Mansfield Park - a short modern version

Nienazwana część 1

Chapter I

About more than thirty years ago there were three Ward sisters. The second of them, nice and kind girl named Maria, married (and it was a love-match) Mr. Thomas Bertram, a successful businessman. Her elder sister, who had much more calculating attitude to life, caught as a husband one of Mr. Bertram's business partners, a certain Mr. Norris. Alas, she didn't gain much happiness with such a marriage because soon Mr. Norris's firm went bankrupt during one of the World crises and he himself became rather ill. Though Mr. Bertram helped his brother-in-law providing him a job in his estate (named Mansfield Park) and even a nearby cottage to live in, Mrs. Norris' hopes for luxury life were ruined. And to save face and to conceal she had married Mr. Norris for money only Mrs. Norris had stay with her poor and sick husband. As for the youngest sister, Frances - she fell in love with a talented painter named Price, but alas he wasn't able to create being sober.

Chapter II

Some years have passed. Mrs. Price died in a car accident and not wanting to leave her only child - daughter Fanny - with the negligent father, Fanny's aunts decided to take her to leave with them. At first it was considered that the girl would live with the Norris' (who didn't have children of their own) but it took no time for Mrs. Norris to realize how wearisome it would be to take care of a child. And using her husband's sickness as a reason Mrs. Norris send her niece off to Mrs. Bertram. The latter, already a mom of four, was not at all loath to become a foster mother to one more kid. Thus, Fanny found herself in Mansfield Park. Cousins accepted her without great ardour but readily enough, though at first, they were astonished at Fanny's confusion over toys and things she wasn't familiar with. And strangely enough but Fanny's best friend became not quiet Julia, the youngest of Bertram's children, but Edmond, the second son, who aroused Fanny's interest with his knowledge of natural science.

Chapter III

About ten more years have passed. What have happened with our heroes during this time? Mr. Norris died, the Bertrams are still well. The older son, Tom, now helps his father in the family business. Tom definitely has "a dealer's eye" and is much more "talented" than his father but the problem is that Tom isn't especially interested in his father's affairs. Being on the list of his father's employees he visits the office once-twice a month, generates new brilliant ideas (which the rest of the team then put into practice) and the rest of his time spends attending parties in London and other fashionable places on money his father's firm pays him. Edmund, the youngest son, isn't interested in the family business either but by the completely different reasons. Edmund is a talented scientist, astronomer, and now he is working on his dissertation.

The Bertrams' daughters turned out to be gifted with much beauty but not very much intellect. The oldest, Maria, is a "society lioness" and party-goer whose main aim is to make herself conspicuous. Her youngest sister, Julia, attends as much parties and social events as Maria but for Julia all this is not the aim but means only. The Bertrams' youngest daughter desperately longs to get married and have children. But she hasn't succeeded yet in finding a partner because in spite of her beauty and her father's wealth all the possible candidates are scared away by Julia's impetuosity and perseverance.

Who has changed a lot it's Mrs. Bertram. A couple of years ago she suffered a very early stroke, and though Mr. Bertram hired the best doctors and they did all they could, from a young energetic woman his wife has turned into a slowly person with speech troubles. (Yes, I like Mrs. Bertram very much, and IMHO to "modernize" her with all her drowsiness and sluggishness without making her a drug addict, a drunkard or a mentally unstable person there was the only one way which I have chosen - Anetka) Strange, but the person who felt the most strongly about Mrs. Bertram's ailment was not one of her kids but her niece, Fanny. The latter first just helped the aunt with her after-treatment exercises, then started to look for different exercises and techniques in the Internet and medical books, and consulting with the doctors to apply them on her aunt. The progress Mrs. Bertram has achieved was almost completely the merit of Fanny's efforts. Alas, because of all these activities Fanny didn't apply to college after finishing the school, though she had shown great results during her school years sharing Edmund's interest in natural science.