Mansfield Park (film)
Encyclopedia
Mansfield Park is a 1999 British romantic
comedy-drama film loosely based on Jane Austen
's novel of the same name
, written and directed by Patricia Rozema
. The film differs sharply from the original novel in many respects. For example, the life of Jane Austen
is incorporated into the film and the issues of slavery and plantations as well. The majority of the film was made at Kirby Hall
in Northamptonshire.
, whose mother, Mrs Price, married a relatively poor man for love and whose father cannot afford to support his large family. At the age of 10, Fanny is summoned to live with her wealthy relatives, the Bertram family (Sir Thomas, Lady Bertram (Fanny's aunt) and their four children: Tom, Maria Bertram
, Edmund and Julia; and Fanny's other maternal aunt, Mrs Norris, at Mansfield Park. Fanny's arrival is less than welcoming and it is made clear that she is to be treated differently from her cousins. Mrs. Norris treats her more like a servant than a relative. As the separation from her own family begins to overwhelm her, and she is told that she is expected to stay at Mansfield forever, Fanny is distressed. Her young cousin Edmund Bertram
behaves kindly to her, and the two develop a friendship that grows as the years progress.
When Fanny is eighteen, her uncle, Sir Thomas, travels to Antigua
to deal with some problems there concerning his slaves. The Abolitionists are making inroads into freeing slaves, and the Bertram family is feeling the financial effects. Sir Thomas departs, taking the eldest son, Tom, with him.
In Sir Thomas' absence, the Bertram family life is disrupted by the arrival of Henry and Mary Crawford, relatives of the local clergyman. Mary and Henry are worldly, cynical and beautiful – and are looking for amusement. Edmund is instantly smitten with Mary, and devotes his time and attention to her, ignoring and hurting Fanny.
Maria and Julia Bertram both vie for Henry Crawford
's affections, even though Maria is already engaged to the rich but stupid Mr. Rushworth. Mr. Crawford is shamelessly flirtatious with Maria.
Tom returns from Antigua, arriving drunk and bringing a friend, Mr. Yates, with him. Yates and Tom convince the Bertrams and Crawfords to stage a risque play, Lovers' Vows
. The play is a pretext that allows the young people to openly flirt with each other. Edmund is initially vocally against the play, but soon changes his mind when he is offered a part that allows him to act out love scenes with Mary Crawford.
Just as things seem to be getting out of control, with Maria openly flirting with Henry Crawford in front of her bumbling fiance Rushworth, Sir Thomas arrives home. He is furious and immediately stops the play. Maria rushes into a marriage with Mr Rushworth – whom she does not love or respect, but whose money and house in London she wants – and leaves for Brighton
, taking Julia with her. Henry Crawford, deprived of Maria, decides to pursue Fanny as a means to amuse himself. However, Fanny's gentle and kind nature captures his fancy, and Mr. Crawford finds himself emotionally attached to her. After his behaviour towards the Bertram girls, Fanny is disgusted by and distrusts Henry and does not believe his declarations of love. Even so, Henry asks Sir Thomas for Fanny's hand in marriage and she is urged to accept the advantageous offer. Fanny surprises and disappoints the Bertrams when she refuses.
Angry and perplexed at her refusal, Sir Thomas gives Fanny an ultimatum – accept Henry's proposal of marriage or be sent back to her relatively poor family and experience the difference in comfort. Fanny looks to Edmund for support, but his indifference forces her to choose the latter.
At home, she is reunited with her younger sister Susie, with whom she had been corresponding since she arrived at Mansfield. Several days after her return, Henry Crawford pays a visit, trying to convince Fanny that his affections for her are genuine and his intentions true. Although she looks more favorably on him, Fanny continues to cling to her feelings for Edmund and still rejects Crawford. Only when a letter from Edmund arrives which discloses his hopes of marrying Mary Crawford – he writes that Mary is the only woman he can see as his wife – does Fanny seriously consider Henry Crawford's offer. Finally, she concedes and accepts his proposal. However, Fanny realizes she does not trust Crawford, and takes back her acceptance the next day. Henry is furious and storms away.
