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Good and Evil in Mansfield Park. Fanny Price and Mary Crawford are the
archetypes of good and evil in Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park. ...
Submitted by wmgan on March 23, 2006
Category: English
Words: 1326 | Pages: 6
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Fanny Price and Mary Crawford are the archetypes of good and evil in Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park. On one end of the moral spectrum we have Fanny, who throughout the novel displays a strong sense of selflessness and determination to do the right thing. On the other extreme we have the charming but amoral Mary, who brings to mind an image of Lucifer as he is commonly portrayed in popular culture – as a foul creature that appears in fair guises to beguile the souls of morally corruptible men and women. The struggle between good and evil is embodied by the two women’s competition for Edmund’s affections. Just as Eve was deceived by the serpent in the biblical account of Genesis, Edmund initially falls for Mary’s charms, and although enough doubts surface in his mind to restrain him from proposing to her, it is only near the end of the novel that he really sees through the veil that she had draped over his eyes.
As one would expect, Fanny is dismayed when Edmund expresses romantic interest in her rival. What may not be expected is how little of her dismay appears to stem from pure jealousy. Above all, her reaction seems to be born out of genuine concern for Edmund’s poor judgment:
“Could she believe Miss Crawford to deserve him, it would be – Oh! how different would it be – how far more tolerable! But he was deceived in her; he gave her merits which she had not; her faults were what they had ever been, but he saw them no longer. Till she had shed many tears over this deception, Fanny could not subdue her agitation; and the dejection which followed could only be relieved by the influence of fervent prayers for his happiness.” (181)
Unlike Edmund, Fanny is unimpressed by exterior trappings, as Mary’s almost equally amoral brother Henry learns when he attempts to win her heart. Although a woman of Fanny’s stature would certainly benefit greatly from a marriage to a wealthy and upstanding man like Henry, wealth and social standing are not enough to...
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