It is a love story, Fanny and Edmund overcoming obstacles of family, other attachments and demonic temptations before finding love and marriage in a rectory; it is a satire on Regency England, holding the inconstancy and playfulness of London, as represented by the Crawfords, up to ridicule; it is a plea for peace, a deeply conservative attack on the vigour of the 'improvers'; it is a tale of a social climber, Fanny, who coats her own desires in the language of piety; or perhaps it is even a sustained attack on poor parenting.

Fanny
	a pious, good-natured girl who suffers everything without a murmur
	is the living, breathing representative of Mansfield Park - orderly and righteous
	unbearably self-righteous killjoy
	is an insipid character with no spark or imagination

Edmund
	an exceptionally strong sense of duty
	considerate and kind, especially in his care of Fanny
	dull, dull, dull - and with no apparent sense of humour
	falls for Mary, who is clearly very wrong for him

Mary
	clever and witty, with sparkling conversation
	full of life and energy
	a corrupted representative of London licentiousness
	as shallow as a paddling pool

Henry
	charming and witty, with a way of making everyone love him
	falls for Fanny - and is improved by his courtship of her
	fundamentally amoral
	represents all that is dangerous in the world of that time
	is a dedicated 'improver'

Maria and Julia
	foolish young women who are easily seduced
	uncaring towards Fanny
	selfish and with no sense of duty - either moral or familial

Sir Thomas
	upright and moral man who wants the best for his family
	allows his daughters and his eldest son to become dissolute, with no sense of morality
	far too distant from his children to understand them

Mrs Norris
	an odious, interfering busybody

In what ways does the trip to Sotherton prepare the reader for the dramatic events later in the novel?

To what extent might Fanny Price be described as a truly Christian heroine?

How are the Crawfords presented as dangers to the world of Mansfield Park?

Discuss the importance of the house at Mansfield Park in the novel.

In what ways is Fanny's stay in Portsmouth important to our understanding of the novel?