Mary Crawford (Mansfield Park) - Mary Crawford's Character Revealed

Mary Crawford's Character Revealed

Ultimately, Henry Crawford departs Mansfield Park, but not before giving public notice of his intentions to return and to 'persevere' in courtship of Fanny Price until she agrees to accept him. But, while in London he encounters the recently married Maria Bertram, now Mrs. Rushworth, who has taken a residence in town with her husband. Each according to their characters, they flout society's strictures and begin an adulterous affair. When the affair is found out, they are forced to elope together. When Maria's family is apprised of their scandalous affair, they all are deeply distressed. Sir Thomas goes to London to search for Maria, and Edmund accompanies him.

While in London, Edmund goes to meet with Mary there for the last time. He intends the meeting to be a sad final farewell, the adultery of Maria and Henry having rendered any marriage between Mary and Edmund impossible. However, he is then shocked to discover that Mary views the situation very differently from a moral perspective. Instead of considering Maria and Henry's adultery as a horrific sin revealing shocking flaws in the character of both Henry and Maria, Mary is instead merely angry at the couple for their "folly" in being so careless that they were caught. Moreover, she proposes a detailed plan for trying to bring both back into society. Finally, while praising Fanny and regretting that now, Fanny will never marry Henry, Mary also partly blames Henry's decision to have an adulterous affair on Fanny, because she declined Henry's proposal of marriage. Edmund is shocked on several levels; first, that Mary could discuss such a situation without the embarrassment and modesty that he feels appropriate in a woman; second, that "no harsher word than folly" was given by Mary to the "crime" committed by Maria and Henry; and third, that Mary would want Maria and Henry to get married despite the bad characters of each, and would want to try to get society to ignore their wrongdoings and accept them back. Edmund is crushed to realize that Mary is not the woman he took her for, and leaves Mary's apartment.