63 pages 2 hours read

Jane Austen

Mansfield Park

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1814

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Chapters 4-8Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 4 Summary

Mrs. Norris sets her sights on finding Julia and Maria suitable husbands. The Bertram sisters attend many social events and balls. Meanwhile, Fanny remains at home, keeping Lady Bertram company. Fanny misses out on outdoor exercise when her old grey pony dies. Mrs. Norris thinks a replacement is unnecessary, but when Edmund returns from Oxford, he exchanges one of his own horses for one suitable for Fanny.

Tom returns from Antigua after a few months, but Sir Thomas remains in the Caribbean. Meanwhile, Maria attracts a wealthy but unintelligent suitor named Mr. Rushworth. Edmund has reservations about the match, but Mrs. Norris enthusiastically promotes it. The couple becomes engaged with Sir Thomas’s written approval, but he urges them not to marry until his return.

As Fanny turns 18, Mrs. Grant's half-siblings, Henry and Mary Crawford, arrive in the neighborhood. The Crawfords are a lively and charming pair. Having lost their parents at an early age, they lived in London with their uncle, Admiral Crawford. However, when the Admiral’s wife died, he moved his mistress in and instructed his niece to leave. Henry refused to let Mary move into his country house, so she moved in with blurred text
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