Officious prognostications

PROGNOSTICATIONS

The fatigue, too, of so long a journey, became soon no trifling evil. In vain were the well-meant condescensions of Sir Thomas, and all the officious prognostications of Mrs. Norris that she would be a good girl; in vain did Lady Bertram smile and make her sit on the sofa with herself and pug, and vain was even the sight of a gooseberry tart towards giving her comfort; she could scarcely swallow two mouthfuls before tears interrupted her, and sleep seeming to be her likeliest friend, she was taken to finish her sorrows in bed. The Narrator on Fanny Price, Mansfield Park, Chapter 2

Adults can be so tiresome! Such expectations! Take a child away from her family, subject her to a long carriage ride with a maiden aunt who has no sympathy for children, and then present her to the Lord and Lady of the Manor? A sure recipe for disappointment.

Jane Austen has given us an introduction to the characters that will form Fanny Price’s childhood, and at this point, my officious prognostications for her future happiness are uncertain.