The next day, Edmund arrives to fetch Fanny and take her back to Mansfield to help tend to Tom, who has fallen ill and is near death. On the carriage ride, Edmund confesses he has missed Fanny, and she him, but Edmund hesitates to elaborate further because of his attachment to Mary Crawford.
After her return to Mansfield Park, both the Crawfords and the Bertram sisters arrive. The now-married Maria rebukes Henry for trifling with her affections and then pursuing Fanny. Henry gains her pity when Maria learns of Fanny's decision not to marry him and together they succumb to their lust. Their indiscretion is discovered by Fanny when she accidentally walks in on them, and she runs to Edmund. But Fanny's inability to tell him of the affair leads Edmund to investigate for himself and witness his sister's adultery. Edmund returns to comfort Fanny and, caught up in the moment, nearly kisses her, but he remembers himself and pulls away.
News of the scandal spreads rapidly and Mary Crawford quickly devises a plan to stifle the repercussions. Miss Crawford suggests that after Maria's divorce, Maria would marry Henry and Edmund would marry Mary and together they might re-introduce Henry and Maria back into society. Fanny questions Mary as to how a clergyman could afford lavish parties, Mary shocks everyone by stating that when Tom dies, Edmund will be heir to the family's fortune. Mary lays blame on Fanny, reasoning that had she married Henry, he would not have been tempted by Maria. Edmund is appalled and tells Mary that cheerfully condemning Tom to death whilst she plans to spend his money sends a chill to his heart. Having betrayed her true nature to the Bertram family, Mary, shamed, leaves the room.
Edmund ultimately declares his love for Fanny, and they eventually marry. Sir Thomas gives up his plantation in Antigua and invests instead in tobacco
. Tom recovers from his illness while Julia receives a love letter from Tom's friend, Mr. Yates. Fanny also mentions that her sister Susie had joined them at the Bertram household whilst Maria, whom Henry refused to marry, and crabby Mrs. Norris were forced to keep each other company by taking up residence in a small cottage removed from Mansfield Park. And as for the Crawford siblings, they have each found themselves "respectable" partners who agree with their particular lifestyle.
novel Mansfield Park
in numerous and significant ways. The film changes some central characters, eliminates several others, and reorganizes certain events, not all of which are merely to tighten the plot. The end result is a film that retains some of the core character evolution and series of events of Jane Austen's novel, but in other ways functions only as a loose adaptation. The plot changes the moral message of Austen's novel, and makes the story a critique of slavery rather than a Conservative critique of the "modern"; in the novel Fanny's passivity and moral stance are seen as virtues but these aspects of her character are missing from the film, except during the staging of Lovers' Vows, from which she abstains.
on several occasions but does not elaborate on it. Most notably, in the novel, Fanny asks a question about the slave trade to Sir Thomas and is not answered. The film includes slavery as a central plot point, including explicit descriptions of the treatment of slaves (e.g. Fanny finds violent drawings of the treatment of slaves in Tom's room); numerous reminders of how Bertram family owes its wealth to slavery, as well as England's role in the slave trade.
The role and influence of slavery in the world of Mansfield Park is emphasized from the start of the film. Fanny sees a slave ship on her initial journey to the family, asks her coachman about it and receives an explanation. A parallel is drawn between Fanny's role as a woman and a poor relative in the Bertram family, and the role of slaves.
Tom Bertram's return from Antigua is motivated by his disgust with what he has seen there, and this disgust is reinforced by a journal that Fanny finds at Mansfield Park showing apparently criminal events occurring in Antigua that involve Sir Thomas.
At the end of the film a voiceover also informs the viewer that Sir Thomas has divested from his estates in Antigua, presumably as a form of redemption.
