by Jane Austen
35. friends: relations.
36. The East Indies meant India and Southeast Asia, and cashmere shawls from India were highly valued. British naval ships did sometimes go there, due to British holdings in India, and if his did, William would probably have an opportunity to go ashore and purchase items from local merchants.
37. She means her social superiors, and she also, given her own modesty, probably thinks of them as superior in their personal qualities and accomplishments as well.
38. high: focused on exalted rank or social station.
39. worldly: devoted to success and money.
40. Fanny has heard Mary speak of marriage in those terms, though here she undervalues Mary’s genuine appreciation of Fanny’s virtues.
41. Social rules prohibit Henry from simply calling her aside to speak with him alone. Courting couples often found it difficult to have purely private conversations, so a person who wished to avoid such a conversation could usually do so without much trouble.
42. These would be her materials for writing, including paper, a pen, an inkwell, and a sander (see this page, note 2).
43. Fanny continues to call her “Miss Crawford.”
44. Actually, in her note Mary offered only “general congratulation,” and her subsequent words, “giving my joyful consent and approval,” signal that her congratulations related to Fanny only, not William.
45. The wording, though vague and unclear due to Fanny’s confused state of mind, seems to suggest she considers the rest of Mary’s note to be a joke or deception.
46. “&c. &c.” simply abbreviates the rest of the standard ending of such a note, which would include Fanny’s name.
47. Fanny again shows her high standards, for while the content of her note was confused, the language had no serious fault.
48. arrangement: orderly arrangement or organization (of her thoughts).
VOLUME III, CHAPTER I
1. devise: conceive, imagine.
2. French was earlier mentioned as part of her schooling. Fanny had a governess, but Sir Thomas obviously played some role in her education as well. He may have decided, knowing that his wife would do nothing in this regard, that Fanny, and presumably his own children, would benefit from a second person guiding their studies.
3. apartment: room.
4. by way of: for the purpose of.
5. Her bedchamber, or bedroom, is an attic room, and so does not have a fireplace in it.
6. The principle was one enunciated by Sir Thomas when they first decided to adopt Fanny, namely that since she is not a Miss Bertram and will be inferior to Sir Thomas’s children in fortune and expectations, some degree of inequality and distinction must be maintained between her and the Bertram children. Mrs. Norris has followed this principle vigorously, while also forgetting, as Sir Thomas admits now, the other principle he also pronounced initially of not imposing too unequal a status on Fanny. In admitting this, and clearly intending to remedy the fault, Sir Thomas demonstrates his basic decency and fair-mindedness, but in doing so only now, after eight years, he shows what has long marred his good instincts—namely, his distance from the daily affairs of the family and his failure to observe much that is happening there.
7. condition: social rank or position.
8. Meaning that since it appeared Fanny would also remain in a mediocre or modest position in life, those who prepared her for that lot, by not treating her like Maria and Julia, were actually behaving properly toward her, i.e., as her friends.
9. Social norms dictated that a marriage not occur without a father’s approval (or mother’s, if there were no father). Usually the couple would agree to an engagement and then ask parental permission. Henry started on that path, but, having failed to receive a positive answer from Fanny, has turned to asking Sir Thomas, probably with the expectation that her uncle’s sanction will help overcome her hesitation and diffidence (which is all that Henry believes is impeding her assent).
10. Women were strongly urged to be modest and cautious in responding to a man’s overtures, though not to the point of refusing a man they mean to accept. Sir Thomas’s unusually stringent interpretation of the ideal of modesty reflects his own strict moral standards, as well as, most likely, his hope and expectation that Fanny will accept Henry Crawford and thus that her hesitation could not result from any intent to refuse him.
11. collected: gathered.
12. That is, by seeking a parent’s (or stand-in parent’s) permission first.
13. Fanny’s halting speech indicates her distress and confusion. Usually, though often reluctant to open her mouth, she speaks smoothly and eloquently when she does.
14. pay his addresses to: court, propose marriage.
15. address: outward demeanor or manner.
16. Sir Thomas’s reasons give a sense of his priorities, and thus the reason why Fanny’s behavior is so beyond his comprehension. In mentioning Henry Crawford’s virtues he mostly refers to his wealth and social position, as well as his surface manners and agreeableness. He does mention character, and Henry has done nothing before Sir Thomas to indicate a bad character. But Sir Thomas has also had little opportunity to observe him: less than a month passed between the time Henry returned to Mansfield and decided to stay and flirt with Fanny and the time he left after the ball with William. Moreover, during that time Sir Thomas has mostly seen him in company, and there has never been a mention of a sustained conversation between the two men. Somebody deeply concerned with the true inner character of a potential suitor for a niece, or daughter, would not draw such thoroughly positive conclusions on such a limited basis.
17. He is asking, very tentatively, if she has developed affections for anyone else.
18. In other words, extreme blushing might indicate she is in love, but he tells himself that a very modest girl also could blush from embarrassment just from being asked about such a subject.
