Mansfield Park: Hyperbole 5 key examples

By stating that there isn’t even one person out of 100 “who is not taken in” (or manipulated) into marriage, Mary reveals that marriage, in her mind, is a game of strategy and “transactions.” Here, Mary is commenting on the indirect effects of the inheritance system in England at the time—because young women needed to secure financially stable futures for themselves, they had to think strategically and “take in” their love interests or they might be left without any money.

It is notable that she says this manipulation strategy is not reserved for women alone. Men, she argues, also manipulate women to marry them. Though she does not say so directly, this likely had less to do with financial security and more with maintaining a certain social status by marrying women of a similar rank.

Mary’s assertion that she “had offended all the farmers, all the labourers, all the hay in the parish” is obviously untrue, but communicates two important qualities of Mary’s. First, she is out of touch with the ways of working class people and country folk generally (as she should know that working farmers all rely on their horses and carts during harvest season). And second, she is prone to entitlement and melodrama. These characteristics of hers prove to be one of the reasons Edmund ultimately ends their courtship and marries Fanny—who is more caring and moral—instead.

The description that Julia is “wrapt in such gravity as nothing could subdue” is an exaggeration that effectively communicates how upset she is to lose potential quality time with Henry. The intensity of Julia’s reaction makes sense in context—with Maria engaged to Mr. Rushworth, it is Julia’s turn as the younger sister to find a husband and secure a financially stable future for herself.  In her mind, she should be the one with Henry, not her sister who is engaged to another man.

There is also an element of foreshadowing in this passage in that Mr. Yates is the only one Julia engages with in this moment, and he is the man who she will go on to marry later in the book. Even though she is talking to him with “forced gaiety,” she is talking to “him alone,” suggesting that there is an opening for a relationship later on.

Fanny’s internal declaration that “the most distinguished author” could not have written “two lines more prized”—and that Edmund’s handwriting itself was more notable than that of “any other human being”—makes her infatuation with him absolutely clear.

In addition to communicating to readers how deeply Fanny is in love with Edmund, this moment also shows how Fanny believes that someone’s character can come through in the way that they approach writing letters. Letters in the novel tend to be a way in which characters communicate their secret, inner feelings (or, in some cases, to obfuscate them), and this interaction shows that Fanny believes Edmund to be revealing a new part of himself to her.

Here, Edmund excitedly moves between believing that his happiness is “great enough to warrant any strength of language” and also that “no description can reach” how he is feeling. These exaggerated, hyperbolic statements show how deeply in love Edmund is with Fanny. This is an important move on Austen’s part since, at this point in the novel, readers need a bit more convincing of his feelings for Fanny. After all, the book takes place over ten years during which Edmund strictly views Fanny as a cousin and friend. In this way, the hyperboles seek to successfully convince readers of the depth of Edmund's feelings.