XII explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Marriage and Morality

  The chapter explores marriage as a social and economic transaction, with Mrs. Norris and Mrs. Rushworth openly discussing the suitability of matches based on property and income, while Maria's engagement to Mr. Rushworth is contrasted with Henry Crawford's flirtations.

• Appearance vs. Reality

  Henry Crawford's charming manners mask his thoughtless and selfish nature, while Maria's happy appearance at the ball belies her true feelings. Fanny's observations reveal the gap between how things seem and how they are.

• Theatricality and Deception

  The ball and the social interactions are marked by performance and deception: Tom Bertram feigns eagerness to dance to avoid a card game, and Henry Crawford's attentions are a form of trifling that deceives both sisters.

Characters to notice

• Fanny Price

  Fanny observes the interactions between Henry Crawford and the Bertram sisters with unease, but her hints to Edmund are dismissed. She attends her first ball, initially enjoying four dances, but is later forced to listen to Mrs. Norris and Mrs. Rushworth discuss marriage prospects. She is eventually asked to dance by Tom Bertram to escape a card game.

• Edmund Bertram

  Edmund defends Henry Crawford's return to Mansfield, suggesting it shows credit to his character. He dismisses Fanny's cautious hint about Henry's attentions to Maria, believing Henry's interest lies with Julia.

• Mary Crawford

  Mary Crawford realizes she prefers Edmund over Tom Bertram after comparing them during Tom's absence. She is vexed by this realization and no longer wishes to marry the elder brother.

• Henry Crawford

  Henry returns from Norfolk after a fortnight and resumes his flirtatious attentions to both Maria and Julia Bertram, enjoying their admiration without serious intent. He is described as thoughtless and selfish.

• Maria Bertram

  Maria, engaged to Mr. Rushworth, misses Henry Crawford during his absence and is pleased by his return. She is seen dancing and looking happy, with Mrs. Norris noting her sparkling eyes.

• Julia Bertram

  Julia, unengaged and unemployed, feels she misses Henry Crawford more than Maria does. She is the subject of speculation by Mrs. Grant and Mrs. Norris regarding a potential match with Henry.

Key passages

• “It was very vexatious, and she was heartily sorry for it; but so it was; and so far from now meaning to marry the elder, she did not even want to attract him beyond what the simplest claims of conscious beauty required”

  Mary Crawford was annoyed to realize she preferred Edmund over Tom, and she no longer wished to marry Tom or even to attract him beyond what her natural beauty demanded.

  Mary's internal realization about her feelings for Edmund versus Tom.

• “He has no faults but what a serious attachment would remove.”

  Edmund believes that Henry Crawford's only flaws are those that a genuine romantic commitment would cure.

  Edmund's optimistic view of Henry Crawford's character.

• “I wish my good aunt would be a little less busy! And to ask me in such a way too! without ceremony, before them all, so as to leave me no possibility of refusing.”

  Tom Bertram complains that his aunt Mrs. Norris pressured him into a card game in a manner that gave him no real choice but to accept.

  Tom's irritation at Mrs. Norris's manipulative invitation.