The eighteenth-century novel often seemed to be where people attempted to reform society. The novel provided writers with a medium through which they could provide both entertainment and a place to attempt to reform people's opinions. While these writers were often only slightly allowed to delve into something outside the status quo of the time, they were often even more successful because of this propensity to stay within the boundaries. In other words, because these authors were not too radical in their writings, readers were therefore better able to digest these ideas. Austen uses this technique in Mansfield Park to show readers some of the wrongs of the institution of marriage, as well as how women were limited in the society of the time. To do this, Austen uses a technique that Armstrong, in Desire and Domesticity, defines as collective body individuation: showing a social wrong through an individual case in order to reform it. Using this technique of identifying women's constraints in marriage, we are able to sympathize first with Fanny, and then with female society as a whole by seeing the emotional impact on the individual. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Fanny, throughout the novel, is shown as the one with the least amount of influence and voice in the novel, once even referred to as a “creep-mouse” by her cousin, and treated as a servant by others (Austen , 168).It is in the crucial part of her life, and perhaps the most crucial part of the book, where she has to raise her voice against her potential suitor, Henry Crawford, as well as her family, where she really gets a bigger deal of agency. This increased sense of agency reaches a climax in chapter 35, in which Edmund goes to Fanny to encourage her to accept Henry's marriage proposal. While Edmund encourages the marriage, Fanny says of this, that she "shouldn't be established as certain that a man should be acceptable to any woman who might like him" (Austen, 391). Fanny's statement here that women should not be forced to marry conveys a small part of the criticism of Austen at business weddings of the time. Instead, Austen shows here that women should be responsible for their own destiny, rather than society requiring them to be forced into a loveless marriage simply because society, as well as their own families, forced them to do so. Austen criticizes female constraints in marriage as a whole through this individual case. Fanny says that she "should have thought... that every woman must have felt the possibility of a man not being approved, not being loved by someone of his sex", which implies this contradiction with the reality of society (Austen, 391) . Not only does the literal emphasis of Fanny's words give her words more power - something she normally lacks - but the fact that she speaks makes the words that much more powerful. Here Austen shows the power that women should possess. Since Fanny almost never speaks against social norms, this point of departure from her normal self adds much more power to her words than if she were constantly speaking. His emphasis on the word “should” gives importance to what he is saying and is on the verge of urgency. If she had been another character, the word to use here might have been “shall,” but the word “shall” lends more credibility to who Fannie is. She cannot give a stronger opinion, or otherwise be recognized as someone who deviates from the social norm, being a womansubservient to men and having little or no say in their matters. To explain and validate what Austen is doing, Armstrong argues that eighteenth-century novelists attempted to reform what people thought about sexuality. Of this, she states that “the struggle to represent sexuality took the form of a struggle to locate wherever a collective body existed” (Armstrong, 468). In other words, the rise of the novel sought to show an individual circumstance to fully convey the struggles of the whole. The individual's circumstance therefore gives emotional support and sympathy towards the entire population. To show the whole thing, the rise of the novel gives way to the individualization of social norms, such as the female constraints shown in this novel. Armstrong goes on to say that “Rather than referring to individuals already… carrying on relationships according to novelistic conventions, domestic fiction took great care to distinguish itself from the type of fiction that predominated in the eighteenth [century]” (Armstrong, 469). . Mansfield Park, as a form of domestic narrative, questions the roles that men and women played in relationships through cases such as Fanny's. Fanny's exclamation that women should be able to say no to a potential suitor brings to light some of the wrongs of the patriarchal existence in which she lives. Leading up to this event, Fanny's subservience and general lack of power is shown at the beginning of the chapter, evoking in the reader the same kind of sympathy for Fanny's lack of power that is seen throughout the novel. "Oh! never, never, never; it will never succeed with me," Fanny says to Edmund during the first part of their conversation, which readers hope is Fanny gaining more agency and more voice (Austen, 385) . This is immediately contradicted by Fanny's willing submission to Edmund: she