, Dr. Grant, and his wife and the Crawfords' half-sister, Mrs. Grant, do not feature in the film, nor does Fanny's Royal Navy
brother William. Her close relationship with William in the book is replaced in the film by her relationship with her younger sister Susan, with whom in the novel, Fanny does not develop a relationship until her return to Portsmouth
.
Fanny's banishment to Portsmouth is characterized as a punishment by a vengeful Sir Thomas rather than as a respite from stress following Henry Crawford's unwelcome attentions. In the novel, Fanny is never tempted to accept Mr. Crawford's proposals, whereas in the film, Fanny accepts, then repudiates, Henry Crawford's offer of marriage, and her family has full knowledge of it. (Presumably this is taken from events in the life of Jane Austen, who accepted a proposal of marriage from a man she had known since childhood, and then retracted her acceptance a day later.)
In the novel, Fanny remains at Portsmouth for several months, whereas in the film she returns to Mansfield Park much earlier in order to nurse Tom Bertram back to health. This makes her witness to the events that follow. In the film, Maria's adulterous liaison with Mr. Crawford occurs at Mansfield Park instead of in London; in the novel, Maria leaves her husband's house to run away with Crawford.
In the novel, the revelations of Maria's adulterous affair including Mary's casual attitude about it, occur through letters (including from Mary to Fanny); in the film the affair is carried on at Mansfield Park in full view of the family.
In the novel, the shock to the Mansfield family is increased by Julia Bertram's elopement with Mr. Yates; in the film Julia remains at home, receiving a love letter from Yates at the end of the film, instead of eloping with Mr. Yates.
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
comedy-drama film loosely based on Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
's novel of the same name
Mansfield Park (novel)
Mansfield Park is a novel by Jane Austen, written at Chawton Cottage between 1812 and 1814. It was published in July 1814 by Thomas Egerton, who published Jane Austen's two earlier novels, Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice...
, written and directed by Patricia Rozema
Patricia Rozema
Patricia Rozema is a Canadian film director and screenwriter.-Life and career:Rozema was born in Kingston, Ontario and raised in Sarnia, Ontario. Her parents, Jacoba Berandina and Jan Rozema, were Dutch Calvinists. Television was severely restricted and she didn’t go to a movie theatre until she...
. The film differs sharply from the original novel in many respects. For example, the life of Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
is incorporated into the film and the issues of slavery and plantations as well. The majority of the film was made at Kirby Hall
Kirby Hall
Kirby Hall is an Elizabethan country house, located near Gretton, Northamptonshire, England. . Construction on the building began in 1570 based on the designs in French architectural pattern books and expanded in the classical style over the course of the decades. The house is now in a semi-ruined...
in Northamptonshire.
Plot
The film tells the story of Fanny PriceFanny Price
Fanny Price is the heroine in Jane Austen's 1814 novel Mansfield Park. Austen describes Fanny Price as "extremely timid and shy, shrinking from notice", and repeatedly reinforces that Fanny is shy, timid, and afraid of everyone and everything....
, whose mother, Mrs Price, married a relatively poor man for love and whose father cannot afford to support his large family. At the age of 10, Fanny is summoned to live with her wealthy relatives, the Bertram family (Sir Thomas, Lady Bertram (Fanny's aunt) and their four children: Tom, Maria Bertram
Maria Bertram
Maria Bertram is a fictional character in Jane Austen's 1814 novel, Mansfield Park.-Character:Maria Bertram is not depicted as a sympathetic character. She does not have her father's discipline nor her brother Edmund's compassion, especially for her cousin, Fanny Price. She is condescending and...
