.......

‘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.