Mansfield Park Lesson Plan

Surprised by the new affections shown to her by her uncle, Fanny is embarrassed when Edmund says, "Your uncle thinks you very pretty, dear Fanny...Nay, Fanny, do not turn away about it—it is but an uncle...You must really begin to harden yourself to the idea of being worth looking at.--You must try not to mind growing up into a pretty woman" (136). What ought the reader to make of these comments and Fanny's reaction?

The comments will read awkwardly for most 21st-century readers. Edmund is essentially saying that Fanny should not feel awkward about receiving such adulation from her uncle, as it is a sign that she is coming into her own as a woman and that she would...