Maria Bertram

Last updated
Maria Bertram
Jane Austen character
Mariabertram.jpg
Michelle Ryan as Maria Bertram in the ITV drama)
In-universe information
GenderFemale
FamilySir Thomas Bertram (father)
Lady Maria Bertram (mother)
Thomas Bertram (brother)
Edmund Bertram (brother)
Julia Bertram (sister)
SpouseJames Rushworth (divorced)
Relatives Fanny Price (cousin)
Frances Price (aunt)
Mrs. Norris (aunt)
Susan Price (cousin)
HomeMansfield Park; after her marriage, Sotherton Court; after her divorce, in an unnamed other country with her aunt Norris.

Maria Bertram is a fictional character in Jane Austen's 1814 novel, Mansfield Park .

Contents

Character

Maria Bertram is the eldest daughter and third child in a wealthy family that owns the large country estate, Mansfield Park. Her father, Sir Thomas Bertram, is a baronet. She has two older brothers, and a sister one year younger than herself. She grows up treated with stern distance by her father, kindly ignored by her indolent, self-centered mother, but spoiled and indulged by her Aunt Norris (who seeks to remain ingratiated with the Bertrams). When she is thirteen, her family brings a poor ten year-old cousin, Fanny Price, to live with them. She has little interest in Fanny and treats her with condescension, giving Fanny the toys of the least value to herself. She mocks Fanny for her ignorance and reports on Fanny's apparent deficiencies to her Aunt Norris. When she grows to adulthood, she is considered in the neighborhood to be a great beauty.

Maria and Mr. Rushworth

When Sir Thomas goes to Antigua to attend to problems on his sugar plantation, Maria, being at the age to marry, is introduced by Aunt Norris to a young man named Mr. Rushworth. Although Mr. Rushworth is neither intelligent nor handsome, he does have a large estate of 700 acres and is worth about 12,000 pounds per annum, a very substantial income for the time. Maria, eager to escape her parental home, agrees to his proposal (subject to Sir Thomas' approval when he returns to England).

Maria and Mr. Crawford

Immediately after Maria's engagement to Mr. Rushworth, a young man named Henry Crawford comes to the neighbourhood with his sister, Mary. Because Maria has no real affection for Mr. Rushworth, she does not scruple to flirt with Henry, and she also befriends Mary. Henry also favours her over her unattached younger sister, Julia, even though (or perhaps because) her engagement makes her unavailable. Julia, too, is attracted to Crawford. This puts Maria and her sister in competition with one another. When Henry leaves without proposing to her, Maria insists on going through with her marriage to Mr. Rushworth, partly out of disappointment and partly to escape her stifling home life. She goes to Brighton on her honeymoon, taking Julia with her, and from there the party proceeds to Mr. Rushworth's new London home.

Maria's disgrace

In London, Maria encounters Henry and their flirtation begins anew. It proceeds to an affair, which becomes publicly known. The two elope, bringing shame to her family and disgrace on her. In fear, Julia also elopes and marries Mr. Yates, a friend of her oldest brother, Tom Bertram. Henry refuses to marry Maria, and Mr. Rushworth divorces her for adultery. She moves to "another country" (another rural area of England) with her Aunt Norris, and they live together financially supported by Sir Thomas.

Notable portrayals

Related Research Articles

<i>Sense and Sensibility</i> 1811 novel by Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility is the first novel by the English author Jane Austen, published in 1811. It was published anonymously; By A Lady appears on the title page where the author's name might have been. It tells the story of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne as they come of age. They have an older half-brother, John, and a younger sister, Margaret.

<i>Persuasion</i> (novel) 1818 novel by Jane Austen

Persuasion is the last novel completed by the English author Jane Austen. It was published on 20 December 1817, along with Northanger Abbey, six months after her death, although the title page is dated 1818.

<i>Mansfield Park</i> 1814 novel by Jane Austen

Mansfield Park is the third published novel by the English author Jane Austen, first published in 1814 by Thomas Egerton. A second edition was published in 1816 by John Murray, still within Austen's lifetime. The novel did not receive any public reviews until 1821.

