Maria Bertram

Maria Bertram is a character in Jane Austen's 1814 novel, Mansfield Park. Her age is thirteen in the beginning of the book.

Character

Maria Bertram is not depicted as a sympathetic character. She does not have her father's discipline nor her brother Edmund Bertram's compassion, especially for her cousin, Fanny Price the impecunious niece of her mother. She is condescending and gives Fanny the toys of the least value to her. She would also mock Fanny for her lack of knowledge and reports on Fanny's apparent deficiencies to her Aunt Norris. When she became an adult, her attitude towards Fanny is not improved.

Maria and Mr. Rushworth

When Maria's father, Sir Thomas Bertram, goes to Antigua to improve the profits from his plantations, Maria, believing herself to have no prospects and being at the age to marry, becomes engaged to a young man named Mr. Rushworth at the prompting of Aunt Norris. Although Mr. Rushworth was not very intelligent or handsome, Maria agreed to his proposal of marriage for his estate of seven hundred acres was worth about twelve thousand pounds per annum, a very large sum at the time.

Maria and Mr. Crawford

Immediately after Maria's engagement to Mr. Rushworth, a young man named Henry Crawford comes to the neighbourhood with his sister, Mary Crawford. Because Maria has no real affection for Mr. Rushworth, she does not scruple to flirt with Henry. Henry Crawford also favours her over her unattached younger sister Julia because of her engagement although Julia, too, is attracted to crawford. This puts Maria and her sister in competition with one another. When Maria's father returns from his journey to Antigua, Maria is married Mr. Rushworth, due to her belief that Henry had only used her for his own amusement and with the approval of Mr Rushworth by her parents and aunt. She goesBrighton on her honeymoon and invites Julia.

Maria and Henry reunited

Maria goes to London with her husband, where she encounters Henry at a party. Her infatuation for him was quickly renewed, and the two of them soon elope, bringing shame to her family and disgrace on her. Henry does not marry Maria, and Mr. Rushworth divorces her for adultery. She moves into the country with her Aunt Norris, who has always favoured her of all of her nieces.

Notable Portrayals

• Samantha Bond as the adult Maria in the 1983 British television serial

• Elizabeth Eaton as the young Maria, and Victoria Hamilton as the teenage Maria in the 1999 film, Mansfield Park

• Tara Berwin as the younger Maria, and Michelle Ryan in the 2007 BBC television serial, Mansfield Park, aired on PBS as The Complete Jane Austen

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