Mansfield Park: The Complete Works of Jane Austen

Author: (Eng) Austen
Translator: Li Ye
Country: United Kingdom
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1997-08-01
Features: The novel depicts the love story between Fanny and her cousin Edmund. Although the interference of the Crawford sisters once caused Fanny great pain, in the end, Edmund, after realizing the inferior character of the Crawford sisters, proposed to Fanny, fulfilling her long-held wish. About thirty years ago, Maria Wood of Huntington had good fortune. With a mere seven thousand pounds in dowry, she won the heart of Sir Thomas Bertram of Mansfield in Northamptonshire, rising to the status of a baroness, moving into a beautiful mansion, and receiving substantial annual income, truly enjoying immense comfort and ease. The people of Huntington were all amazed at this marriage, and even her uncle, a lawyer, said that at least another three thousand pounds should be added to her dowry to qualify for such a family. With her newfound wealth, her sister and sister-in-law naturally benefited as well. Some relatives believed that her sister, Miss Wood, and her sister-in-law, Miss Frances, were no less beautiful than Maria, and therefore concluded that they would also marry equally noble families. However, in this world, there are too few men of wealth and too many beautiful women who want to marry them. After about five or six years of waiting, Miss Wood had no choice but to marry a friend of her brother-in-law, the Reverend Norris, who had almost no property. Miss Frances' fate was even worse than Miss Wood's. To be honest, Miss Wood's marriage was quite acceptable. Sir Thomas was happy to help his friend, appointing Reverend Norris as the vicar of Mansfield and providing him with a salary, so that Mr. Norris and Miss Wood could enjoy married life with an annual income of nearly one thousand pounds. However, Miss Frances' marriage greatly disappointed the family. She actually fell for a Marine lieutenant who had no education, no wealth, and no social standing. For her marriage, the family turned against her and cut off ties with her. They believed that marrying anyone else would have been better than marrying him.