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Chapter II
Morality

Morality is a complex and multifaceted concept that has intrigued philosophers,

ethicists, and thinkers for centuries. At its core, morality refers to a system of principles and

values that guide human behavior, distinguishing between right and wrong. The study of

morality encompasses various perspectives, including cultural, religious, philosophical, and

psychological dimensions. Cultural influences play a significant role in shaping moral

values. Different societies may have distinct moral codes that reflect their unique histories,

traditions, and social structures.

What is considered morally acceptable in one culture might be viewed differently in

another. This cultural relativism underscores the dynamic nature of morality, illustrating

how it evolves over time within specific societal contexts Philosophical inquiries into

morality delve into fundamental questions about the nature of ethical principles. Ethical

theories, such as consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics, offer distinct perspectives

on what constitutes morally right actions. Consequentialism emphasizes the outcomes of

actions, deontology focuses on duty and rules, while virtue ethics centers on cultivating

virtuous character traits. These frameworks provide intellectual tools for individuals and

societies to grapple with ethical dilemmas and moral reasons.

Morality is a central theme in Mansfield Park, and Jane Austen explores it through

the development of her characters and the societal norms of her time. In the novel, morality

is closely tied to issues of class, family, and personal integrity Throughout Mansfield Park,

Austen explores the complex relationship between manners and morality. Austen’s view of

manners is difficult to identify, in part because Austen’s characters do not clearly define

what they mean when they refer to manners. The meaning of manners in the book seems to

be somewhat fluid, sometimes referring to knowledge of etiquette, sometimes to general

politeness, sometimes to modesty, or gratitude, or pleasantness of personality, or social

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grace. Looked at more generally, the concept of manners in Mansfield Park refers to a series

of expectations of a character’s social conduct.

At the book’s beginning, good manners, though highly valued at Mansfield Park, do

not seem to correspond to good morals. For example, although Mrs. Norris and Sir Thomas

congratulate themselves on their supposed moral goodness when they take Fanny in, Austen

damningly portrays their “kindness” as a way to make them feel and look generous rather

than actual generosity for Fanny’s benefit. Fanny’s initial arrival at Mansfield Park reveals

this dissonance, when ten-year old Fanny expresses intense anxiety and fear about her new

home.

Rather than recognizing Fanny’s unhappiness and trying to make her more

comfortable, Mrs. Norris remarks that Fanny’s response is ungrateful and rude. Mrs. Norris

then continually uses the idea of good manners, and Fanny’s failure to show them, as an

excuse to criticize and demean her. From the very first chapters of Mansfield Park, then,

Austen betrays the discrepancy between manners and genuine morality.

In Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park, morality plays a central role in the lives of

its characters and the society they inhabit. The story explores the complex interplay between

in good dividual ethics, societal expectations, and personal growth. The protagonist, Fanny

Price, embodies a strong moral compass. Raised in poverty, she is acutely aware of the

importance of integrity and humility. Fanny’s unwavering commitment to her principles

contrasts with the moral lapses of some of the wealthier characters, highlighting the novel’s

critique of the upperclass society’s values. The novel also delves into issues of morality

concerning relationships and marriage. The character of Maria Bertram’s affair with Henry

Crawford exposes the consequences of prioritizing wealth and status over moral values.

Edmund Bertram’s evolving moral stance, as he moves away from infatuation with Mary

Crawford toward recognizing Fanny’s virtue, exemplifies the novel’s exploration of moral

growth and self-discovery. The novel portrays the tension between societal expectations and
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individual conscience, as characters navigate a world where appearances often mask

underlying moral decay. Austen uses Fanny’s moral clarity to ultimately advocate for a

value system grounded in integrity, humility, and compassion, critiquing the superficial and

morally ambiguous aspects of the society she depicts.

