An Aristotelian Approach to Jane Austen's Mansfield Park Katherine A
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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2015 An Aristotelian Approach to Jane Austen's Mansfield Park Katherine A. (Katherine Amanda) Guin Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES AN ARISTOTELIAN APPROACH TO JANE AUSTEN’S MANSFIELD PARK By KATHERINE A. GUIN A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Philosophy in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2015 Katherine A. Guin defended this dissertation on March 30, 2015. The members of the supervisory committee were: David McNaughton Professor Directing Dissertation Eric Walker University Representative John Roberts Committee Member J. Piers Rawling Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii To my father and mother, And To my husband iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project began almost twenty years ago when I read Mansfield Park and the Nicomachean Ethics both for the first time and in quick succession. My father, Greg Guin, had pushed me to read both and I waited far too long to take his excellent advice. I am very grateful not only to my father but his friend, Bill Henry, for inspiring my interest in great literature. As an undergraduate at Millikin University, I had the privilege of being taught by several gifted teachers in the Philosophy, English, and History departments. I thank my English Professor, Bonnie Gunzenhauser, for encouraging me in my first attempt at exploring the connection between Austen and Aristotle. I thank Professors Robert Money and Jo Ellen Jacobs for their excellent teaching. Special thanks go to Professor Karina Tokareva-Parker for keeping my interest in the ancient world alive. During my graduate studies at Florida State University, I was fortunate to find a fellow Austenite in Professor David McNaughton. I am intensely grateful for his allowing me the chance to pursue this project as a dissertation and for his pushing me to complete the seemingly never-ending process. I would not and could not have completed this without him. Thanks to Justin Leiber and Peter Dalton for their invaluable discussions on the subject of philosophy in literature. I thank also my committee members Piers Rawling, John Roberts, Eric Walker, and John Marincola. Special thanks to Karen who always knew what to do. I am grateful to Tina Talsma, Ali Brown, Tracie Mahaffey, and Christine Creek for forcing me to emerge from my self-imposed isolation every once in a while. Thanks to Rachel Baker for discussing Austen and everything under the sun with me during our time in a shared office. Thanks most of all to my husband, Joseph Long, who never let me give up. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... vii 1. INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 2. MARRIAGE ........................................................................................................................7 1. The Ward Sisters’ Marriages: Marriages of Utility and Marriages of Pleasure ......7 3. BENEFACTORS ...............................................................................................................32 1. Sir Thomas Bertram and Mrs. Norris: Benefactors as Creditors and Gratitude as Flattery ...................................................................................................................32 2. Benefactors and Beneficiaries................................................................................33 3. Generosity and Beneficence ..................................................................................42 4. Gratitude and Flattery ............................................................................................46 5. Sir Thomas and Mrs. Norris in the Stance of Creditors .........................................50 4. EDUCATION ....................................................................................................................53 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................53 2. Habituation through Mentoring and Imitation .......................................................53 3. The Character of the Mentor ..................................................................................62 4. Self-Education through Observation and Reflection .............................................65 5. Developing Practical Wisdom ...............................................................................67 6. Edmund’s Flaw ......................................................................................................70 5. COURTSHIP: THE TRIP TO SOTHERTON ...................................................................76 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................76 2. Maria’s Engagement ..............................................................................................80 3. The Ride to Sotherton ............................................................................................82 4. The Chapel .............................................................................................................83 5. The Walk in the Wilderness ...................................................................................86 6. COURTSHIP: THE PLAY ................................................................................................96 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................96 2. Settling on a Play ...................................................................................................96 3. The Casting ..........................................................................................................100 4. Role Changes for Fanny and Edmund .................................................................105 5. The Rehearsals .....................................................................................................114 6. The Objection to the Play ....................................................................................121 v 7. COURTSHIP: HENRY’S COURTSHIP .........................................................................123 1. Introduction ..........................................................................................................123 2. Henry’s Evening Project ......................................................................................124 3. William and Henry ...............................................................................................128 4. The Amber Cross and the Chain ..........................................................................130 5. The Ball ................................................................................................................140 6. The Crawfords’ Loves .........................................................................................142 7. Sir Thomas’s Influence ........................................................................................149 8. Henry’s Better and Worse Qualities ....................................................................153 9. Mary’s Feelings and Views on Marriage .............................................................158 8. COURTSHIP: FANNY’S HOME VISIT ........................................................................163 1. Introduction ..........................................................................................................163 2. The Home Visit ....................................................................................................164 3. Henry and Mary in Their London Habitat ...........................................................173 4. The Betrayal .........................................................................................................177 5. The Final Sums ....................................................................................................183 9. CONCLUDING REMARKS ...........................................................................................189 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................191 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................................194 vi ABSTRACT Many argue that Jane Austen’s novels exemplify a distinctly Aristotelian view of ethics. In An Aristotelian Approach to Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, I argue that Austen presents the development of Mansfield Park’s protagonist, Fanny Price, as well as the other young people in the novel in terms of characteristically-Aristotelian understandings of virtue, character, and habituation. To demonstrate this, I draw primarily from Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics to analyze characters and events from Mansfield Park. For instance, I argue that Jane Austen’s criticisms of marriage from wrong motives parallel Aristotle’s own criticisms of friendships for utility and for pleasure. Interestingly,