<i>Mansfield Park</i> (1999 film) 1999 period film directed by Patricia Rozema

Mansfield Park is a 1999 British romantic comedy-drama film based on Jane Austen's 1814 novel of the same name, written and directed by Patricia Rozema. The film departs from the original novel in several respects. For example, the life of Jane Austen is incorporated into the film, as are the issues of slavery and West Indian plantations. The majority of the film was filmed on location at Kirby Hall in Northamptonshire.

<i>Mr. Darcys Daughters</i> 2003 novel by Elizabeth Aston

Mr. Darcy's Daughters is a 2003 novel by the English author Elizabeth Aston, published by Simon & Schuster in the United States. Set in 1818, Mr. Darcy's Daughters is written as a sequel to Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. It features the five daughters of Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet – aged 21 to 16 – as they navigate London society in the absence of their parents, who have embarked on a diplomatic post to Constantinople. In London, the sisters meet new friends and find themselves in various romantic entanglements, all while learning what is acceptable behaviour among the city's elite.

<i>Mansfield Park</i> (1983 TV serial) 1983 British television drama series

Mansfield Park is a 1983 British television drama serial, made by the BBC, and adapted from Jane Austen's 1814 novel of the same name. The serial was the first screen adaptation of the novel. Unlike Patricia Rozema's 1999 film, it is faithful to Jane Austen's novel. Jonny Lee Miller, who has a small role as Charles Price in this serial, played Edmund Bertram in Rozema's adaptation.

<i>Mansfield Park</i> (2007 film) 2007 television film directed by Iain B. MacDonald

Mansfield Park is a 2007 British television film directed by Iain B. MacDonald and starring Billie Piper, Michelle Ryan, and Blake Ritson. Adapted from Jane Austen's classic 1814 novel of the same name, the film is about Fanny Price, who is sent by her poor mother to live with wealthy relatives at their Mansfield estate. By the age of eighteen, Fanny is in love with her sensitive cousin who is studying to be a clergyman. Her feelings for him and her moral sense prevent her from accepting a marriage proposal from a much wealthier suitor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reception history of Jane Austen</span> History of reviews and reputation of works by the English author

The reception history of Jane Austen follows a path from modest fame to wild popularity. Jane Austen (1775–1817), the author of such works as Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Emma (1815), has become one of the best-known and most widely read novelists in the English language. Her novels are the subject of intense scholarly study and the centre of a diverse fan culture.

<i>Miss Austen Regrets</i> 2007 television film by Jeremy Lovering

Miss Austen Regrets is a 2007 biographical drama television film directed by Jeremy Lovering and written by Gwyneth Hughes. It stars Olivia Williams as Jane Austen, with Imogen Poots, Greta Scacchi, Hugh Bonneville, Adrian Edmondson and Jack Huston. It premiered on 21 August 2007 on BBC 1 in the United Kingdom and on 3 February 2008 in the United States by PBS' drama anthology television series Masterpiece as part of The Complete Jane Austen, the US version of The Jane Austen Season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fanny Price</span> Fictional character

Frances "Fanny" Price is the heroine in Jane Austen's 1814 novel, Mansfield Park. The novel begins when Fanny's overburdened, impoverished family—where she is both the second-born and the eldest daughter out of 10 children—sends her at the age of ten to live in the household of her wealthy uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram, and his family at Mansfield Park. The novel follows her growth and development, concluding in early adulthood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Crawford</span> Fictional character

Henry Crawford is one of the main characters in Jane Austen's 1814 novel, Mansfield Park. He is depicted as a man who, though not conventionally handsome, has great charisma. He is lively, witty and charming, a great asset at dinner parties, and admired by nearly all. Henry and his sister bring a fresh energy to the rather dour and oppressive atmosphere of Mansfield Park. At Sotherton his potential for disruption begins to emerge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edmund Bertram</span> Fictional character

Edmund Bertram is a lead character in Jane Austen's 1814 novel Mansfield Park. He is Sir Thomas's second son and plans to be ordained as a clergyman. He falls in love with Mary Crawford who constantly challenges his vocation. Edmund goes ahead with ordination. At the end of the novel he marries Fanny Price.