, Edmund and Julia; and Fanny's other maternal aunt, Mrs Norris, at Mansfield Park. Fanny's arrival is less than welcoming and it is made clear that she is to be treated differently from her cousins. Mrs. Norris treats her more like a servant than a relative. As the separation from her own family begins to overwhelm her, and she is told that she is expected to stay at Mansfield forever, Fanny is distressed. Her young cousin Edmund Bertram
Edmund Bertram
Edmund Bertram is a major protagonist in Jane Austen's 1814 novel Mansfield Park. He is Sir Thomas's second son and plans to be ordained as a clergyman.-Character:...
behaves kindly to her, and the two develop a friendship that grows as the years progress.
When Fanny is eighteen, her uncle, Sir Thomas, travels to Antigua
Antigua
Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
to deal with some problems there concerning his slaves. The Abolitionists are making inroads into freeing slaves, and the Bertram family is feeling the financial effects. Sir Thomas departs, taking the eldest son, Tom, with him.
In Sir Thomas' absence, the Bertram family life is disrupted by the arrival of Henry and Mary Crawford, relatives of the local clergyman. Mary and Henry are worldly, cynical and beautiful – and are looking for amusement. Edmund is instantly smitten with Mary, and devotes his time and attention to her, ignoring and hurting Fanny.
Maria and Julia Bertram both vie for Henry Crawford
Henry Crawford
Henry Crawford is one of the main characters in Jane Austen's 1814 novel, Mansfield Park. He is depicted as a man who only attempts to amuse himself, and at the end is proven to be a reprobate.-First Arrival to Mansfield Park:...
's affections, even though Maria is already engaged to the rich but stupid Mr. Rushworth. Mr. Crawford is shamelessly flirtatious with Maria.
Tom returns from Antigua, arriving drunk and bringing a friend, Mr. Yates, with him. Yates and Tom convince the Bertrams and Crawfords to stage a risque play, Lovers' Vows
Lovers' Vows
Lovers' Vows , a play by Elizabeth Inchbald arguably best known now for having been featured in Jane Austen's novel Mansfield Park , is one of at least four adaptations of August von Kotzebue's Das Kind der Liebe , all of which were published between 1798 and 1800...
. The play is a pretext that allows the young people to openly flirt with each other. Edmund is initially vocally against the play, but soon changes his mind when he is offered a part that allows him to act out love scenes with Mary Crawford.
Just as things seem to be getting out of control, with Maria openly flirting with Henry Crawford in front of her bumbling fiance Rushworth, Sir Thomas arrives home. He is furious and immediately stops the play. Maria rushes into a marriage with Mr Rushworth – whom she does not love or respect, but whose money and house in London she wants – and leaves for Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, taking Julia with her. Henry Crawford, deprived of Maria, decides to pursue Fanny as a means to amuse himself. However, Fanny's gentle and kind nature captures his fancy, and Mr. Crawford finds himself emotionally attached to her. After his behaviour towards the Bertram girls, Fanny is disgusted by and distrusts Henry and does not believe his declarations of love. Even so, Henry asks Sir Thomas for Fanny's hand in marriage and she is urged to accept the advantageous offer. Fanny surprises and disappoints the Bertrams when she refuses.
Angry and perplexed at her refusal, Sir Thomas gives Fanny an ultimatum – accept Henry's proposal of marriage or be sent back to her relatively poor family and experience the difference in comfort. Fanny looks to Edmund for support, but his indifference forces her to choose the latter.
At home, she is reunited with her younger sister Susie, with whom she had been corresponding since she arrived at Mansfield. Several days after her return, Henry Crawford pays a visit, trying to convince Fanny that his affections for her are genuine and his intentions true. Although she looks more favorably on him, Fanny continues to cling to her feelings for Edmund and still rejects Crawford. Only when a letter from Edmund arrives which discloses his hopes of marrying Mary Crawford – he writes that Mary is the only woman he can see as his wife – does Fanny seriously consider Henry Crawford's offer. Finally, she concedes and accepts his proposal. However, Fanny realizes she does not trust Crawford, and takes back her acceptance the next day. Henry is furious and storms away.
