Mansfield Park: Duty, Virtue and Happiness

Hello and welcome back to Lady Disdain Reads. Today we discuss Mansfield Park, in particular the role of duty and the place of happiness within duty. I will reference a book by Sarah Emsley throughout this video, and hopefully will make a video entirely dedicated to her book next week!
Enjoy!

Sarah Emsley: Jane Austen’s Philosophy of the Virtues (2005)

Previous videos mentioned:

Ethics and Jane Austen


Duty in Jane Austen


Quotations from Sarah Emsley’s book:

'Virtues are dispositions not only to act in particular ways, but also to feel in particular ways. To act virtuously is not, as Kant was later to think, to act against inclination; it is to act from inclination formed by the cultivation of the virtues. Moral education is an 'education sentimentale'

‘for Kant one can be both good and stupid; but for Aristotle stupidity of a certain kind precludes goodness'

‘had begun to feel undecided as to what she ought to do: and as she walked round the room her doubts were increasing. Was she right in refusing what was so warmly asked, so strongly wished for?’

‘the central act of courage in the novel’

‘he feared that principle, active principle, had been wanting, that they had never been properly taught to govern their inclinations and tempers, by that sense of duty which can alone suffice’

‘They had been instructed theoretically in their religion, but never required to bring it into daily practice’

‘Although it has been suggested that Mansfield Park is a novel of moral principles, these principles, while important, are shown to be subservient to the education of the disposition’

‘He had meant [his daughters] to be good, but his cares had been directed to the understanding and manners, not the disposition'

[eryniel]

Only just started your video, but I just have to say that Fanny was never passive, like Harry Potter, a lot of things are happening around her which she cannot always or very seldom influence, its on her to stay true to herself and her morals and that is true strength.
Great video btw!

[Abel-ecch]

I love Mansfield Park. I love Fanny. This video was perfect for me. Thank you for another great piece of work!

[maryhamric]

Very timely. I just finished watching the 1983 mini-series yesterday, so Fanny is fresh in my mind.

[ChristinaDaSilva-zk]

I am interested in knowing more about Jane Austen's exposure to philosophy. It has been suggested to me that she might have encountered Aristotelian philosophy by reading Lord Shaftesbury, but it seems more likely to me that her own religious beliefs and practices formed her Aristotelian understanding of the virtues. What are your thoughts on this subject, and what is known about the philosophical books in her father's library? Please keep making videos!