Upon my first look at ‘Mansfield Park’, I naturally found
myself captivated by the intricacy of relationships dominating the plot (hoping
Fanny would succumb to Henry Crawford’s charm), absolutely blind to Austen’s artistic
integration of colonialism into the world of Mansfield. Exhibiting her loyalty
to the ‘Empire’, and her adherence to its “moral and social values” as Said
puts it in ‘Culture and Imperialism’, she exhibits her unwavering loyalty to
Britain’s domination – manifested by its imperialist expeditions. The strong
colonialist undercurrent ingeniously ends up delegating a functional role to
the Empire; it drives the entire action of the novel without calling explicit
attention towards itself, and simultaneously allows Austen to weave a critique
of the essence of ‘national domesticity’ into her writing without going against
her unquestionable position of subordination to the Empire’s wishes.
This blog post will focus on one aspect of the massive theme
of ‘The Colony in Mansfield Park’ – how William Price is Austen’s carefully
constructed tribute to the British Empire’s supremacy.
Since the Bertrams, who enable three Price siblings to rise
above their constricted domestic circumstances, are governed by the patriarchal rule of
Sir Thomas (whose association with Antigua easily makes him representative of
the Empire’s colonial ambitions), William’s Horatio Alger-esque rise to social
status is symbolic of the multi-faceted benefits linked to colonization, and
becomes testimony to Britain’s sensibility in spending time and effort on such
expeditions. Austen validates the merits of imperialism for all its participants
by representing William through the lens of Henry Crawford, who “wished he had
been a William Price, distinguishing himself and working his way to fortune and
consequence”. Henry holds the “highest respect” for the young sailor whose “heroism”
and “usefulness” at sea make his “own habits of self-indulgence appear in
shameful contrast”. Here, it is important to appreciate William’s accomplishment
– by managing to fire Henry Crawford’s “fancy” enough to actually make him want
to seek ambition, he has given an aimless philanderer hope for direction. By
making a high class gentleman aspire to be a sailor with a rags-to-riches
narrative, Austen is able to demonstrate the sheer power imperialism holds in
being an effort worth embarking upon.
William’s character also becomes a subtle revelation of the
global preeminence of the British Empire through the “great deal” he has seen.
He is described as having “been in the Mediterranean – in the West Indies – in the
Mediterranean again”, and before the novel ends he is surely on his way to
India. This points out an important element I don’t have enough words left to
discuss, how the Empire ranks colonies according to a certain hierarchy, and
William has to go through the rigor of experience in the lower order colonies
before he is deemed worthy enough to touch the East.
Austen also touches upon the cultural enlightenment brought
about by imperialism, through the way Sir Thomas engages in conversation with
William about the “balls of Antigua”, and encourages his nephew to similarly recount
“the different modes of dancing which had fallen within his observation”. Association with new civilizations entails
luxury of knowledge, experience and materialism only the Empire’s finest can
afford, most clearly emphasized by the way Lady Bertram expresses an interest
in acquiring not one, but two Indian “shawls” (all the more significant because
she cares about something that’s not her “pug”).
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