Chapter 4 discussion

One of the things that's so interesting to me about the Bertram sisters and Fanny is the active/passive dichotomy. On a superficial level, the sisters appear to be active and Fanny passive, but there are ways in which the sisters are passive too. The line that sticks out to me is ...before he had been at Mansfield a week, {Julia} was quite ready to be fallen in love with. Julia herself has no sense of being in love, or that she herself should be in love, only that Henry Crawford is agreeable and therefore he can fall in love with her. (Much like Maria is engaged to Mr. Rushworth because he is in love with her, and Lady Bertram is married to Sir Thomas because he fell in love with her.)

But it's not a case of these women have been socialized to see themselves as objects. Maria and Julia are the passive recipients of men's affections, but at the same time, the men themselves are the objects. Miss Bertram's engagement made him in equity the property of Julia... (And poor Maria indeed. This is why love matches are important.)


Unrelated, but I love that Henry isn't handsome, and how we witness the transformation charm can make on a person's appearance. It's not "beauty's only skin deep", but rather an acknowledgement that personality is as much a factor in a person's physical attractiveness as clear skin / symmetrical features / nice teeth / other socially recognized physical characteristics.


Henry really is dastardly likeable. He's perceptive, wry, just the right amount of self-effacing. Mary is too. In a way, they're almost set up to be the protagonists of the story, being immediately likeable to the reader and with a clearly established pattern for their character arcs in their cynicism regarding marriage.

Can't quite articulate my thoughts on the in/out discussion between Tom, Edmund, and Mary, but I did like it. (Also, LMAO, Edmund is such a know-it-all.)