Manipulation of Natures

Like Amber, I was also drawn to the questions of nature/nurture in Mansfield Park. While Fanny is innately good and moral, her education and manners are a result of her upbringing in Mansfield Park. Fanny’s innate characteristics are “improved” upon at Mansfield Park  and when she returns to Portsmouth she realizes that Mansfield Park is her true home. There is little doubt of the impact of the environment on the formation of the self. However, Austen problematizes the concept of nature vs. nurture throughout the novel. One example, is Maria and Julia’s behavior. Although Maria and Julia were raised as gentlewomen, they behave poorly toward Fanny and immorally in their relations to Henry. Both sisters are drawn to Henry’s charm and become competitive in their quest for his affections. The sister’s behavior illustrates the hypocrisy and corruptibility of the aristocracy. Unlike Fanny, the sisters are duped by his charm and insincere emotions. The entire novel reveals the ability to alter one’s nature for utility and self-interest. Outward looks are deceiving and everyone must use reason to discern a person’s “true” nature. This made me think of the Spanish saying, “Ojos vemos, corazones no sabemos” which literally translates into “Eyes we see, heart we don’t know.” Henry and Mary also represent the corrupting influence of the environment.
  Henry and Mary were raised in the city and know how to manipulate their natures effectively in order to pursue their own self-interests. A telling episode is Mary and Mrs. Grant’s conversation about marriage in the beginning of the novel. Mary reveals that marriage is a “maneuvering business” and everyone is “taken in” (). Mrs. Grant tells Mary that she has attended “a bad school for matrimony” and that Mansfield Park with “cure“ Mary and Henry without “any taking in” (). Mrs. Grant assures Mary that she and Henry will not be taken because they will be the ones to manipulate the situation. Mrs. Grant tells Mary to have “a little imagination” and that if “one scheme of happiness fails, human nature turns to another; if the first calculation is wrong, then we make a second better” and thus the would be “evil-minded” “are more taken in and deceived than the parties themselves” (). Thus, Mary tries to manipulate Edmund to change careers and convince Fanny to marry Henry in a plot to assure her close relations to Edmund. Henry is the constant wooer and plays with Maria, Julia, and Fanny’s emotions, which in the end disgrace Maria. Henry, however, can still recover form the scandal and marry well.
I also found the juxtaposition of Mrs. Grant’s and Mary conversation and the discussion of improving Sotherton well done. The connection between the manipulation of both human nature and the environment was very interesting. Mrs. Norris’s constant need for social approval reveals her to be highly interested in the utility and constant improvement of nature to promote social mobility and exhibit taste. Mrs. Norris says that if she owned Sotherton she would “not think of the expense” and would “have everything done in the best style” (). Mrs. Norris is focused on augmenting the aesthetics of the ground and thereby her status as a person of taste.