At the heart of the novel is Fanny Price, a poor young girl who comes to live with

her wealthy relatives, the Bertrams. Fanny’s strong moral character is evident from the

beginning. She possesses a deep sense of right and wrong, which stands in stark contrast to

the behavior of many around her. Her upbringing, marked by poverty and neglect, has

instilled in her a moral clarity that guides her throughout the novel. One of the central

moral dilemmas in the novel is the issue of slavery. Sir Thomas Bertram, the patriarch of

Mansfield Park, derives a significant portion of his wealth from a plantation in Antigua,

where slaves work under brutal conditions. The novel raises questions about the moral

responsibility of the English gentry who benefited from the slave trade. Fanny, although

initially timid about expressing her views, ultimately takes a principled stance against

slavery, reflecting the emerging moral sentiment of the time. Fanny’s cousin, Edmund

Bertram, shares her moral values. He aspires to become a clergyman and is guided by a

strong sense of duty and morality. However, his infatuation with Mary Crawford, a

charming but morally ambiguous character, tests his principles. Mary’s disregard for the

sanctity of marriage and her pursuit of wealth and status challenge Edmund’s moral

convictions. Through this relationship, the novel highlights the clash between genuine

morality and the superficial values of society. The Crawfords, Henry and Mary, serve as

foils to Fanny and Edmund. They represent a different, more worldly view of morality.

Henry’s pursuit of Fanny and subsequent flirtation with Maria Bertram, who is engaged to

another man, reveal a lack of moral integrity.

Mary’s manipulation and insincerity further emphasize the contrast between the two

couples. The Crawfords’ actions expose the moral decay that can result from a relentless
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pursuit of pleasure and societal approval. Lady Bertram and Mrs. Norris, two other

members of the Bertram family, offer contrasting views on morality. Lady Bertram is

indifferent and passive, failing to instill moral values in her children. Mrs. Norris, on the

other hand, is an overly officious and hypocritical character. Her moral posturing hides a

deep desire for social advancement and a willingness to sacrifice others for personal gain.

Her behavior underscores the dangers of moral hypocrisy. The novel also addresses the

moral consequences of societal expectations and pressures. Maria Bertram’s ill-fated

marriage to Mr. Rushworth, driven by her family’s desire for financial security and social

standing, ends in scandal and unhappiness. This highlights the perils of prioritizing societal

norms over personal values and feelings.

As Fanny grows older, unlike the other characters, she does not deviate from her

strong set of moral principles, even when it means that she appears ill mannered or

contrarian. Throughout the novel, whenever Fanny resists something that contradicts her

moral compass but that other people approve of, Mrs. Norris harshly reminds Fanny that

she should be grateful to her uncle for providing for her and so do whatever the Bertrams

want. For example, when Fanny refuses to act in the play because the text’s questionable

moral undertones, despite the fact that all the other young people are taking part, Mrs.

Norris harangues her for her refusal. As for Fanny, she recognizes when other characters

mask their immorality with good manners. Early on, she disdains Mary Crawford’s

behavior when Mary speaks ungratefully and disrespectfully of her uncle the Admiral,

identifying Mary’s comments, which Edmund waves off as mere affectation, as indicative

of bad character. Moreover, Fanny refuses to marry Henry, despite everyone else’s support,

because she believes that, despite his charm and superficial kindness, he does not have good

values an impulse that turns out to be correct.

As the novel progresses, Fanny begins to be explicitly frustrated by good manners,

which so often hide immorality, and which often keep her from connecting with other
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people. At Mansfield, the rules of society prevent her from, for example, joining in social

events above her class, or comforting Julia after Henry’s rejection. By the time Fanny goes

to visit Portsmouth towards the end of the book, she looks forward to relief from the strict

rules of manners. The narrator, after describing how her sisters did not greet her with proper

manners when she arrives, states, “But manner Fanny did not want. Would they but love

her, she should be satisfied.

However, as Fanny spends more time at her childhood home, she begins to see that

their looser understanding of manners does not necessarily correlate to genuine morality or

closer relationships. Fanny, in fact, starts to see the value of good manners, and longs for the

quietness and respect of a household where manners are valued. She fails to develop

meaningful relationships with her mother and most of her siblings despite the lack of

structure and behavioral expectations in the house. While at Mansfield manners don’t

necessarily result in morality or human connection, neither does the lack of manners at

Portsmouth. Ultimately, when Fanny returns to Mansfield Park, she is happy to rejoin a

household where manners are appreciated.

