Characters / Mansfield Park

Fanny Price

"I should have thought that every woman must have felt the possibility of a man's not being approved, not being loved by some one of her sex at least, let him be ever so generally agreeable. Let him have all the perfections in the world, I think it ought not to be set down as certain that a man must be acceptable to every woman he may happen to like himself."

The protagonist of the novel, Fanny Price is the poor relation of the Bertram family, who comes to live with them at a young age and grows up alongside her cousins. While the majority of the family ignore or mistreat her, her cousin Edmund treats her well and she falls in love with him. But he falls in love with a new vivacious neighbor Mary Crawford whose brother pursues Fanny and her female cousins.

• Abusive Guardians: Mrs. Norris most obviously; the Bertram parents aren't malicious, but they are emotionally neglectful.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: One reason she falls in love with Edmund is because he's the only one who goes out of his way to care about her feelings and to look out for her welfare.
• Big Brother Worship: She absolutely adores her elder brother William, who dotes on her.
• Birds of a Feather: With Edmund.
• Book Dumb: When she first arrives at Mansfield Park, Fanny knows very little about the arts or humanities.
• Bookworm: She's filled the manor's old schoolroom with a variety of books, from novels to nonfiction accounts of China.
• Break the Cutie: Ages ten to eighteen see Fanny go from a sweet young girl to an Extreme Doormat, thanks to the emotional abuse and neglect she finds at Mansfield.
• The Cassandra: She quickly sees the Crawford siblings' bad behavior for what it is. Not having a share in Henry's flirtations, she understands how he is playing Maria and Julia off each other for his amusement, and not being infatuated with Mary, she sees how Mary is unwilling to respect serious matters. But the Betrams are far too taken with their charming new neighbors to see these problems.
• Character Development: Fanny starts to stand up for herself and take the initiative, such as when she helps her sister Susan with her problem with Betsy.
• Childhood Friend Romance: Falls in love with Edmund growing up and marries him at the end of the book.
• Cool Big Sis: When visiting home, she becomes a mentor to Susan. Susan can't get enough of hearing about life at Mansfield, and Fanny is able to steer her into more effective ways of coping with the Price household's disorder.
• Determinator: Although she'll bow to nearly any request immediately, she absolutely won't accede to anything against her morals. It's difficult, but she steadfastly refuses the Bertrams' increasingly angry demands that she participate in the play and, later, marry Henry.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Henry Crawford very nearly succeeds in the task.
• English Rose: She's a nice girl brought up in the English country. She's timid and quiet, but she has deep feelings and true compassion for others. She's a very patient companion to her idle aunt and has a great bond with her brother William and later her sister Susan. Fanny grows into a very pretty girl with light-coloured eyes and a sweet smile. She has soft skin frequently tinged with a blush, which Henry Crawford describes as particularly charming.
• Extreme Doormat: She doesn't resent that her wishes and needs are always neglected because she has no concept that they might ever not be.
• Genre Refugee: Seems to be a Charlotte Brontë heroine who somehow got lost in a Jane Austen novel.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Towards Mary Crawford. She's jealous because her beloved cousin Edmund openly courts Mary and eveything heads to their engagement and marriage. She's also convinced that Mary is not superior enough to deserve him.
• Happily Adopted: Zigzagged. She's not exactly happy growing up at Mansfield Park, but she grows to love the place and most of the people in it. By the end of the book, however, she's more or less genuinely become this with Sir Thomas; they've come to love one another very dearly.
• Hidden Depths: She's able to see the Crawfords' true characters and, in fact, has formed a contrary opinion of them.
• I Didn't Mean to Turn You On: To Henry Crawford.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: Fanny suffers the typical "crippling insecurities" and "low-self esteem" of victims of child abuse.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: She's pained to see her beloved Edmund in love with another woman, but she could tolerate it if it was someone who was actually good for him. She sees no prospect of true happiness if Edmund marries Mary Crawford because her principles are so out of line with his own.
• Kissing Cousins: With Edmund.
• Love Dodecahedron: Fanny loves Edmund. Edmund loves Mary. Mary wants to love Tom but loves Edmund. Henry flirts with Maria and Julia but loves Fanny. Maria loves Henry but marries Rushworth. Yates loves Julia.
• Marry for Love: Fanny is the only young woman in the novel who believes in this, in typical Austen heroine tradition.
• Nature Lover: Fanny loves nature and often gushes how gorgeous plants or trees are. She also loves star-gazing. She was somewhat sickly as a child, and other characters often advise her to go outside for a walk or to go horseback riding because it's good for her health and well-being. When Fanny stays with her family in Portsmouth, she is sorry to "lose all the pleasures of spring" as she spends the time in a town and a confined, noisy house with bad air.
• Not So Stoic: Her outbursts surprise people all the more for being so few and far between.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Few modern readers realize that Fanny is a nickname for Frances; Fanny is named after her mother.
• Only Sane Man: Fanny after Edmund falls victim to Love Makes You Crazy. As an outsider, she can see all the missteps and foibles that the Bertrams are blind to in themselves and their friends.
• Princess for a Day: At the ball that Sir Thomas holds for her coming out (although she doesn't realize that's what it's for). For the first time, Fanny is dolled up as well as her cousins and the focus of approval.
• The Quiet One: Her opinion is so rarely asked, she usually doesn't even bother to venture it.
• Rejection Affection: When Fanny Price refuses Henry Crawford's marriage proposal, he and her uncle both assume her rejection is not serious and just a sign of her female modesty. He continues pursuing her against her wishes, but with the full support of her family.
• Sheep in Sheep's Clothing: When she rejects Henry's proposal, everyone thinks she's being self-centered and petulant when she has very genuine objections to the match.
• She's All Grown Up: A parental rather than romantic version; on his return from Antigua, Sir Thomas is impressed with the beauty and character of his niece and doesn't hesitate to talk about it.
• Shrinking Violet: As a result of her treatment, she's extremely hesitant to offer her opinion and hates being the focus of attention.
• Stranger in a Familiar Land: When she visits her family in Portsmouth, she's shocked at both the condition of their home and the utter lack of manners inside it, finding that her mother engages in routine Parental Favoritism and can't manage her children, and her father cares only for Navy news and drink.
• The Unfavorite: Mrs. Norris is determined that Fanny knows her place. She adores her other nieces and nephews, Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram's children, and convinces them to give Fanny a new home, and then tries to degrade her at every opportunity. Fanny grows up feeling incredibly insecure of her place at Mansfield.
• Victorious Childhood Friend: To Edmund.
• You Can't Go Home Again:
  • When Fanny is little and sent to live at Mansfield Park, she wishes to return home or at least visit her original family. The Bertrams never arrange it, even though they sometimes think that she should or could go see them. Being a young girl without money of her own, Fanny absolutely depends on her uncle's support and lacks the agency.
  • She's later sent to her family in Portsmouth for an indeterminate period of time, but she finds out she no longer fits, and again, she can't return to Mansfield Park on her own volition, although she longs to go back and take her sister with her.
  • In both this and the above, it's made worse by Fanny's sense of worth being practically nonexistent. She doesn't think she has the right to even ask to go somewhere in accordance with her wishes, and the other Bertrams are too self-centered to think of asking her in turn.

