Mrs. Norris hates Fanny and blames her for all. Mary loves her brother and would rather blame Fanny for his mistakes. Neither lady has a fact to stand upon. The blame game on this point is interesting. (:D) I feel Maria and Henry are responsible for their choices but also that it is fair to say Mary unwittingly set them both up to be tempted, to have their will tested and in the end they both failed miserably causing suffering not only for themselves but many others. What makes it ironic is Mary ruins her chance with the man she cares about because she wished to amuse herself by poking at the sore spot of Maria’s unrequited love for Henry. It seems like Karma. I think the difference between Mary’s set-up and Fanny’s refusal is Mary created a situation with consequences she could not predict or control while Fanny merely reacted to the situation Henry created by proposing. Perhaps we should just return to the beginning and blame the real culprit whose selfish indifference to the weaknesses of others really led to the affair and elopement. It is all Mr. Norris’ fault because if he had not quit his life Sir Thomas could not have sold the Mansfield living to Dr. Grant and Henry Crawford would never have come to MP. So really Mr. Norris is the villain of all! (:D)