Mansfield Park
Henry Crawford
The charming rake
A witty, theatrical newcomer who flirts with both Bertram sisters, then falls for Fanny. He is charming, but he cannot stay steady.
Henry Crawford arrives at the Mansfield Parsonage with his sister Mary, full of London manners. He is a magnetic talker and a natural performer, and he enjoys being admired. At Mansfield he flirts with both Maria and Julia Bertram, even though Maria is engaged, because, as he puts it, there are two charming companions and why choose one.
He is not simply a villain. He can be generous and thoughtful, and Fanny sees him behave well. But he is vain and used to getting his own way, and he has never been tested by a woman who will not be flattered. He loves a role, whether on a stage or in a drawing room, and he is at his best when he has an audience.
“I love you with all my soul, Fanny. I offer you my hand, my fortune, and my life!”
In the story
Contains spoilers.
At Sotherton he helps Maria around the locked iron gate, and in the theatricals he takes the romantic lead opposite her. After Sir Thomas returns he leaves, then comes back and says he will make Fanny look at him with pleasure. The game turns into real love as he sees her devotion to William, and he uses his uncle's influence to win William a lieutenancy.
Fanny rejects his proposal, and he follows her to Portsmouth, where he is kind and attentive. Then he elopes with the married Maria Rushworth, and he ruins himself, Maria and the Bertram family. Fanny's judgment of him proves right.
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