Edmund Bertram

The second son of the Bertram family, Edmund is the responsible one between himself and his older brother Tom. He hopes to become a clergyman even though the profession would lessen his chances with Mary Crawford, who he hopes to marry. Edmund is close with Fanny, but oblivious to her feelings for him.

• Betty and Veronica: Betty to Henry's Veronica.
• Birds of a Feather: With Fanny.
• Foil: To both Tom and Henry in different ways.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: With Tom. Edmund is the responsible one who tries to preserve standards of good behavior and reminds them of what their father would want, but he's universally overruled.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Although he has better judgment in some ways, Edmund is equally prey to the Crawfords' charms as his brother and sisters. When Fanny eventually spells out why she dislikes the Crawfords, including the way Henry toyed with Maria and Julia, Edmund dismisses their faults as minor character defects that can be improved by better society.
• Humble Hero: He seems to be this at first, and while he is trying to have humble goals and to think of everyone's well-being, he ends up being a bit too sure of his own superiority and righteousness, and being brought down for it.
• Hypocrite: He agrees to take part in "Lover's Vows" when Yates starts talking about finding a friend of a friend to fill the role opposite Mary Crawford's so that she won't have to act romantic scenes with a stranger. He's well aware of it and laments that his siblings are going to exult over it after his previous strident protests.
• Innocently Insensitive: He has no idea that Fanny is in love with him (or how badly she thinks of the Crawfords) while he chatters away about how wonderful Mary is. He also encourages Fanny to marry Henry, not knowing how much she loathes him.
• Like Brother and Sister: This is how he sees his relationship with Fanny until the very end of the novel.
• Living Emotional Crutch: Without Edmund's kindness, Fanny would be in an even worse emotional state than she is already.
• The Matchmaker: He tries to support Henry's romance with Fanny.
• Oblivious to Love: He has no idea Fanny loves him and thinks of her as a sister.
• Only Sane Man: He's the most responsible and unselfish of the Bertram children, tries to keep his sisters in line, and is the only one to occasionally remember that Fanny is a person rather than a convenience.
• Opposites Attract: He falls in love with Mary Crawford, who couldn't be more different from him. Subverted, eventually, when he realizes just how different they are in morals.
• Not So Above It All: He's the most level-headed and empathetic Bertram, but he's just as charmed by the Crawfords as everyone else.
• Preacher Man: He wants to become a clergyman—a common occupation for a second son, but he's sincere about wanting to be a good pastor.
• Pygmalion Plot: Subverted. He's trying to be a Pygmalion to Mary by reshaping her unprincipled attitude, but that doesn't work any better than trying to reform bad boys in Austen's works.
• Shipper on Deck: He ships Fanny/Henry and doesn't understand why Fanny refuses Henry's proposal.

