Mansfield Park

Mansfield Park was written and published during the English Regency era (1811-1820). Early 19th-century England was characterized by considerable social upheaval. In the aftermath of the French Revolution (1789-1799), there was a sense of unease among the English ruling classes. Aristocrats and wealthy landowners feared the English lower classes might stage a similarly violent uprising to their French counterparts. Along with other European countries, England was engaged in conflict with France during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). In addition to social and political unrest, England was undergoing an economic shift from a rural to an urban-centric society. Although the economy was still predominantly agricultural, the Industrial Revolution gained momentum. Meanwhile, the abolition of the British slave trade in 1807 ended the colonial exploitation that lucrative British-owned plantations relied upon.

In Mansfield Park, Austen’s primary focus is domestic, and the author does not explicitly refer to sociohistorical events. Nevertheless, the novel implicitly touches on issues of class, British colonization, and social change. The chasm between the landed gentry and the working classes is illustrated in the contrast between the living standards of the Price and Bertram families. Meanwhile, allusions to British colonialism are made through references to Sir Thomas Bertram’s plantation in Antigua.