Tom Bertram is a supporting character in Jane Austen's 1814 novel, Mansfield Park. He is the elder son and heir of Sir Thomas Bertram, a baronet and wealthy landowner in Northamptonshire, who also owns an estate in Antigua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Crawford (Mansfield Park)</span> Fictional character

Mary Crawford is a major character in Jane Austen's 1814 novel, Mansfield Park. Mary is depicted as attractive, caring and charismatic. The reader is gradually shown, often through the eyes of Fanny Price, a hidden, darker side to Mary's personality. Her wit disguises her superficiality and her charisma disguises her self-centredness. Edmund Bertram, an earnest young man and destined for the clergy falls deeply in love with her. Only at the end of the novel does reality overcome his romantic fantasies and he leaves her with deep regret.

Jane Austen's (1775–1817) distinctive literary style relies on a combination of parody, burlesque, irony, free indirect speech and a degree of realism. She uses parody and burlesque for comic effect and to critique the portrayal of women in 18th-century sentimental and Gothic novels. Austen extends her critique by highlighting social hypocrisy through irony; she often creates an ironic tone through free indirect speech in which the thoughts and words of the characters mix with the voice of the narrator. The degree to which critics believe Austen's characters have psychological depth informs their views regarding her realism. While some scholars argue that Austen falls into a tradition of realism because of her finely executed portrayal of individual characters and her emphasis on "the everyday", others contend that her characters lack a depth of feeling compared with earlier works, and that this, combined with Austen's polemical tone, places her outside the realist tradition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgian society in Jane Austen's novels</span>

Georgian society in Jane Austen's novels is the ever-present background of her work, the world in which all her characters are set. Entirely situated during the reign of George III, the novels of Austen describe their characters' everyday lives, joys, sorrows, and loves, providing insight into the period.

Mansfield Park is a 2011 chamber opera in two acts by Jonathan Dove with a libretto by Alasdair Middleton based on the 1814 novel by Jane Austen. Initially composed for four handed piano, it has been set to music for 13 piece orchestral ensemble. It tells the story of poor relation Fanny Price, sent at age 10 to live with her uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram, at his family estate, Mansfield Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Rushworth</span> Fictional character

Mr. James Rushworth is a character from Jane Austen's 1814 novel Mansfield Park. Mansfield Park is about a young girl, Fanny Price, who goes to live with her wealthy relatives, the Bertrams. The novel follows the familial life and social circle of the Bertrams. Rushworth is part of this circle. He is the son of Mrs. Rushworth and has inherited Sotherton Estate. He has 12,000 pounds a year, which makes him a very eligible bachelor. He is the fiance of Maria Bertram who is the eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Bertram. His dull-witted character is in parallel to another 'Austen' character, Mr William Collins, from Pride and Prejudice.

<i>Old Friends and New Fancies</i> Unauthorized sequel to the novels of Jane Austen

Old Friends and New Fancies: An Imaginary Sequel to the Novels of Jane Austen (1913) is a novel by Sybil G. Brinton that is often acknowledged to be the first sequel to the works of Jane Austen and as such is possibly the first piece of published Austen fan fiction, although earlier examples have been described by Sarah Glosson. It incorporates characters from each of Austen's six major novels into one unified story, alongside characters of Brinton's own invention. Keeping to the spirit of the source novels, its major theme is the difficulties faced by assorted pairs of lovers placed within the class structure of early 19th century Britain.

Frances Catherine Austen Knight, Lady Knatchbull, later Lady Knatchbull was the eldest niece and correspondent of the novelist Jane Austen. Her recollections, in the form of letters and diaries, have been an important source for students of her aunt's life and work.

References