Maria Bertram

The older of the Bertram sisters, Maria becomes engaged to marry her neighbor Mr. Rushworth. But after Henry Crawford comes to Mansfield Park, she and her younger sister soon become enamored with him.

• All Girls Want Bad Boys: She wants Crawford even after he flirts with both her and her sister, and then proposes to Fanny. So much so that she leaves Rushworth hoping that Crawford will propose to her.
• Awful Wedded Life: Maria spends much of her engagement trying to minimise contact with Rushworth and his mother. It's not surprising, then, that the importance and wealth of the match doesn't make up for the odiousness of living under the same roof as them.
• Arranged Marriage: Her match with Mr. Rushworth comes about because Mrs. Norris and Mrs. Rushworth think it would be a fine thing, not because Maria has any real liking for him. She goes along with it because she wants the wealth and consequence that being mistress of Rushworth's estate would bring.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Not over her actual fiancé Rushworth, no; she's competing with her sister over Henry Crawford.
• Gilded Cage: Regards Mansfield Park as such, especially when her overbearing father is in residence. She believes marrying Rushworth will give her the independence she craves by removing her from Sir Thomas' eye and allowing her to access the glittering social life and consequence in London. Unfortunately, she learns that living with a dull-witted husband and an overbearing mother-in-law is no improvement. In the end, she is trapped in an even closer cage when she is exiled to a rural cottage by her father over her transgression with Crawford.
• The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: With Julia. But while Maria is the more beautiful sister, Julia is also attractive, just not as pretty.
• Gold Digger: She marries Rushworth to become mistress of his wealthy estate. During her engagement, she ignores Rushworth himself as much as she can but encourages conversation about the grandeur of Sotherton.
• Nobility Marries Money: The baronet Bertrams aren't anything close to poor, but they do have to be careful with their finances. Marrying Rushworth makes Maria much wealthier than her father, and that is a strong motive for her to marry.
• Rich Bitch: She's had enough upbringing for the semblance of fine manners, but she's been so spoiled by Mrs. Norris that she's completely self-centered.
• Spoiled Brat: Thanks to Mrs. Norris constantly putting her on a pedestal as a child, Maria grows up to rate her own sense of importance and pleasure more than anything else. Despite having proper manners, she feels very much entitled to have things her own way.

Julia Bertram

The younger of the Bertram sisters, Julia hopes to become engaged to Henry Crawford, but finds that she must vie for his affections with her sister and then Fanny Price.

• All Girls Want Bad Boys: With Henry Crawford and then Yates.
• Always Second Best: To Maria. Julia has always been the second-prettiest younger sister to Maria's society beauty, and even though Maria is engaged, Henry quickly singles her out as the favorite sister. The Lemony Narrator says that in the end, though, this turns out to actually be good for her; unlike her sister, who's used to getting everything she wants, Julia has been disappointed enough for Henry's snub of her to stick, so she avoids him after that and doesn't get caught up in his flirtations again.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: She sees herself as entitled to Henry Crawford's affections. After all, Maria is engaged, so Julia feels herself the natural choice for Crawford to flirt with and eventually propose to. She's incredibly unhappy when she realizes this isn't the case.
• Elopement: She runs off with Mr. Yates after her older sister's affair becomes public. Fortunately for them, it works out all right in the end.
• The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: Julia usually gets along fine with Maria, but when they find themselves competing for Henry's attention, Julia becomes very frosty towards her. Their relationship improves after he leaves and Maria realizes he was never serious about his attentions.
• Pet the Dog: When Mrs Norris accuses Fanny of wasting her evening sitting on the sofa, Julia is quick to point out the poor girl doesn't get many chances to rest.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When she hears Crawford is coming to town, she quickly arranges a visit with some other cousins to avoid him. And when news of Maria's affair breaks, Julia elopes with Yates in part to avoid the ensuing shitstorm.
• Spoiled Brat: Like her sister; Julia throws some excellent, passive-aggressive hissy fits during the novel.

