Memorably Superficial: Austen's Depiction of Tom Bertram Anonymous 10th Grade

Tom is one of the earliest characters Fanny, and consequently, the reader is introduced to at Mansfield Park. He is the eldest son of the Bertram family and has been raised accordingly. Although he is not the most present character in the novel, Austen does leave the reader with strong impressions of what it means to be a son, the characters faults and shortcomings as well as his underlying virtues. Tom Bertram represents all the privilege, luxuries and superficiality that comes with an upper-class lifestyle in the regency period.

Possibly the earliest impression that Austen creates of Tom is that his character is deeply flawed. He is loose with money and cares only for his own pleasures. Indeed, he is introduced to the reader as having “all the liberal dispositions of an eldest son, who feels born only for expense and enjoyment”. Here Austen shifts the blame for his shortcomings to him being the eldest son, as though it were a natural consequence of such a birthright. The alliteration of “expense” and “enjoyment” serves to emphasise that this is all Tom cares about. The irony here is that the eldest son should be preparing to take over the estate and all its businesses from his father, instead, Tom is gambling away the family...