In Mansfield Park the theme of bad parenting is of paramount significance. After all the values and moral codes imparted by parents to children in the domestic sphere are a microcosm of the values that a nation embodies as a whole.Austen perceives that if a nation is at failure, then the error is not abstract as to never be known; it has to do with the kind of moral education sought at home- the place from where the transformation of a nation takes place. In light of this theme , Sir Thomas is not an ideal father in Mansfield Park . Although unlike Mr. Bennet who is the outsider in his children's lives and confines himself to the library, Sir Thomas emerges as "a truly anxious father" engaged in the lives of the Bertram daughters and has pretensions of duty and doing the right thing. But does he really do justice to it ? Let's examine the following statement of Sir Thomas before Fanny's arrival at Mansfield:
“There will be some difficulty in our way, Mrs
Norris” observed Sir Thomas, “as to the distinction proper to be made between
the girls as they grow up; how to preserve in the minds of my daughters the
consciousness of what they are, without making them think too lowly of their
cousin; … to make her (Fanny) remember that she is not a Miss Bertram….. It is
a point of great delicacy, and you must assist us in our endeavors to choose
the right line of conduct”.(Mansfield Park, Volume 1)
Thus we see that Sir Thomas is like a dictator figure in the lives of the Bertram siblings, determining how they must think and what they must think exactly!! He is conscious of inculcating in them an overdeveloped sense of their superiority in terms of being Miss Bertram's. He channels their young minds by giving them a moral education that reinforces and guards the class structures with zeal. What I really found interesting was how he is pursuing the "right line of conduct" for it is a pity as this illusion brings about the tragedy of his children. Nevertheless, with the kind of education that teaches one to beware of ones social status and difference between "us" and "them", it does not come about as surprising to me when the Bertram sisters downsize and demean Fanny for being "ignorant" and "prodigiously stupid".
Their observations reiterate Sir Thomas's own preconceived notions about Fanny as exhibiting "gross ignorance, some meanness of temper and very distressing vulgarity of manner." In judging Fanny, the Sir Thomas who is owner of plantations at Antigua reverts to what i would call "the colonizers gaze" which views the native as lacking in sophistication. The same tropes are found in his language here and he imparts this colonizers gaze to his children as well who look at Fanny as someone from another world and a misfit in their society. Hence, Sir Thomas is to blame for such a ridiculing attitude of his daughters who despite their book knowledge of maps and rivers are "deficient in the less common acquirement's of self knowledge, generosity and humility". He has always catered to the external needs that would make his daughters appear presentable and suitable for a high class marriage proposal. Thus their knowledge comprises of rote learning of the maps whereas Fanny who is far below them in learning has an imagination that they never seem to understand.
Moreover Sir Thomas is not "an outwardly affectionate" fatherly figure. He is a man of more head than heart. His "reserve of manner" just like Mr. Bennet's reserve and cold composure prevents any deep attachment from developing between himself and his children. So he is not only oppressive and jeapardizes their free will but also represses them, creating a barrier to free communication between father and children. I mean have you come across instances in the novel where his daughters or Edmund even confronts him? They are rather scared to protest against what Austen calls his "government". No wonder Fanny is so scared of him at first and later surprised at the way he refers to her as "my Fanny". In Sir Thomas's presence Mansfield is really a cage for the children whereas the Bennet's household isn't of that sort. Therefore, it is interesting to note how his children are relieved once Sir Thomas leaves for Antigua:
"There father was no object of love to them; he had never seemed the friend of their pleasures, and his absence was unhappily most welcome"
What a sad state of affairs; the children want to get rid of their father! Poor Sir Thomas, who least knew that he was offering a breath of fresh air to his children and was doing them some real good. Austen mentions how they were in "want" of his absence. Earlier on she says that Sir Thomas really didn't know what was wanting in his children. He is oblivious to his children's yearning for freedom, something that lets say does not exist in his dictionary! It is in his absence that the love transpires between the Crawford's and the Bertram's and the girl's exhibit some agency when they agree to act in the play Lovers Vows. This can be seen as a rebellion against Sir Thomas's morality whereby it is not right to act in a play. Sir Thomas's arrival is also a cause to regret as Edmund reflects on the good times every one had and it was " as if we had never lived so before". Even the Bertram sisters are "out of spirit". What i interpret from this statement is that the children really don't have a soul of their own. It is Sir Thomas's soul that is found in them. He literally snuffs out the life and the individualism that is their due right. They are just like puppets obliged to show obedience to their father or controller, whatever you may wish to call.
Moreover, Sir Thomas is also to blame for the kind of education he propagates about marriage to his daughter's that cause them to look for men having money and social significance. This really angers me. With a marriage of convenience to Lady Bertram, who is he really to think of what an ideal marriage constitutes? Yet his education about marriage to his children results in the married Maria's relationship with Henry and Julia's elopement with Mr.Yates. These girls unsatisfied by their own marriages begin to search elsewhere for love that has been considered as important in a marriage by their father.Fanny is right to say:
"He who had married a daughter to Mr. Rushworth; romantic delicacy was not to be expected of him". So true.
With all these flaws in the education that Sir Thomas gives to his children, I really did start disliking him. But then Austen's character's are not perfect people. So isn't Sir Thomas. He is given a chance to feel guilt. I want to show that we really ought to forgive the bad father considering he is so devastated once he learns he is the cause of his family's tragedy:
" He had meant them to be good, but his cares had been directed to the understanding and manners......Bitterly did he deplore a deficiency which now he could scarcely comprehend to be possible....Wretchedly did he feel that with all the cost and care of an anxious and expensive education, he had brought up his daughters without their understanding their duty, or his being acquainted with the character and temper"
Look at the language; "wretchedly", "bitterly" as opposed to the earlier Sir Thomas who was so egoistic. Keep in mind that Sir Thomas had all this time embodied the morality of the aristocracy of the Victorian England. He is conforming to the moral education that was the norm of the time in those households. In that case he really is naive and ignorant in a way. Fanny's intervention into Mansfield punctures the bubble with a new set of morals that triumph over what Sir Thomas considers as right. She is the transformative force who makes him realize that "Fanny was the daughter that he had always wanted". The bad father learns that he was not the right influence after all. Ah! Sir Thomas.
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