Tom Bertram

The oldest of the Bertram siblings, he is irresponsible and reckless. He serves as a foil to Edmund.

• Character Development: After his illness and Maria's disgrace, Tom realizes how destructive his behavior is and shapes up.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: With Edmund. Tom's the foolish one, although he improves dramatically after his illness.
• The Gambling Addict: So much so that his debts force Edmund to put off taking the parsonage so that Sir Thomas can sell the living to someone else.
• The Hedonist: His main activity is enjoying himself however he can and hanging out with a gang of equally-minded young men.
• Idle Rich: Tom's primary activity as heir to his father's title and estate is to entertain himself and his friends as much as his finances will allow (or indeed, in excess of that). Most of the actual responsibilities, such as dealing with household workers and finances, are carried out by Edmund.
• Personal Horror: When he gets a bad fever on a trip with his friends, they all ditch him to continue pursuing their own entertainment and leave him to find his own way back home, which results in him nearly dying. Being abandoned by his buddies and the serious brush with mortality leave Tom severely shaken.
• Pet the Dog: It’s briefly mentioned that, at least when they were younger, Tom was the only other member of the Bertram family besides Edmund that went out of his way to be kind to Fanny, i.e. giving her presents and generally being amused by her rather than annoyed or perplexed. Many of the items in her attic rooms are old gifts from him.

Mrs. Norris

One of Fanny's aunts, Mrs. Norris arranged for Fanny to come to stay at Mansfield Park but treats her badly in order to make sure she knows her place. She's also an inveterate meddler who always involves herself in whatever's going on.

• Attention Whore: Mrs Norris usually likes to interrupt everyone and makes a lot of conversation centered about herself and her merits, like her work in the arranged marriage between Mr Rushworth with Maria, or how Fanny was well raised thanks to her efforts.
• Control Freak: She loves to manage things and habitually takes over all the petty details of whatever scheme is going. The only one who can keep her at all under control is Sir Thomas, so when he's out of the country for the better part of two years, she gets to run the whole show.
• Hate Sink: She is probably one of the most hated characters in the entire work of Jane Austen. But she was pretty hated in-universe too. After she was "exiled" to live with Maria by the end of the book, nobody in Mansfield missed her and were pretty happy that she was finally gone, especially Fanny and Sir Thomas.
• Kick the Dog: Apart from her ill-treatment of Fanny, Mrs Norris also berates the son of a family employee for taking scrap lumber (such leftovers from the main house were usually accepted perks for people who worked for them).
• Laser-Guided Karma: She brought up Maria to be haughty and selfish and arranged a disastrously unsuitable match for her. In the end, Mrs. Norris goes to live with Maria in her cottage — the narrator says that each is the other's penance.
• The Matchmaker: Mrs. Norris is determined to make a good marriage for Maria (considering only wealth in the matter) and takes full credit for the match with Rushworth.
• Never My Fault: She's the only one in the family who disavows herself of any blame in Maria's disgrace. Instead, she blames Fanny.
• Parental Favoritism: Not only does she knock down Fanny in favor of the Miss Bertrams, Mrs. Norris also puts Maria on a pedestal over Julia.
• Parental Substitute: Lady Bertram is too indolent to put any effort into raising her daughters, so Mrs. Norris takes charge of their education and upbringing. This results in both girls looking like proper ladies but being spoiled and haughty.
• Pick on Someone Your Own Size: Even though fostering Fanny was her idea, she goes out of her way to demonize Fanny and blame her for everything that goes wrong. This includes Maria and Henry's affair.
• The Scrooge: She never spends any money if she can help it. And every time she visits someone else's house, she always makes sure she's gifted something (e.g. cloth or cheese). At the Park she just takes it.
• Shipper on Deck: She very much approves of the relationship between Maria and Mr. Rushworth, and badly wants Julia to marry Henry Crawford.
• Wicked Stepmother: Although she's an aunt, she fits this trope. She forbids Fanny from having a fire lit in her room even in winter, tries to prevent Edmund from replacing Fanny's horse (which she rides for health reasons), and belittles her at every opportunity, all in the name of ensuring that Fanny knows her place and is properly grateful for it.

