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.