The male characters in Mansfield Park not only reflect ideals of morality or immorality but since the novel reflects on a time and place where women are in the possession of men they have a great impact on female morality as well.
Henry Crawford is the ideal example of a man without morals as initially he plans to make Fanny fall in love with him for his own amusement as he says “ I do not like to eat the bread of idleness. No, my plan is to make Fanny Price in love with me.” His intentions may have changed over the course of the novel but
I see Henry Crawford as a well-off Mr. Whickham, another one of Jane Austen’s immoral male characters from Pride and Prejudice. The driving force behind their immoral actions was different, but both were seen as the men who lure the morality out of women. Both Henry and Mr. Whickham are aware of their power over women and so they are especially attracted to those who pose a challenge. With Henry Crawford on one side and William (Fanny’s brother) on the other I do think that Jane Austen digs in deeply to the crux of all male characters as they may differ with differences pertaining to class or the time period they are pertinent to but really it defines the reality of all men.
It’s ironic that the moral are drawn to the immoral but it defines human nature beautifully. The attraction will always be there, the conflict will always exist. Henry Crawford is attracted to Fanny because her morals define her and she is somewhat of an enigma to him. Women like Mariah who are easily swayed and swoon at the sight of a well-off, good looking man mean nothing to Henry as he understands them completely, their lack of morals make them one of the same in a way so there is no mystery.
Hence, it can be said that while on one hand men like William and Mr. Thomas keep the morals of their women in check, Henry Crawford embodies all that is immoral and draws in women whose morals aren’t as deep rooted as a character such as Fanny’s.
Discussions of men and morality in Jane Austen’s ‘’Mansfield Park’’ can easily revolve around the categorization of its male characters into ‘moral’ (such as William and Edmund), ‘immoral’ (Henry Crawford) as well as ‘morally ambiguous’ (Sir Thomas). However, I want to focus on the immorality of Henry Crawford. Henry Crawford is the ideal example of a man without morals as initially he plans to make Fanny fall in love with him for his own amusement as he says “ I do not like to eat the bread of idleness. No, my plan is to make Fanny Price in love with me.” What is worth noting is that Henry’s supposed immorality is directly linked to the morality of Fanny Price. In other words, the readers are meant to find the character of Henry Crawford all the more immoral precisely because he seeks to alter the morality of our naïve protagonist Fanny Price. In this aspect, I found him to be much like a well-off Mr. Whickham, another one of Jane Austen’s immoral male characters from Pride and Prejudice. The driving force behind their immoral actions was different, but both were seen as the men who lure the morality out of women. Both Henry and Mr. Whickham are aware of their power over women and so they are especially attracted to those who pose a challenge.
In this aspect, I feel like the morality of male characters has to be seen in relation with its impact on the morality of female characters. Henry Crawford is not the only character we can analyze in this framework. Edmund, as Fanny’s eventual husband, and William, as Fanny’s brother, are both seen to be moral and one major reason for this is that they do not ever seek to alter Fanny’s moral principles.
Henry Crawford is the ideal example of a man without morals as initially he plans to make Fanny fall in love with him for his own amusement as he says “ I do not like to eat the bread of idleness. No, my plan is to make Fanny Price in love with me.” His intentions may have changed over the course of the novel but
I see Henry Crawford as a well-off Mr. Whickham, another one of Jane Austen’s immoral male characters from Pride and Prejudice. The driving force behind their immoral actions was different, but both were seen as the men who lure the morality out of women. Both Henry and Mr. Whickham are aware of their power over women and so they are especially attracted to those who pose a challenge. With Henry Crawford on one side and William (Fanny’s brother) on the other I do think that Jane Austen digs in deeply to the crux of all male characters as they may differ with differences pertaining to class or the time period they are pertinent to but really it defines the reality of all men.
It’s ironic that the moral are drawn to the immoral but it defines human nature beautifully. The attraction will always be there, the conflict will always exist. Henry Crawford is attracted to Fanny because her morals define her and she is somewhat of an enigma to him. Women like Mariah who are easily swayed and swoon at the sight of a well-off, good looking man mean nothing to Henry as he understands them completely, their lack of morals make them one of the same in a way so there is no mystery.
Hence, it can be said that while on one hand men like William and Mr. Thomas keep the morals of their women in check, Henry Crawford embodies all that is immoral and draws in women whose morals aren’t as deep rooted as a character such as Fanny’s.
Discussions of men and morality in Jane Austen’s ‘’Mansfield Park’’ can easily revolve around the categorization of its male characters into ‘moral’ (such as William and Edmund), ‘immoral’ (Henry Crawford) as well as ‘morally ambiguous’ (Sir Thomas). However, I want to focus on the immorality of Henry Crawford. Henry Crawford is the ideal example of a man without morals as initially he plans to make Fanny fall in love with him for his own amusement as he says “ I do not like to eat the bread of idleness. No, my plan is to make Fanny Price in love with me.” What is worth noting is that Henry’s supposed immorality is directly linked to the morality of Fanny Price. In other words, the readers are meant to find the character of Henry Crawford all the more immoral precisely because he seeks to alter the morality of our naïve protagonist Fanny Price. In this aspect, I found him to be much like a well-off Mr. Whickham, another one of Jane Austen’s immoral male characters from Pride and Prejudice. The driving force behind their immoral actions was different, but both were seen as the men who lure the morality out of women. Both Henry and Mr. Whickham are aware of their power over women and so they are especially attracted to those who pose a challenge.
In this aspect, I feel like the morality of male characters has to be seen in relation with its impact on the morality of female characters. Henry Crawford is not the only character we can analyze in this framework. Edmund, as Fanny’s eventual husband, and William, as Fanny’s brother, are both seen to be moral and one major reason for this is that they do not ever seek to alter Fanny’s moral principles.
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