Sir Thomas Bertram

Fanny's uncle by marriage, Sir Thomas is the wealthy owner of Mansfield Park. He is a strict authority figure for his children and his absence for a portion of the story allows them to behave improperly.

• Fantasy-Forbidding Father: His children rightly predict that he would never allow the play; he shuts it down immediately when he returns just before a rehearsal. (Thanks to some Values Dissonance he's shown as being correct^note they were using it as an excuse to flirt and misbehave, but the objection was to a play itself, as well as the more reasonable consideration that they had rearranged his own room as the backstage.)
• Happily Married: Despite his wife's total lack of intellectual virtues, Sir Thomas genuinely loves and respects her. (Although he does avoid playing whist with her.)
• It's All My Fault: He realizes that he was very incorrect in trusting Mrs. Norris with his children at all and in placing wealth over love when it came to marriages for his children.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite his sternness, he really does love his children and his wife, and he tries to be kind to Fanny when he returns from Antigua.
• Parents as People: He tries to correct Mrs. Norris' overindulgence by being stern. This only makes his kids resent him and behave more wildly when he's not around, as well as not trust him (Maria and Julia both make ill-judged marriages to get out from under his authority, although Julia's luckily turns out fine). He also gets very angry at Fanny for refusing Henry Crawford. It's noted that someone who was willing to marry a daughter to Mr. Rushworth can't be expected to have any romantic sensibilities.
• Pet the Dog: Sir Thomas reveals himself as an admirable character when he offers to break off Maria's engagement simply because he can see she does not love Mr. Rushworth. Sir Thomas also grows very fond of Fanny and treats her with more consideration than he ever did when she was a child, including overriding Mrs. Norris's order that she gets no fire in her room.
• Put on a Bus: While he's in Antigua, until The Bus Came Back.
• Shipper on Deck: He wants Fanny to marry Henry Crawford right up until the whole mess with Maria; later he's very keen to have her marry Edmund.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Fanny sees her uncle as a terrifying source of disapproval and admonishment, so she's astonished when he begins showing her care and consideration after his return from Antigua.

Lady Bertram

Another of Fanny's aunts and the wife of Sir Thomas, Lady Bertram is a lazy lady. She values and depends on Fanny a great deal, but does not mistreat her the way Mrs. Norris does.

• Book Dumb: Yes-no. She's received the education a proper lady should have and she's a good correspondent by letter. It's just totally inadequate for situations beyond afternoon tea, drawing room evenings, theatre outings, the social side of hunts and balls. Forget "how to bring up kids and run a household".
• Brainless Beauty: She never seems to have an original thought in her had, relying on Sir Thomas for all of her opinions.
• The Ditz: She's decidedly different, confounding others with her strange behaviours, both with ease and without even trying.
• Happily Married: She and Sir Thomas do love each other, and she finds herself quite genuinely delighted and animated when Sir Thomas returns from Antigua.
• Faint in Shock: Subverted. She's sure she will feel enough at Maria's wedding to make smelling salts necessary, and she tries to be agitated, but the event rouses no special emotion in her after all.
• Lazy Bum: She's always described as indolent. It's to the point of Parental Neglect, leaving Mrs. Norris free rein. Lady Bertram even refuses to undertake the usual duties a lady in her position has, not even visiting neighbors, and giving up her house in London because she can't be bothered to travel.
• Parents as People: She's never malicious and does show some small kindnesses to Fanny; by the end of the story, it's clear that she really loves the girl. The narrative also refers to her as the aunt whom Fanny actually loves.
• Parental Neglect: Lady Bertram sometimes seems more interested in her dog than her children. She did nothing to instill her daughters with good principles and carelessly overtaxes Fanny to run errands for her.
• Pet the Dog: Although she carelessly uses Fanny as an errand-runner, she does have affection for her, sends her maid to help Fanny dress for the ball (although Fanny already dressed herself), and misses her when Fanny is sent off to Portsmouth.

William Price

Fanny's beloved brother who was sent to be a midshipman in the Navy at around the same time Fanny was brought to Mansfield.

