Mansfield Park Lesson Plan

Susan rises in Fanny's estimation when she sees that "much was wrong at home " that she "wanted to set...right" (269). Fanny admires in Susan "the natural light of the mind which could so early distinguish justly" (269). What does "justly" mean here?

The fact that the concept of "justice" factors into Fanny's conclusion that Susan is virtuous is fascinating, especially since what Fanny deems "just" here is that Susan rightly sees that their family lives in squalor and should be "set right." This version of "justice" will seem almost antithetical to most 21st-century readers' conceptions of "justice," as what is just here is that which conserves and maintains the...