For a text that offers such a visibly invisible resolution, readings interested in

Mansfield Park’s ethics need primarily concern themselves with investigations into the

philosophic concepts which inform Austen’s base premises about her virtues. Readings

taking this approach work backwards to ground new evaluations concerning the novel’s

moral controversies that others have already found to be so fertile. Within such a context, a

strong case can be made that the novel’s heightened awareness to the intersection between

economy and family, estate and marriage. The novel foregrounds what she sees as the

significance in aspiring to create a specific type of community in which the virtues modeled

by her heroines can be realized, Sensitive to the economic realitics of Regency England,

Fanny and Henry Crawford’s proposed marriage is not only the major issue of the text, but

in Austen’s moral framework, marriage is consistently figured as the culminating action that
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signals a new and seemingly improved community of families than the ones which began

the novel. However, considering the at best abbreviated details Austen supplies about that

celebrated social context of country families after the social bonds of friendship have been

replaced with the institutional bonds of matrimony, the broader ethical impacts they

generate typically remain out-of-reach. We simply do not know if the marriages in Austen’s

fiction achieve their aim to inspire such communities, without which the telos of her

heroine’s lives cannot be achieved.

Specifically, both Sir Thomas and Mrs. Norris illustrate what can be describes as a

warnings to make the origins behind not only these marriages, but simulacrum marriages

her focal point. Specifically, both Sir Thomas and Mrs. Norris illustrate what can be

describes as a warnings against the successful outcome of her envisioned moral-community.

This reorientation provides readers an opportunity to judge the morality of both Sir Thomas

and Mrs. Norris’ intentions for their niece, as in the opening chapter of the novel the

prospect of arranging a marriage for Fanny is immediately proposed. Indeed, while a union

between the Crawfords and the Bertrams through Fanny would bring about an ‘improved

aesthetic to the Mansfield community. Individuals who seck their own economic self-

satisfaction through marriages independent of the good they will bring to their communities.

For them, marriage is not a coalescence of morals and economics, of family and estate. For

them, marriage is chiefly motivated by the hope of a good financial outcome, an intent that

risks the moral foundations of such yet-to-be communities before they are established.

Sir Thomas, his perceived ownership of Fanny’s future and the hope for a good return

on his investment evinces his pursuit of the externally and contingently attached outcomes

of bringing Fanny to Mansfield, a desire that bars him from achieving the standards of

excellence or the goods internal to the practice that it renders the practice pointless except as

a device for achieving external goods By contrast, MacIntyre describes what can be read as
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Austen’s implicit and didactic message: “it is characteristic of [internal goods] that their

achievement is a good for the whole community who participate in the practice Of these

social practices, argue that Austen explores one in particular in Mansfield Park.

In the novel Austen explores several major themes related to morality. One prominent

theme is the examination of societal morality and the consequences of moral choices. The

novel contrasts the morally upright characters with those who deviate from societal norms,

showcasing the impact of individual decisions on personal lives and the wider

community.Austen critiques the prevailing social values of her time, highlighting the

dangers of superficial morality. The Bertram family, residing in Mansfield Park, embodies

the upper echelons of society. However, their seemingly impeccable reputation masks a

moral decay. The novel raises questions about the authenticity of societal norms and

challenges the reader to discern between genuine moral character and mere appearances.

The protagonist, Fanny Price, serves as a moral compass within the story. Her

unwavering principles and strong sense of right and wrong stand in contrast to the

superficial morality exhibited by some of the other characters. Fanny’s journey explores the

challenges of maintaining one’s moral integrity in the face of societal pressure, especially in

a setting where material wealth and social standing often overshadow ethical

considerations.The theme of morality is intricately woven into the fabric of relationships.

Austen explores the consequences of moral compromises on personal connections. The

romantic entanglements within the novel serve as a backdrop to moral dilemmas, forcing

characters to confront their values and make choices that will define their futures. The

exploration of love, marriage, and fidelity becomes a lens through which the characters’

moral strengths and weaknesses are revealed.Another key theme is the influence of

upbringing on moral development. The stark contrast between Fanny’s modest upbringing

and the opulence of Mansfield Park highlights the impact of environment on shaping moral
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character. The novel suggests that morality is not solely inherent but is molded by external

factors such as family, education, and societal expectations.Austen also delves into the

moral implications of societal inequalities. The Bertrams’ wealth and privilege expose the

disparities in moral judgment and behavior between the upper and lower classes. Through

the lens of morality, the novel critiques the class-based distinctions prevalent in society,

challenging the notion that wealth equates to moral superiority.

In conclusion, Mansfield Park by Jane Austen is a rich exploration of morality in

various dimensions. The societal, personal, and relational aspects of morality are dissected

through tHe characters and their choices. The novel serves as a thought-provoking

commentary on the complexities of moral behavior, challenging readers to reflect on their

own values and the nature of morality in society.

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