Posted on Monday, 21 May 2001
My story The Reverend Henry Crawford showed Henry having taken up a profession that most of us cannot imagine him in, but I never told you what drove him to take orders for Fanny. Here is your answer, a prequel.
Henry Crawford was not a man to despair; his spirits rarely permitted it. Nature, habit, and education had given him a determination to not let anything stand in the way of what he wanted.
Yet he was despairing. The cause was frustrated love.
When he had arrived at Mansfield Park last year, if anyone had told him he would fall in love with the short cousin, Fanny Price, he would have laughed at them. He, fall in love? The very idea was against his habits and wishes. He had no wish to give up being free to do what he pleased, and certainly no lady was tempting him into the marriage state. Indeed, his thoughts had been to make the two Miss Bertrams in love with him; and he had every reason to think he had succeeded. Miss Julia was most vexed when he ceased to pay his attentions to her, and Miss Bertram's engagement to Mr. Rushworth had been broken. Yes, he had gone away happy; the days at Mansfield were not to be forgotten.
But he returned in December; his uncle had no more need of him in Bath, and he was now decided to make the cousin in love with him as well. The Miss Bertrams had been tense around him, but they never again showed any sign of caring for him. He would have tried at once to make them love him again, but Miss Price was not responding to anything he tried, and some of his tricks had been blocked by Tom Bertram and the Miss Bertrams. That was annoying the devil out of him, but it also produced in him feelings towards Fanny Price that he had not known he could feel before. After the ball, his mind was made up. He would secure a promotion for Fanny's brother, and then return to give her the news and propose to her. She could not refuse; that was impossible given her nature, her love for her brother, and his charm.
Mary had been delighted. The Grants had been just as delighted. Henry had allowed himself to indulge in speculation about married life with Fanny. What a fine, ordered, and generous home they would have; what fine children they would have; and the joys of having such a wife to preset in all her beauty and virtue.
So his surprise had been boundless when Fanny refused him not once, but twice. The first when he delivered the news, and the second when he went for Sir Thomas' consent. Furthermore, her cousins (with the exception of Edmund) were all supporting her and continued to act as interference between him and Fanny. But this could not be. Sir Thomas, Edmund, Lady Bertram, and his family (except for his uncle, whom he had told nothing of his plans) all praised the match as desirous; and how could he not eventually succeed? Yet when he had been obliged to take Mary to town, no sign of Fanny's loving him was apparent. Nor was any apparent when he went to visit her at her father's house in Portsmouth, and discovered her three supporters were with her.
Fanny seemed to become colder and more distant in her treatment of him each time he visited her. The last time had worried him considerably. Her health was clearly not at its best, but she refused his offer for him and his sister to convey her to Mansfield along with her cousins; her eyes suggested she was displeased with him, and she had finally said to him that he took no duties seriously. When he had told her that he could do a great deal for her with his wealth and connections her response had been to declare that "she would be happy to be a clergyman's wife and live simply in the country. It was far more desirable than to be married to a gentleman who loved London and its false virtues."
And so he returned to London to see his sister, and found that Edmund Bertram had proposed to her. This took him by surprise; he had not been aware of a strong attachment between his sister and his friend. But he was delighted; not only would he see Mary happy, his chances of succeeding with Fanny sooner must be increased by the connection of the families.
Yet once the other young people of Mansfield had returned, there was still no signs of affection from Fanny. Now he was worried; her cousins seemed to keep her strong against him, and they had an invitation to town from a lady who they had met in Portsmouth. Henry knew this lady, and knew he was not likely to see Fanny given how protective the lady could be of her charges. So he had to think of a plan to show Fanny how seriously he did take his duties.
Along these thoughts, which he pursued shortly before his sister married, he came up with a plan. He recalled his fondness for the respect a member of a certain profession could draw when he did his job well, and decided that he would take it on. He soon declared his intention to become a clergyman.
The reactions he received had been mixed. Dr. Grant had been supportive if a little disbelieving, Mrs. Grant and Mary had been shocked but willing to support him, Edmund had been surprised and delighted, and the rest of Mansfield had other reactions along with those from those connected to him. But the reactions of Fanny, her sister, and cousins had been a surprise: they had been unable to say a word. They kept asking him if he was sure he could stand the life of a clergyman, and he swore he could. He heard through servants' stories of their laughing to the skies over his choosing to join the clergy, but dismissed it as idle talk amongst gossiping servants.
As soon as the wedding was over, he went to secure a living in London. It proved to be easily done despite his not having gone to the right schools; all he had to do was take the proper classes and he would be ordained. And so it was late March when he began preaching at __________'s in London.
He was surprised to discover how much he liked preaching, and though he found he could hardly stand to do it for two Sundays together, the mass was eager to see him again when he returned. He could do it for two Sundays together if he really desired to, but usually he let six weeks pass between sermons. He found loved the respect it gave him, and knew that Fanny could surely no resist such a selfless man as he was. By August he was confident of a return. Nothing, not even her jealous cousins or her protective guardian, Mrs. _________, could prevent a union of minds and hearts between him and Fanny.
And so he had no idea how completely wrong he would prove to be. Vanity, stubbornness, and pride do not make a good combination; he would soon learn the unhappy truth that he would never have Fanny.