The next day, Edmund arrives to fetch Fanny and take her back to Mansfield to help tend to Tom, who has fallen ill and is near death. On the carriage ride, Edmund confesses he has missed Fanny, and she him, but Edmund hesitates to elaborate further because of his attachment to Mary Crawford.
After her return to Mansfield Park, both the Crawfords and the Bertram sisters arrive. The now-married Maria rebukes Henry for trifling with her affections and then pursuing Fanny. Henry gains her pity when Maria learns of Fanny's decision not to marry him and together they succumb to their lust. Their indiscretion is discovered by Fanny when she accidentally walks in on them, and she runs to Edmund. But Fanny's inability to tell him of the affair leads Edmund to investigate for himself and witness his sister's adultery. Edmund returns to comfort Fanny and, caught up in the moment, nearly kisses her, but he remembers himself and pulls away.
News of the scandal spreads rapidly and Mary Crawford quickly devises a plan to stifle the repercussions. Miss Crawford suggests that after Maria's divorce, Maria would marry Henry and Edmund would marry Mary and together they might re-introduce Henry and Maria back into society. Fanny questions Mary as to how a clergyman could afford lavish parties, Mary shocks everyone by stating that when Tom dies, Edmund will be heir to the family's fortune. Mary lays blame on Fanny, reasoning that had she married Henry, he would not have been tempted by Maria. Edmund is appalled and tells Mary that cheerfully condemning Tom to death whilst she plans to spend his money sends a chill to his heart. Having betrayed her true nature to the Bertram family, Mary, shamed, leaves the room.
Edmund ultimately declares his love for Fanny, and they eventually marry. Sir Thomas gives up his plantation in Antigua and invests instead in tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
. Tom recovers from his illness while Julia receives a love letter from Tom's friend, Mr. Yates. Fanny also mentions that her sister Susie had joined them at the Bertram household whilst Maria, whom Henry refused to marry, and crabby Mrs. Norris were forced to keep each other company by taking up residence in a small cottage removed from Mansfield Park. And as for the Crawford siblings, they have each found themselves "respectable" partners who agree with their particular lifestyle.
Cast
- Frances O'ConnorFrances O'Connor-Background:O'Connor was born in Wantage, Oxfordshire, England to a pianist mother and nuclear physicist father. When O'Connor was two, her family moved back to Perth, Western Australia. O'Connor was raised a Roman Catholic and attended the Mercedes College in Perth...
as Fanny PriceFanny PriceFanny Price is the heroine in Jane Austen's 1814 novel Mansfield Park. Austen describes Fanny Price as "extremely timid and shy, shrinking from notice", and repeatedly reinforces that Fanny is shy, timid, and afraid of everyone and everything.... - Harold PinterHarold PinterHarold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
as Sir Thomas Bertram - Lindsay DuncanLindsay DuncanLindsay Vere Duncan, CBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actress. On stage she won two Olivier Awards and a Tony Award for her performance in Les Liaisons dangereuses and Private Lives , and she starred in several plays by Harold Pinter. Her most famous roles on television include:...
as Lady Bertram / Mrs. Price - James PurefoyJames PurefoyJames Brian Mark Purefoy is an English actor best known for portraying Mark Antony in the HBO series Rome.-Early life and work:...
as Tom BertramTom BertramTom Quesenbery Bertram is an English field hockey player. Bertram played in two Summer Olympics for Great Britain in 2000 and 2004.... - Jonny Lee MillerJonny Lee MillerJonathan "Jonny" Lee Miller is an English actor. During the initial days he was best known for his roles in the 1996 films Trainspotting and Hackers...
as Edmund BertramEdmund BertramEdmund Bertram is a major protagonist in Jane Austen's 1814 novel Mansfield Park. He is Sir Thomas's second son and plans to be ordained as a clergyman.-Character:... - Victoria HamiltonVictoria HamiltonVictoria Sharp is an English actress who performs under the stage name Victoria Hamilton.-Early life:Hamilton was born on 5 April 1971 in Wimbledon, London, England, and grew up in Godalming, Surrey. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.-Career:Hamilton is best known for her...