19. His “that” probably refers to her falling in love with either Tom or Edmund. Sir Thomas knows that they, along with Henry, are the only unmarried young men she has really gotten to know and thus the possible alternative objects of her affection. This possibility disturbs him, though he would like to dismiss it, which is why he so peremptorily declares it “out of the question,” why he adduces modesty to explain her blush, and why he chooses “at least to appear satisfied.”
20. His next speech, raising the topic of Tom and Edmund in regard to Fanny, suggests that is why he is now deep in thought. He is too intelligent to dismiss completely the idea of affection there, now that the possibility has been raised by her behavior and her current reaction, and it is a matter that touches him very deeply, even more than the issue of marriage between Fanny and Henry.
21. Meaning the truth of her affection for Edmund.
22. recommendatory: praiseworthy, serving as a recommendation.
23. settle: marry.
24. fix: settle down.
25. His glance is intended to ascertain Fanny’s reaction. While continuing to discuss Henry Crawford, he has also managed to introduce Tom and his marital state into the conversation, observing Fanny as he does so.
26. Having apparently elicited no reaction from Fanny regarding Tom, he turns to Edmund’s romantic situation and asks Fanny to comment on it. As indicated immediately afterward, her answer finally satisfies him and he can return to the matter of Fanny and Henry.
27. appalling: dismaying, terrifying.
28. give his character: describe or reveal his character.
29. Preceding decades (“modern days” to Sir Thomas) had witnessed cultural and political currents that encouraged personal autonomy and independence, as well as rebelliousness in many cases. The most significant examples were the democratic revolutions of the time, most notably the French one. These had frequently failed, the problems and violence of the French Revolution had spurred a reaction against many of its ideals, and a truly revolutionary spirit remained confined to a minority of the population, but even in the rest,
more muted traces of this spirit had begun to penetrate and lead to limited changes in behavior and attitude. Many writers of the time commented on this, and frequently, like Sir Thomas, expressed their disapproval.
30. disgusting: distasteful.
31. In keeping with the conservative outlook described above, independence of spirit was often regarded in negative terms, since it placed personal desires over social, familial, and religious obligations. This was considered especially bad among women and young people, for they were expected to submit to familial authority; hence independence of spirit would be worst of all in young women.
32. His surprise results in part from his previous observation of Fanny’s deference and timidity. She does reveal in response to Henry’s proposal a firmness that surprises everyone, but the reason is that previously her submissiveness reflected her belief in her moral obligation to behave so, whereas now her moral principles tell her to stand firm and resist, since she is being asked to marry a man she considers morally defective.
33. establishment: marriage, or position created by marriage.
34. This is a pertinent point, for Fanny’s marriage to a man as wealthy as Henry would place her in a position to offer considerable help to her parents and siblings.
35. He assumes she has been influenced by ideals of extreme romantic love, which the many highly sentimental novels of the period often depicted and celebrated. Jane Austen often ridicules such novels, as well as extravagantly romantic conceptions of love. But she also upholds more rational and moderate notions of romantic love, and she consistently supports the idea that, as she says in a letter to her niece on the subject of marriage, “Anything is to be preferred or endured rather than marrying without Affection” (Nov. 18, 1814).
36. nobly: superbly (especially in a social sense).
37. Fanny’s lack of money, except what Sir Thomas chooses to give her, and her relatively low family origins mean that Henry Crawford does represent a marital opportunity that, in social and economic terms, she is unlikely ever to come close to matching in the future.
38. temper: mental composure and equanimity.
39. article: subject.
40. connection: relative, family member.
41. This represents another terrible possibility for Fanny if she persists in rejecting Henry Crawford. Her otherwise poor marital prospects mean she may end up spending the rest of her life as a dependent relation among the Bertrams, and they, knowing she refused an advantageous offer of marriage that could have relieved them permanently of the need to support her, could resent her, thereby making her life of spinsterhood and dependence even more miserable.
42. generous: noble, magnanimous.
43. observance: respect, deference.
44. Gravel was prized in gardens because it remained drier than grass or dirt, a particularly strong consideration during the winter, when conditions were often damp.
45. nonsense: ridiculous or senseless behavior—as in a phrase such as “let’s have no nonsense.”
46. She says “Miss Price” because that is what the butler calls her.
47. Mrs. Norris, who frequently tries to dictate to or interfere with the servants, is undoubtedly very unpopular among them. Normally, however, their position means they cannot argue or answer back, so Baddeley probably relishes the opportunity to confound Mrs. Norris while strictly performing his duties. He smiles also at the ridiculousness of Mrs. Norris being the one Mr. Crawford wishes a private conference with.
VOLUME III, CHAPTER II
1. delicacy: sensitivity to others’ feelings.
2. speaking: indicating, testifying to.
3. Most women he has met in fashionable London society, including those he has flirted with, were probably very interested in wealth and social position, as his sister is. Thus he is surprised and impressed by Fanny’s indifference to these matters, as well as by the general moral delicacy and refinement she displays.
4. guarded: preserved.
5. person: physical appearance.
6. spirits: vigor, ardor.
7. unfriendly: unfavorable.
8. situations: social conditions or status.
9. Fanny’s incomprehension of her own effect on others is the converse of their incomprehension of her. It results from the gulf between her inner strength and her outer softness, which also makes others fail to appreciate the determination lying beneath her gentle demeanor.
