The Writings of City in Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park

Abstract

Mansfield Park is the work of Jane Austen, a prominent 18th century female writer. In this novel, Austen depicts the city of London in an indirect way, thus expressing her concern for urban problems in the context of industrialization. Austen portrays two siblings from London, self-serving Crawfords, who neglect morality, and follow the philosophy of money, indirectly reflecting many of the city’s problems. In addition, the urban values gradually penetrate the country represented by Mansfield Park, and the characters in the novel are also affected, such as Maria eloping with Mr. Crawford and thus getting into a scandal, and the Bertram siblings and others staging degrading theatricals at home. And the novel’s heroine, Fanny Price, is the only character in the novel who resists the temptation of urban values. Austen sees her as a representative of the country culture, and her noble behavior represents the resistance of the country culture to the city values. Austen’s writing about the city in Mansfield Park also reflects her intention to try to correct the problems caused by urban development.