• Big Brother Instinct: Whenever he's present, he does his best to look out for Fanny and recognizes that she's more delicate in constitution than their other, rowdier siblings.
• Good-Looking Privates: William is promoted from Midshipman to Lieutenant and is happy that his sister, whom he adores, gets to see him in his brand new uniform. He looks fabulous in it.
  "He, complete in his lieutenant's uniform, looking and moving all the taller, firmer, and more graceful for it, and with the happiest smile over his face, walked up directly to Fanny, who, rising from her seat, looked at him for a moment in speechless admiration, and then threw her arms round his neck to sob out her various emotions of pain and pleasure."
• Living Emotional Crutch: He was this to Fanny before she was sent to Mansfield. She's much happier and more confident when he's around.
• Massive Numbered Siblings: He's the eldest of the nine Price children.
• Plucky Middie: It's largely offscreen, but he certainly has the disposition you'd expect and regales the Bertrams with numerous tales of adventure when he visits.
• The Pollyanna: He's disposed to approve of everyone he meets and everything he tries at Mansfield—the only fly in his ointment is not being made Lieutenant yet, but that's solved soon enough.
• You Are in Command Now: Referenced whenever he's talking of his ambitions. Every path towards advancement he envisions seems to involve the first lieutenant dying so that William can take charge heroically and achieve distinction.

Mr. Rushworth

A young man who's not very clever or handsome, but who is very rich. His mother and Mrs. Norris quickly arrange a match between him and Maria Bertram, as the two most consequential young people in the neighborhood. Although the marriage looks good on paper, things go south not long after they set up house together.

• Arranged Marriage: The marriage wasn't even his idea. His mother and Maria's aunt Mrs Norris thought of it first, but he's very willing because Maria is beautiful, rich, and from a good family.
• The Bore: He's not malicious; in fact, he's rather friendly and good-natured. He's just very dull, and thus can't compete with the clever flirt Henry Crawford, not where Maria is concerned.
• The Ditz: His main topics of conversation are how he wants to fix up his house and its grounds, and even then he doesn't supply any ideas of his own—he just asks the opinion of everyone else. It's that or lamenting how many lines he has to learn in the play.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: A rich, portly, stupid man who is constantly talking of renovating and improving his property? A likely pastiche of the Prince Regent, of whom Austen had no good opinion, although Rushworth isn't antagonistic like her other expies of Prinny.
• Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense: He hardly has an original thought in his head. Even Edmund thinks that "if he had not twelve thousand a year, he would be a very stupid fellow."
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: He's not especially good-looking, while Maria is very conscious of her own beauty.
• Upper-Class Twit: Mr. Rushworth is a stupid fool according to the narrator and every character in the novel. He only ever thinks of his Big Fancy House. His estate makes 12,000 pounds a year, which makes him the wealthiest single guy in Jane Austen's 'verse. Edmund Bertram's inner snark on Rushworth, his future brother-in-law: "If this man had not twelve thousand a year, he would be a very stupid fellow."

Mary Crawford

Mary comes to Mansfield Park with her brother Henry to stay at the parsonage with her half-sister Mrs. Grant. Ambitious, mischievous, and worldly, she immediately sets her sights on marrying Tom Bertram. But she soon finds that she prefers Edmund even though he is the younger of the brothers and will not inherit the estate.

