Dr. Grant

Character Analysis

The husband of Mrs. Grant, and fifteen years her senior, Dr. Grant is a friendly and educated clergyman who moves in to the parsonage at Mansfield Park and conveniently allows the Crawfords to move in too. Dr. Grant is mainly characterized by his love of food. He loves eating and he loves eating well. This may be a rather symbolic commentary on the state of the clergy in England in this time period. Lots of clergymen abused their positions, doing things like buying up lots of property and hiring tenants to do their jobs for them. Though we really have no evidence of Dr. Grant not doing his job, the food thing is noticeable, especially in a novel that considers issues of organized religion, the clergy, and church reform.