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A review by winnimartha
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
5.0
This is my favourite of Jane Austen's novels. I appreciate the wit of Elizabeth Bennett, and I understand why people might be put off by Fanny Price, but I don't find Fanny at all weak or priggish. Fanny is every bit as strong as Elizabeth Bennett, if in a quieter and more thoughtful way. She shows great insight into the people around her and maintains her integrity in the face of overpowering disapproval from those who hold a lot of power over her.
Jane Austen is more than Elizabeth Bennett. Each of her heroines is different, as they should be, and Fanny deserves consideration in her own right, not simply by comparison to Austen's more vivacious heroine.
I like Austen best for her impeccable writing and her insight into her protagonists' emotions, and Mansfield Park is full of both. Every time I finish it, I want to start back at the beginning again.
2019 update: It may not be my favourite of Jane Austen's novels anymore -- right now I'm leaning toward Persuasion -- but I still love it. There's so much real humour, so many characters to examine, motivations to inspect. I felt a bit more sympathy for Henry Crawford this time around, but I still admire Fanny for her resolve. Imagine having been raised and formed as she was, to have her opinions guided by Sir Thomas and Edmund, to be completely at the mercy of her rich relations, and still to resist, even when Sir Thomas accuses her of ingratitude, the thing she dreads the most. Fanny is the most observant of any of them and chooses to be guided by her own standards -- unlike Sir Thomas, who admits at the end that he knew Maria shouldn't have married Rushworth, unlike Edmund who does everything he can to excuse Mary Crawford's opinions. Henry Crawford may, in the end, have convinced her of his worthiness, but his weakness and vanity are his undoing, and it's not Fanny's job to make him a good person. Edmund may have been determined to undertake that charge with Mary, but Fanny was smart enough not to attempt the same with Henry.
Jane Austen is more than Elizabeth Bennett. Each of her heroines is different, as they should be, and Fanny deserves consideration in her own right, not simply by comparison to Austen's more vivacious heroine.
I like Austen best for her impeccable writing and her insight into her protagonists' emotions, and Mansfield Park is full of both. Every time I finish it, I want to start back at the beginning again.
2019 update: It may not be my favourite of Jane Austen's novels anymore -- right now I'm leaning toward Persuasion -- but I still love it. There's so much real humour, so many characters to examine, motivations to inspect. I felt a bit more sympathy for Henry Crawford this time around, but I still admire Fanny for her resolve. Imagine having been raised and formed as she was, to have her opinions guided by Sir Thomas and Edmund, to be completely at the mercy of her rich relations, and still to resist, even when Sir Thomas accuses her of ingratitude, the thing she dreads the most. Fanny is the most observant of any of them and chooses to be guided by her own standards -- unlike Sir Thomas, who admits at the end that he knew Maria shouldn't have married Rushworth, unlike Edmund who does everything he can to excuse Mary Crawford's opinions. Henry Crawford may, in the end, have convinced her of his worthiness, but his weakness and vanity are his undoing, and it's not Fanny's job to make him a good person. Edmund may have been determined to undertake that charge with Mary, but Fanny was smart enough not to attempt the same with Henry.