• Accomplice by Inaction: Part of the reason why Edmund (and many readers) never understand how flawed she starts out and why Fanny at first despises her is that she doesn't actually do anything nefarious. She just sits back and lets others do whatever they want, seemingly uncaring as long as it doesn't affect her own comfort.
• Betty and Veronica: Veronica to Fanny's Betty.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: A strange example, as she seems conscious of it and willing to change. This is actually just a flirt tactic. She's ready to make efforts which will be mutually beneficial by toning down her pettiness, but she can't comprehend why others reproach her.
• City Mouse: She much prefers city to country and was worried that the parsonage would be too much a step down, though she likes it well enough when she arrives.
• Deadpan Snarker: She's very glib and can find a witty comment for every situation. Whether or not it's appropriate is another matter.
• Elegant Classical Musician: She plays the harp and is aware that it is enchanting to some people. The harp was an especially useful instrument for ladies because the harp allowed them to show off their figure rather than hiding most of it behind a piano.
• Family-Values Villain: She seems to be this when she claims to be utterly horrified at the thought of what Henry and Maria]] did. Because it will utterly ruin their reputation in society, and make her life much more difficult.
• The First Cut Is the Deepest: The denouement mentions that although Mary continued to enjoy the glittering social life of Bath and London with her sister, she remained unmarried for many years because none of the coxcombs in that set interested her after Edmund.
• Fish out of Water: She knows nothing of country life and recounts how unreasonable the locals are for not hiring out a horse to her during the middle of harvest season.
• Foil: To Fanny. Sociable and lively, but also selfish and immoral.
• Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Edmund keeps insisting that her character flaws are all the result of being raised by a philandering uncle and an aunt who was not at all happy about the philandering, as well as the bad influences of her high-society friends. While there is probably truth to this, she doesn't see any problem with her ethics and would rather Edmund change than become less materialistic herself.
• Gold Digger: She initially sets her sights on Tom because he is the older son and will inherit more. But then she falls in love with Edmund, the younger son who will not get nearly as much. So she hopes that Tom will die so that Edmund can inherit the estate.
• Harp of Femininity: Her instrument of choice, which is described as being as lovely and elegant as she is herself.
• The Heart: She seems to be this for Mansfield Park's youth, encouraging everyone (mostly her brother) to make compromises with others and trying to promote peace and friendly behavior. Her rather comfortable For Happiness morality turns this concept into being an enabler for hedonists, abusive guardians, manipulative mercenary friends, and a few other things...
• I Want My Beloved to Be Fashionable: How she regards Edmund. She can't stand the thought of marrying a clergyman, but she also can't help her feelings for him, so she hopes to get him into a different profession.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's an utter bitch, but does do some genuinely nice things on occasion. Half the time she's nicer to Fanny than either Maria or Julia.
• Obliviously Evil: She just doesn't see that her behavior and views are in any way wrong; as far as she's concerned, it's perfectly natural to wish Tom Bertram dead so Edmund can inherit.
• Opposites Attract: With Edmund. She would never have thought of falling in love with a second son bound for the clergy, and he never thought of a playful socialite, but she can't help but be attracted to him anyway.
• Pet the Dog: Mary is terribly selfish, but she quickly perceives that Fanny is a Shrinking Violet who is ill-used by her relations, noting that "Miss Price is more used to deserving praise than hearing it" and rescuing her from a round of Mrs. Norris' verbal abuse. But there's an emphasis on pet; while she genuinely likes Fanny, she cultivates a friendship mainly to alleviate boredom when the Miss Bertrams have gone.
• Rich Bitch: She's a very wealthy young woman. Her dowry is 20 thousand pounds. And she puts great emphasis on being rich and appearances.
• Shipper on Deck: When Henry announces his intent to marry Fanny, Mary approves wholeheartedly because she thinks a modest, moral creature like Fanny is just what he needs.
• Spirited Young Lady: Always free with her opinions and with a lively wit.
• Sympathy for the Devil: She tries to half-seriously invoke the trope during her first real conversation with Fanny. It kind of works.
• Unknown Rival: She has no idea that Fanny is in love with Edmund and continually causes unintentional pain by discussing her own internal debate on her conflicted feelings for him.
• What Beautiful Eyes!: Mary has lively dark eyes that are often described as bright and they become even brighter if Mary is animated.

Henry Crawford

Henry comes to stay at Mansfield Park's parsonage with his sister Mary. Though he has no intention of marrying either of them, he immediately begins a flirtation with both of the Bertram sisters, Maria and Julia, despite Maria's engagement. They both fall in love with him, but he finds that he prefers Fanny because she's the first woman he's ever met who proves immutable to his charms.

