Mansfield Park Ch. 1: Three Sisters and a Poor

Summary

Thirty years before the story opens, Maria Ward marries Sir Thomas Bertram of Mansfield Park on seven thousand pounds and a stroke of luck. Her sister marries the clergyman Mr Norris. The third sister, Frances, marries a lieutenant of marines with no money or connections, and the family cuts her off.

Eleven years later Mrs Price writes, with a large family and a poor husband. Mrs Norris, who has no children of her own, proposes that Mansfield take one of the girls. Sir Thomas hesitates, then agrees, on condition that the child is properly provided for and kept distinct from his daughters. Lady Bertram settles where she will live: "Then she had better come to us." Mrs Norris keeps the credit for the idea and leaves the cost to others.

In this chapter: Terms Key Quotes

Why This Matters

How Upbringing Shapes a Character

See how a poor niece, two indulged daughters and an absent father each turn out, and what Sir Thomas finally admits. Thirty years before the story opens, Maria Ward marries Sir Thomas Bertram of Mansfield Park on seven thousand pounds and a stroke of luck.

Name one habit you learned from the people who raised you, and decide whether to keep it.

Coming Up in Chapter 2

Fanny Price, a frightened ten-year-old, makes the long journey north. Her cousins look her over, and one of them finds her crying.

NextNext Chapter

Original text

3,103 wordscomplete

Chapter 01

Three Sisters and a Poor Niece

About thirty years ago Miss Maria Ward, of Huntingdon, with only seven thousand pounds, had the good luck to captivate Sir Thomas Bertram, of Mansfield Park, in the county of Northampton, and to be thereby raised to the rank of a baronet’s lady, with all the comforts and consequences of an handsome house and large income. All Huntingdon exclaimed on the greatness of the match, and her uncle, the lawyer, himself, allowed her to be at least three thousand pounds short of any equitable claim to it. She had two sisters to be benefited by her elevation; and such of…

Public-domain chapter text, formatted for reading.

Critical Thinking Exercise

12 minutes

Practise How Upbringing Shapes a Character

Write six lines on Three Sisters and a Poor Niece: who asked, who paid, and what you would have said. Keep it to this chapter.

Consider:

•The working skill is How Upbringing Shapes a Character.
•Use only beats from this chapter.
•Name a cost, not a slogan.

Master this chapter. Complete your experience

Purchase the complete book to access all chapters and support classic literature

Buy atAmazon.com

Available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats

Emma

Jane Austen

Also by Jane Austen

Northanger Abbey

Jane Austen

Also by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen

Also by Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility

Jane Austen

Also by Jane Austen

Deep diving the literary elements.

Summary

In this chapter: Terms Key Quotes