as Maria BertramMaria BertramMaria Bertram is a fictional character in Jane Austen's 1814 novel, Mansfield Park.-Character:Maria Bertram is not depicted as a sympathetic character. She does not have her father's discipline nor her brother Edmund's compassion, especially for her cousin, Fanny Price. She is condescending and... - Justine WaddellJustine WaddellJustine Waddell is a South African born, British actress. Her roles include playing Estella in the 1999 BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations and her dual role in 2006 feature film The Fall...
as Julia Bertram - Embeth DavidtzEmbeth DavidtzEmbeth Jean Davidtz is an American-born actress who spent much of her early life in South Africa.-Early life:Davidtz was born in Lafayette, Indiana, while her father was studying chemical engineering at Purdue University. Her parents, John and Jean, later moved to Trenton, New Jersey, and then...
as Mary CrawfordMary Crawford (Mansfield Park)Mary Crawford is an antagonist in Jane Austen's 1814 novel, Mansfield Park.-First Appearance:Mary Crawford is introduced in the fourth chapter of the novel. She comes from London in company with her brother, Henry Crawford, and arrives in the country with urbane airs, tastes, and manners, with a... - Alessandro NivolaAlessandro NivolaAlessandro Antine Nivola is an American actor, perhaps best known for his roles in the films Best Laid Plans, Jurassic Park III, Face/Off, and the first two films of the Goal! trilogy.-Personal life:...
as Henry CrawfordHenry CrawfordHenry Crawford is one of the main characters in Jane Austen's 1814 novel, Mansfield Park. He is depicted as a man who only attempts to amuse himself, and at the end is proven to be a reprobate.-First Arrival to Mansfield Park:... - Hugh BonnevilleHugh BonnevilleHugh Richard Bonneville Williams, known professionally as Hugh Bonneville , is an English stage, film, television and radio actor.-Education:...
as Mr. Rushworth - Sheila GishSheila GishSheila Gish was a British stage and television actress.She was born Sheila Anne Gash in Lincoln, studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and made her stage debut with a repertory company....
as Mrs. Norris - Hilton McRaeHilton McRaeHilton McRae is a Scottish actor in the fields of theatre, television and film.-Career:McRae was part of the radical theatre group 7:84 before graduating from Edinburgh University, and by 1977 he had joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. His most mainstream American film was his role as Green...
as Mr. Price - Sophia MylesSophia Myles-Early life:Myles was born in London. She is the daughter of Jane, who works in educational publishing, and Peter Myles, a retired Anglican vicar in Isleworth, west London. Her maternal grandmother was Russian, and she refers to herself as "half-Welsh, half-Russian". She grew up in Notting Hill,...
as Susan Price - Anna PopplewellAnna PopplewellAnna Katherine Popplewell is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Susan Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia film series since 2005.-Early life:...
as Betsey
Differences from novel
The film differs from the Jane AustenJane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
novel Mansfield Park
Mansfield Park
Mansfield Park may mean:* Mansfield Park by Jane Austen* Mansfield Park , based on the novel, directed by Patricia Rozema, starring Frances O'Connor, Embeth Davidtz, and Sheila Gish in 1999...
in numerous and significant ways. The film changes some central characters, eliminates several others, and reorganizes certain events, not all of which are merely to tighten the plot. The end result is a film that retains some of the core character evolution and series of events of Jane Austen's novel, but in other ways functions only as a loose adaptation. The plot changes the moral message of Austen's novel, and makes the story a critique of slavery rather than a Conservative critique of the "modern"; in the novel Fanny's passivity and moral stance are seen as virtues but these aspects of her character are missing from the film, except during the staging of Lovers' Vows, from which she abstains.
