How does Mansfield Park by Jane Austen represent an experience of imperialism?

Answer 1

Mansfield Park is a great estate owned by Sir Thomas Bertram. His wealth comes from Antigua, a colony that supplied sugar and wealth to English colonists. Though Jane Austen is not explicit about it, it would seem probable that the family's wealth is the product of slave labor.

Interestingly, the Bertram family has no moral anchor, aside from the poor relative, Fanny Price. Fanny's worth to the family is firmly established by the end of the novel, when she is the person who provides the family the solid morality it needs in its time of crisis.

Jane Austen does not deal with economic issues beyond those of the home and family. Many of her writings, however, have important economic and political implications.