• Betty and Veronica: Veronica to Edmund's Betty.
• The Casanova: His main pastime is flirting without any thought to marriage.
• The Charmer: While he is short and plain, his charming personality wins him the attention of his romantic conquests.
• Dogged Nice Guy: He's encouraged to be persistent towards Fanny, no matter how unvarnished her refusals.
• Entitled to Have You: He gets his uncle to promote William Price so that Fanny will feel grateful and indebted. Note that his only exertion in doing so was going up to his uncle and saying "could you promote this kid for me," but he still considers it sufficient proof of his affection to think that Fanny must accept him for it.
• Fish out of Water: Like his sister, he much prefers city life.
• Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Admiral Crawford did not exactly demonstrate a solid moral foundation for his nephew and according to Henry, advised him not to get married if he could possibly help it. That doesn't make it okay for Henry to habitually toy with women's feelings for his own entertainment, much less actually ruin a marriage.
• Hopeless Suitor: Fanny is extremely determined not to accept him for most of the book.
• Idle Rich: His life's work is to amuse himself. Although he finds himself envious of William Price's life of adventure, he decides that the money and independence he's already got will have to console him. He only starts being responsible about the management of his estate and his tenants' welfare when he's trying to impress Fanny about what a good person he is now.
• Ignored Epiphany: He makes an effort to adjust his own scruples and grow a sense of responsibility, which he had notably lacked, in order to win Fanny's approval. But when he goes back into company with his London friends and finds Maria indifferent to him, he tosses it all out to try and win her affections and save his own sense of pride. Austen notes that if he'd continued to make improvements in his life, Fanny would eventually have accepted him.
• I Love You Because I Can't Control You: Towards Fanny. At first he just wants to "make a hole in her heart" to reassure himself that he can any woman love him, but soon he's trying to figure out how he can actually convince her to marry him.
• Intentional Heartbreaker: His modus operandi. Henry Crawford happily flirts with any single lady of his acquaintance while he never means to be serious and never means to get married. His sister Mary mentions a string of her intimate friends whose hearts Henry broke. He "courts" sisters Maria and Julia Bertram both at once, but soon zooms in on Maria because she is already engaged and so it's a bigger challenge, and he apparently enjoys messing with people's emotions. Later when Fanny Price is the only unmarried young woman in Mansfield, he specifically says to Mary that he decided to make her fall in love with him and "make a hole in her heart". She proves immune to his charm because she remembers how he treated her cousins Maria and Julia, and the cad falls in love with Fanny for real.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He is capable of doing good things for others and, like Mary, sees that the Bertrams don't treat Fanny half as well as they ought to. He just also enjoys screwing with people and can't help giving in to temptation.
• Karma Houdini: In the end Henry suffers no legal or lasting social consequences for eloping with and disgracing Maria, though he has to live with the fact that he deeply hurt the Bertram family and Did Not Get the Girl, since he did genuinely love Fanny.
• Kavorka Man: Although he isn't ugly, he's described as being very plain, not tall, and not a man women would look at twice. But he's so witty and charming that most ladies convince themselves that he actually is quite handsome after all.
• Opposites Attract: He, a pleasure-seeking rake with an independent fortune, falls in love with Fanny, a shy but highly principled ward of wealthy relatives.
• Prince Charming Wannabe: He really tries to make himself worthy of Fanny, but on discovering that Maria doesn't seem to like him anymore, he begins flirting with her again to assuage his ego and winds up having an affair with her.
• The Rival: To Mr. Rushworth, though he initially has no intention of posing a true threat.
• The Trickster: His main motivation in the novel is trolling those around him: whether it's flirting with both of the Bertram sisters at once to cause trouble, or pursuing Fanny just to break her heart (before falling for her anyway).

Mr. Yates

One of Tom's hundred or more "intimate friends". He's brought fresh from a cancelled amateur production of Lover's Vows and introduces the idea of theatricals to Mansfield around the same time as the Crawfords arrive. This leads to a whole host of troubles.

• Character Development: The Lemony Narrator notes that he's so anxious to gain his new father-in-law's approval that he actually improves a lot as a person from the silly, self-absorbed guy who complained that an old lady dying interrupted his theatricals, and turns into a good husband for Julia.
• Foreshadowing: He's the only person besides Fanny who seems at all bothered by Julia being left out or who is concerned about her feelings.
• Idle Rich: He is styled the "Honorable Mr. Yates", but much like Tom, fills his days with idle amusements such as betting on horses and amateur theatricals.
• It's All About Me: The previous attempt at Lover's Vows was scrapped due to a death in the family. Yates bemoans that the old woman couldn't hang on for just a few more days, then that she was "only a grandmother" and didn't warrant the degree of mourning that was given her.
• Large Ham: His main requirement for acting is that he be given a part that allows for a lot of loud ranting. (Sir Thomas runs into him in full flow.)
• Last-Minute Hookup: He elopes with Julia. However, there are a number of clues prior to this that they're taking an interest in each other—on Julia's side it starts out as flirting to prove how much she doesn't care that Henry likes her sister better, but both apparently enjoy it enough that racing off to Gretna Green seems like a good plan.
• Meaningful Name: He shares his surname with a contemporary actress who was known for her tragic roles; the Baron, Yates' role in the play, is one of the two tragic characters.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Maria and Crawford were already making eyes at each other, but introducing the play scheme took it up a notch.

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