Lack Of Interest In Frankenstein

Indeed, Henry is self-interested from the moment he begins his “hunt” (MP 267) for Fanny’s love. He tells Mary that “[he] cannot be satisfied without Fanny” (MP 267) because “her looks” (MP 268) indicate that she is not interested in him in any way, shape, or form. Truly, Fanny’s lack of interest in him is what inspires Henry’s interest in her. Similarly to Mr. Collins, whose attraction to Elizabeth is based on the fact that he cannot propose to Jane, Henry is motivated to fall in love with Fanny because she is the only eligible young woman at Mansfield Park who has not yet fallen prey to his charms. Thus, because Henry knows that he has no other feelings or actions to recommend him otherwise, he proposes to Fanny when he knows she will be

Yet, Fanny is right in not trusting Henry, who is revealed to be truly lacking in the same goodness the heroine so duly appreciates in Edmund. Though he lacks in moral virtue, Henry seems to know exactly what to do in order to seduce Fanny: he visits her at Portsmouth, dotes on her family, and muses on the possibility of buying a cottage in the area—all things that momentarily earn him “an approving look” (MP 469) from Fanny. Yet, he also notes that he would like to have “a guide in every plan of utility or charity for Everingham” (MP 470), a statement that reminds Fanny that Henry’s good intentions are no substitute for his lack of virtue. Though he begins to recommend himself in her eyes, Henry “must ever be completely unsuited to her” (MP 470). Austen confirms Fanny’s observation soon thereafter when Henry has an affair with Maria Rushworth simply because, like Fanny, Maria received him with “indifference” (MP 541). Though Mrs. Norris blames Fanny for Henry and Maria’s transgression when she states “Had Fanny accepted Mr. Crawford this could not have happened” (MP 518), Austen opposes her in the conclusion: “Would [Henry] have persevered, and uprightly, Fanny must have been his reward, and a reward very voluntarily bestowed” (MP 540). The fault, Austen says, is entirely of Henry’s character—had he not committed “a sin of the first magnitude” (MP 510) and continued to move toward change, Fanny would have been his