Chapter 19 Summary

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Sir Thomas surprises everyone with his premature return to Mansfield Park. No one is sure of how Sir Thomas will react to what they have been doing.

Once they compose themselves, Tom, Edmund, Maria, Julia, Lady Bertram, and Mrs. Norris all move toward the drawing room to greet Sir Thomas. With the Bertrams gone, Mr. Rushworth continually asks if he should go into the drawing room too. He is immobilized until Henry Crawford tells him that he should indeed join the rest of the family.

The Crawfords then decide to leave, telling Yates that he is welcome to go with them to their home. Yates, not knowing Sir Thomas's nature, does not see why he should have to leave. He is so engrossed in the play, Yates expects that the rehearsals will go on after a break for tea because they must be ready for the upcoming performance.

Fanny has been left behind again. Her former fear of Sir Thomas fills her mind and makes her feel faint. Now that she must face Sir Thomas, she, like the Bertram children, feels guilty about all the transformations they have made in the house to accommodate the play. Dreading her reunion with Sir Thomas but knowing that it is inevitable, Fanny walks toward the drawing room and pushes the door open. Just as she enters, she hears the mention of her name. Sir Thomas is asking where his "dear Fanny" is. Fanny is astonished.

Sir Thomas looks up as Fanny stands before him. He remarks on how much she has grown and how beautiful she has become. Fanny's face becomes flushed. Sir Thomas has changed, she thinks, and she does not know how to feel about him. She wonders if she still needs to fear him. Or maybe she should have missed him more when he was gone. Sir Thomas even asks her about the well-being of her family. His absence from his home has made him grow sweeter, Fanny believes.

Lady Bertram is also flushed, sitting next to her husband. She is surprised at how much excitement she is experiencing at having him home. She feels so comforted at seeing him again. Mrs. Norris, however, has mixed emotions. She is at a loss, realizing that her power has been greatly diminished now that Sir Thomas is back.

It is Lady Bertram who broaches the topic of the play. Up to that point, Sir Thomas had not seen any signs that his house has been overtaken with the production. But Sir Thomas does not pay too much attention to the subject until he gets up and goes to his private rooms. When he does, he is astonished, and much of his old, more familiar mood of gravity returns.

Yates, who has no sense of the elder man's nature, toys with Sir Thomas as Yates is known to do with all adults of an advanced age, believing he can push them aside when they get in his way. Sir Thomas's manner remains courteous, but his children read his tone of voice and facial expressions and know that their father has become very irritated.

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