10. attachment: affection. Henry’s proposal has raised her opinion of him, for it shows that he is willing to overlook considerations of social or financial advantage on such an all-important matter.
11. obligation: obligingness, civility.
12. want: lack.
13. In other words, not only does he lack feeling or sympathy in many cases, but he also lacks sufficient principles to make him behave correctly even when his heart does not lead him right.
14. engaged: gained.
15. event: outcome.
16. “Romantic delicacy” is a keen sensitivity to the rights of love and feeling, a quality that would have kept its possessor from ever approving a marriage so lacking in affection, at least on the bride’s side, as that of Maria and Mr. Rushworth. Interestingly, the one other case where Jane Austen uses this phrase is in describing Mrs. Dashwood, the mother of the heroines in Sense and Sensibility, and there romantic delicacy is criticized for keeping Mrs. Dashwood from exercising common sense and prudence in the matter of her daughter’s romance with a man who has acted strangely and mysteriously. Clearly Jane Austen, as in so many matters, seeks a mean between extremes.
17. doubting: wondering.
18. have done: cease, desist.
19. This echoes her daughter Maria’s earlier thinking, in which she, being “now in her twenty-first year,…was beginning to think matrimony a duty” (see this page). Marriage was in effect the profession of women, especially women of high rank, and thus achieving a good one could be seen as a duty, a fulfillment of the path in life they had been created and bred to follow.
20. Earlier Pug was called by a masculine pronoun, first by Lady Bertram and then by the author (see this page and this page). Yet now it seems Pug has had a litter. This has led to some speculation among those commenting on the novel. One possibility is simply that Jane Austen erred, though she rarely does, and this is such an elementary mistake that she presumably would have caught it, especially since this novel underwent two editions overseen by her. Another is that the first, male dog died, and was replaced by a female, and Lady Bertram calls both Pug out of her usual indolence; however, only six months passed between the earlier mention of Pug and this one, and that is not much time to acquire a new dog who then has a litter. Finally, as one scholar (John Sutherland) speculates, it is possible Lady Bertram, from typical negligence, says “has a litter” when she really means “sires a litter”: pugs, as valuable purebred dogs, would normally reproduce through arranged matings, and the owners of the male could arrange to receive a portion of the resulting litter; these may be the puppies Lady Bertram has in mind.
VOLUME III, CHAPTER III
1. Edmund expected Mary to have left by this point, for she had spoken of leaving when January came, and it is now the 9th or 10th of the month (see chronology, this page). Henry’s proposal to Fanny has interfered with their original plan for him to come to Mansfield and take Mary back to London.
2. Tea is served, usually an hour or a little more after dinner, in the drawing room, where the ladies have been waiting for them.
3. One or more ladies of the house usually performed the tasks of making tea—the servants would bring a container of hot water—and of then serving it along with the coffee, if that was wanted, and breads or cakes. Lady Bertram’s indolence probably means that Fanny regularly performs this service, except possibly when Maria or Julia is there.
4. must have: would certainly have.
5. stay: stay for.
6. sped: succeeded, prospered. This was the original meaning of “s
peed.”
7. Edmund has already shown a more cautious spirit than Henry in his romantic affairs, as well as in other matters.
8. This could be one of a vast array of editions of Shakespeare then available. Starting in the eighteenth century many editions were published, with an average of one a year by the later part of the century (though some of these were reprints of earlier editions). Some were scholarly, and others were designed to make Shakespeare more accessible to the general public.
9. Their edition of Shakespeare was published in multiple books, or volumes. That was generally the case with his works, and many other books as well, including Austen’s novels. One reason was the thickness of paper, which limited how many pages could be bound in a single volume.
10. Because the pages in books were thick and stiff, they usually retained the impression of where they had been most recently opened and handled.
11. The play they are reading is Henry VIII (1613), one of Shakespeare’s last plays and one believed now to have been a collaboration with John Fletcher (at that time it was believed to be only by Shakespeare). Cardinal Wolsey, Henry VIII’s leading minister for much of his reign, is one of the principal characters. He has many lines, including a number of long speeches, so it is highly possible that, as the narrative implies, Henry has not found the exact speech that Fanny had been reading.
12. beyond: superior to.
13. These are most of the main characters. In addition to the king and Wolsey, they are: Catherine of Aragon (called Katherine by Shakespeare), Henry’s first queen; the Duke of Buckingham, an enemy of Wolsey whose execution for treason dominates the early part of the play; and Thomas Cromwell, who became the king’s leading minister after Wolsey fell from power.
14. Henry has shown this chameleon-like ability previously, and here he gives a particularly vivid display of it by embodying such a variety of emotions and characters, many of whom differ fundamentally from himself. This ability is one of the keys to his character, and it shapes his actions and decisions throughout the novel. For example, his love of flirtation is motivated, at least in part, by his enjoyment of playing the role of the lover, both for its intrinsic pleasures and because he knows how good he is at it—it was frustration at his initial failure in appealing to Fanny that first spurred him to devote himself to pursuing her.