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.”