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Mr. Norris
The Admiral is Henry and Mary’s uncle, with whom they lived before Mary moved to the Parsonage. Henry gets along well with his uncle, but Mary butts heads with him often, and speaks negatively of him to other characters. The Admiral is a navy admiral whose high position allows him to help William rise in the ranks when Henry requests his intervention.
The Admiral Quotes in Mansfield Park
The Mansfield Park quotes below are all either spoken by The Admiral or refer to The Admiral. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 27 Quotes
Yes, that uncle and aunt! They have injured the finest mind; for sometimes, Fanny, I own to you, it does appear more than manner: it appears as if the mind itself was tainted.
Related Characters:
Edmund Bertram (speaker), Fanny Price (speaker), Mary Crawford, The Admiral
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
182
Explanation and Analysis:
Edmund speaks this quote as he and Fanny discuss some of Mary’s character flaws just before the ball. Edmund has just come from the Parsonage, where Mary told him she would dance with him for the last time that night, since he will soon be ordained as a clergyman.
Edmund suggests that he believes that Mary’s upbringing has ruined her character, one of many times throughout the book that the characters bring up questions of nature versus nurture. Though Mary is born a gentlewoman, Edmund believes she has been corrupted by the bad influence of the Admiral, and so has gone against her better nature.
Here, Edmund acknowledges the difference between manner and morals. Though he implies that he originally thought some of Mary’s more controversial comments were only “manner,” which is to say affectation or light-hearted frivolity, Edmund has come to see that they may in fact indicate a bad moral core.
Chapter 31 Quotes
She took the letters as he gave them. The first was from the Admiral to inform his nephew…of his having succeeded in the object he had undertaken, the promotion of young Price…Sir Charles was much delighted in having such an opportunity of proving his regard for Admiral Crawford, and…William Price’s commission as second Lieutenant of H.M. sloop Thrush… was spreading joy through a wide circle of great people.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Admiral Character Timeline in Mansfield Park
The timeline below shows where the character The Admiral appears in Mansfield Park. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4
...Crawford, come to stay with her. Henry and Mary previously lived with an uncle, the Admiral, and his wife. Mary was close with Mrs. Crawford but did not like her uncle,...
(full context)
Chapter 6
...in replying. They discuss improving estates, and Mary says something negative about her uncle (the Admiral) and mentions that Henry has excellent design taste. Edmund is disappointed that Mary would speak...
(full context)
...and Edmund discuss the navy men they know. Mary, having lived with her uncle the Admiral, is well acquainted with navy men, and makes a risqué joke about them, causing Edmund...
(full context)
Chapter 27
...with him to London and inviting him to dinner with him and his uncle the Admiral. William accepts, meaning that he will have to leave Mansfield a few hours earlier. Sir...
(full context)
...he thinks Mary is naturally good, but has been ruined by her upbringing by the Admiral and his wife. Fanny, unsure what to say, tells him she is happy to listen...
(full context)
...which, along with the note from Henry asking William to dine with him and the Admiral, puts her in good spirits. She tries to thread Mary’s chain through the cross, but...
(full context)
Chapter 30
...of his choice. She conjectures that he must have been in London to consult the Admiral about his choice. Henry says no, but that when the Admiral meets her he will...
(full context)
...tells him that she was afraid that Henry was going to end up like the Admiral, and Henry tells her not to let her negative opinion of the Admiral influence Fanny’s....
(full context)
Chapter 31
...to Fanny that William has been made a lieutenant, thanks to his influence with the Admiral, and shows her the letters to prove it. He describes the networking he did to...
(full context)
