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When the Crawfords, the Bertrams, and Fanny go to visit Mr. Rushworth at Sotherton, they go for a walk in the woods on the property. Maria, Mr. Rushworth, Henry, and Fanny, who have been walking together, stumble upon a locked gate. They want to go through and walk up to a knoll that they have spotted, but Mr. Rushworth has forgotten the key, so he walks back to the house and get it. While he is gone, Maria and Henry climb over the gate and head to the knoll without him. Fanny, thinking it improper, stays behind, while Julia follows Maria and jumps over the fence as well.
The crossing gate, which seems to represent moral transgression, foreshadows Henry and Maria’s later scandalous behavior when they run away together after Maria marries Mr. Rushworth, once again leaving Mr. Rushworth behind. Likewise, at the end of the book Julia ends up eloping with Mr. Yates. The narrator implies that Julia follows Maria’s led in her elopement, just as she does in jumping over the gate. Fanny, who is consistently on the side of moral rectitude throughout the book, does not cross, symbolizing her moral uprightness.
The Gate at Sotherton Quotes in Mansfield Park
The Mansfield Park quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Gate at Sotherton. 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:
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Chapter 10
Quotes
“Your prospects…are too fair to justify want of spirits. You have a very smiling scene before you.”
“Do you mean literally or figuratively? Literally, I conclude. Yes, certainly, the sun shines, and the park looks very cheerful. But unluckily that iron gate, that ha-ha, give me a feeling of restraint and hardship. ‘I cannot get out,’ as the starling said.”
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The Gate at Sotherton Symbol Timeline in Mansfield Park
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Gate at Sotherton appears in Mansfield Park. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 9
...to move, saying that resting tires her. She decides to go look at an iron gate she spies a ways away. Edmund and Mary playfully banter about how far away the...
(full context)
Chapter 10
Maria says she would like to go through the iron gate into the park. Everyone agrees, and they decide to go to a knoll that they...
(full context)
...since she has a lot to smile about. Maria agrees, but mentions that the iron gate is making her feel trapped.
(full context)
Henry proposes that they jump the fence instead of waiting for the key. Maria agrees. Henry says that even if they are...
(full context)
...and that he was in a rush to get the key. Julia then jumps the fence and walks away.
(full context)
...that the others have not waited for him, he is upset. He stands before the gate, unsure of whether to cross. He says that by the time he would get to...
(full context)
...Maria, Julia, and Henry. At last Mr. Rushworth agrees and sets off, going through the gate with his key and walking away.
(full context)
