Ambition

The theme of ambition and how it influences the characters and plot throughout the story is a driving force of the plot. The story begins with the background of the three sisters who head the families prominent in the story. Lady Bertram married very well, meaning she married above her station. Mrs. Norris married less well, but she still has a respectable spot in society, and Mrs. Price married decidedly beneath her. The way in which they married has influenced their entire lives. Whereas Lady Bertram lives a very comfortable life physically, Mrs. Price works very hard just to keep her head above water.

What the author points out with this theme is that ambition does not always lead to happiness. The characters that find themselves most content at the end of the story are Fanny and William Price, the children of Mrs. Price, the sister who married...