".  

She only becomes mistress of the house, the caretaker of the matters when she is married to Edmund. In all of this as well, what Austen by way of her inherent Englishness is trying to reinforce is that only those who get trained in the English ways, totally and submissively give in to the subjugation of the master, do as they do and say, can the subject be hopeful of achieving some autonomy and freedom. "In [Susan’s] usefulness, in Fanny’s excellence, in William’s continued good conduct, and rising fame, and in the general well-doing and success of the other members of the [Price] family, all assisting to advance each other, and doing credit to his countenance and aid, Sir Thomas saw repeated, and for ever repeated reason to rejoice in what he had done for them all, and acknowledge the advantages of early hardship and discipline, and the consciousness of being born to struggle and endure." The colonial master has successfully civilized the barbarian, the native. The emancipated Fanny, with a mind that has by now been deeply colonized describes her mother and her household in these words, "She must and did feel that her mother was a partial, ill-judging parent, a dawdle, a slattern, who neither taught nor restrained her children, whose house was the scene of mismanagement and discomfort from beginning to end."