#also the fact that even competent William can't get ahead because he isn't a nepo baby

[bethanydelleman]

One of the main themes of Mansfield Park is the destructive force and injustice of the inheritance system.

Mary mourns that both Sir Thomas's and Mr. Rushworth's wealth have fallen/will fall into unworthy hands when perhaps they should have gone to Edmund. But if they went to Edmund, wouldn't he have been just as ruined and therefore unworthy of her affection? He is the only child of the Bertrams who has to struggle to endure (kind of, the living system is pretty BS too). Henry, upon hearing about things that William Price has already done, is jealous. He has been educated and sent out in the world to do nothing. He reminds himself that it's better to be wealthy and idle, but it isn't. Henry satisfies himself with playing with emotions, Tom gambles, neither are healthy people. They are victims of the system as much as Edmund.

Jane Austen, throughout her works, values wealthy men who invest real time and effort into their estates. Knightley, perhaps the most shining example, is a magistrate, takes keen interest in his tenants, cares for the poor, and attends parish meetings. He could be Tom or Henry, but he chooses the better path. That however, is hard and rare and there is little punishment for not doing it.

The women are destroyed by this system as well. Lady Middleton (Sense & Sensibility), despite loving music and being proficient, gives it up once it has granted her the gift of marriage to a wealthy man. Maria says she will only learn to 17, why do anything after you do your job and marry wealthy? Lady Bertram, who ought to visit and attend to the poor of the estate, instead makes things of no beauty. Everyone's potential is squandered.

Look how much effort Tom can put into a play! Look how intelligent Henry is! Rushworth has tons of money! And yet, instead of doing anything to better society, they talk about making elaborate gardens and putting on plays for no audience. I don't see anyone in Mansfield Park as a true villain, all of them are victims of a system that twists them into the worst versions of themselves. Fanny, Edmund, and William, all without massive inheritances, are the only people who have escaped the corruption.