Slavery
Austen's novel mentions slaverySlavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
on several occasions but does not elaborate on it. Most notably, in the novel, Fanny asks a question about the slave trade to Sir Thomas and is not answered. The film includes slavery as a central plot point, including explicit descriptions of the treatment of slaves (e.g. Fanny finds violent drawings of the treatment of slaves in Tom's room); numerous reminders of how Bertram family owes its wealth to slavery, as well as England's role in the slave trade.
The role and influence of slavery in the world of Mansfield Park is emphasized from the start of the film. Fanny sees a slave ship on her initial journey to the family, asks her coachman about it and receives an explanation. A parallel is drawn between Fanny's role as a woman and a poor relative in the Bertram family, and the role of slaves.
Tom Bertram's return from Antigua is motivated by his disgust with what he has seen there, and this disgust is reinforced by a journal that Fanny finds at Mansfield Park showing apparently criminal events occurring in Antigua that involve Sir Thomas.
At the end of the film a voiceover also informs the viewer that Sir Thomas has divested from his estates in Antigua, presumably as a form of redemption.
The character of Fanny Price
The character of Fanny is significantly different in the film. In the novel, Fanny is very shy and timid, and not accustomed to giving her own opinion. Her physical condition is frail, making her tire easily. In the film, in contrast, Fanny is extroverted, self-confident, and outspoken, while also being physically healthier. In addition, the film version of Fanny is portrayed as a writer from her childhood into her adulthood at Mansfield Park. These character traits are incorporated directly from the life of Jane Austen – some of Fanny's writings were written by Austen including the "History of England".Other character changes
The film dispenses entirely with several characters, whilst changing the roles and character traits of others. The parsonParson
In the pre-Reformation church, a parson was the priest of an independent parish church, that is, a parish church not under the control of a larger ecclesiastical or monastic organization...
, Dr. Grant, and his wife and the Crawfords' half-sister, Mrs. Grant, do not feature in the film, nor does Fanny's Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
brother William. Her close relationship with William in the book is replaced in the film by her relationship with her younger sister Susan, with whom in the novel, Fanny does not develop a relationship until her return to Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
.
Plot changes
Plot changes in the film are numerous.Fanny's banishment to Portsmouth is characterized as a punishment by a vengeful Sir Thomas rather than as a respite from stress following Henry Crawford's unwelcome attentions. In the novel, Fanny is never tempted to accept Mr. Crawford's proposals, whereas in the film, Fanny accepts, then repudiates, Henry Crawford's offer of marriage, and her family has full knowledge of it. (Presumably this is taken from events in the life of Jane Austen, who accepted a proposal of marriage from a man she had known since childhood, and then retracted her acceptance a day later.)
In the novel, Fanny remains at Portsmouth for several months, whereas in the film she returns to Mansfield Park much earlier in order to nurse Tom Bertram back to health. This makes her witness to the events that follow. In the film, Maria's adulterous liaison with Mr. Crawford occurs at Mansfield Park instead of in London; in the novel, Maria leaves her husband's house to run away with Crawford.
In the novel, the revelations of Maria's adulterous affair including Mary's casual attitude about it, occur through letters (including from Mary to Fanny); in the film the affair is carried on at Mansfield Park in full view of the family.
In the novel, the shock to the Mansfield family is increased by Julia Bertram's elopement with Mr. Yates; in the film Julia remains at home, receiving a love letter from Yates at the end of the film, instead of eloping with Mr. Yates.
External links
- Claudia L. Johnson Introduction to the sceenplay for MANSFIELD PARK on Patricia Rozema.com
- Claudia L. Johnson Run mad, but do not faint: The Authentic Audacity of Rozema's MANSFIELD PARK on Patricia Rozema.com (1999)
- Stephen Holden Spicing Austen's 1806 with Dashes of 1999 on Patricia Rozema.com
- Kathi Groenendyk Modernizing Mansfield Park: Patricia Rozema’s Spin on Jane Austen on JASNA (Winter 2004)