The discussion of being “out” and “not out” in chapter 5 of Mansfield Park seemed to me like an
obvious critique of the hard and fast rules of mating for females during this
time. By ending the chapter with the
quote, “Oh. Then the point is clear. Miss
Price is not out” (Austen 79), Austen seems to highlight the way so many people view manners in a black-and-white nature while at the same time highlighting Fanny’s status as being lost in the shuffle of it all. It honestly sounds like a line from Clueless or Mean Girls in which shallow high school students are judging the value of their classmates on seemingly random criteria. Fanny's status as "out" or "not out" would depend on her familial standing or her mother's opinion, were she to really have societal familial ties. Because of her relative “orphan” status,
Fanny doesn’t fall within a line of daughters and thus doesn’t become “out” or
really actively considered to be “not out” until this realization. Mr. Bertram’s description of the supposedly
dreadful mistake of overlooking the “out” daughter for the “not out” one
highlights the absurdity of the rules and the exaggerated consequences of even
talking to the “wrong” lady. It also
shows the importance of estate ties and familial consideration in the process,
which Fanny lacks.
I thought this was interesting too! One thing I noticed though was how well Fanny fits the stereotype for someone "not out": "A girl not out has always the same sort of dress: a close bonnet, for instance; looks very demure, and never says a word." (Austen). It is hard to deny that Fanny is very quiet and a bit of a wall flower. What I found myself wondering was whether this behavior came out from the beginning because of her treatment as a second-class citizen, or if she would have turned out the same way if she'd lived in a supportive home?
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