quickly changes this firm decision by saying that she thinks she will never marry Henry and that she thinks he will never return her love (Austen, 385). Her firm resolve is quickly rendered irresolute by Edmund's statement that her decision to never marry Crawford is "so determined and positive", which was apparently "not like [herself], [her] rational self" (Austen, 385). In this, Edmund states that her wanting to reject Henry Crawford is irrational, as if a woman's opinions were only rational if they agreed with those of a man, or simply with society in general. Austen seems to criticize the way men make women feel as if their opinions and feelings are not valid unless they are similar to theirs. Once Edmund makes this statement, the narrator conveys that Fanny was obliged to “correct herself sadly” (Austen, 385). This description from the narrator gives the reader a little insight into Fanny's mind, showing the reader the great pains, mentally, that Fanny is forced to endure in order to adapt to the society run by the patriarchy. She is forced into what Edmund and the rest of the family around her want to hear, just as other women of the time were forced to deal with. Fanny's propensity to go against the patriarchal norm of society can only subtly be explained in Armstrong's theory. Armstrong posits that “domestic narrative could represent an alternative form of political power without seeming at odds with the distribution of power it represented as historically given” (Armstrong, 471). Fanny goes so far as to speak out against Edmund only because of the way Austen was forced, as an author, to maintain the status quo of the time. She has to do this to survive as an author, and by doing so, the reader is more likely to accept these opinions because they are not too muchradicals. By subtly integrating some radical views of the time, Austen thus manages to gain some supporters because her work only slightly challenges the views of the day. This oppression of the marriage proposal between Fanny and Henry is addressed during her explanation, to Edmund, of why the match would be unfavorable to her. After repeatedly explaining to Edmund why she did not want to marry Henry Crawford, he states that their characters are similar. For this, Fanny disputes the difference between their personalities are "infinitely too great" and that "her spirits often oppress her" (Austen, 387). Although Fanny states this with some nonchalance, it seems that Austen is attempting to insinuate the oppression of marriage itself. Oppression here meaning something like "overwhelm (mentally) or burden a person", meaning that his spirit (or personality) distressed him, Austen uses this meaning to hide a deeper meaning to this word (OED) . Rather, here he is trying to convey that Henry has a propensity to “rule harshly; tyrannize; engage in oppression” (OED). Fanny conveys the oppressive nature of men in the patriarchal society of eighteenth-century Britain by talking about her oppressive personality and character. This oppressive nature is seen again, when Edmund states that Henry Crawford has “chosen his partner, indeed, with rare happiness” (Austen, 388). The word “chosen” is used here to put pressure on the fact that men felt they were above women, that they were really the ones choosing their partners, that they would thereby submit to them. It is this choice of wife that Fanny objects to so much when she states that women should not reciprocate romantic feelings towards every man who flirts with her. Rather, it is the choice of both parties that should make the decisions – should be the key word here, which Fanny, as mentioned before, puts pressure on. “Chosen” insists on Fanny’s approval, giving the power of the relationship (or lack thereof) to Henry. Armstrong's Desire and Domestic Fiction details some of the reasons why the novel's characters were vying for Fanny to accept Henry, and thus submit to society and Edmund's will. Armstrong states that “the rise of the novel depended on the struggle to say what made a woman desirable” – therefore, Edmund was attempting to show submission as a desirable trait in women (Armstrong, 468). Austen criticizes this aspect of the novels of the time by effectively contradicting it through Fanny's rejection of Edmund's persuasions. Since we already sympathize with Fanny, the reader is thus trained to sympathize with Fanny's desires as well. This allows the reader to see that a woman's independence is much more desirable than what society's patriarchal norm considered desirable. As Armstrong states, “narratives that seemed to be exclusively about matters of courtship and marriage actually took the authority to say what was feminine” (Armstrong, 468). Austen seems to utilize this allowance as it forces the reader to reevaluate what they deem desirable in a woman. It's complicated, though, how we've already sympathized with Edmund at certain points in this novel. Perhaps Austen does this to disguise her intentions and only slightly reveal what is truly desirable in a woman, otherwise she will be ostracized and criticized for being completely against the norm. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The constraints placed on women and marriage are shown in Fanny's case. Showing the wrongs of society.