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A review by desiree930
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
July 11, 2021
I put off reading this book for a long time because I heard from so many people that it is their least favorite Austen. I’m glad I read it because while I didn’t LOVE it, it still has many of the hallmarks of all Austen’s other work, including her witticisms when discussing society and human nature.
It probably is my least favorite Austen novel, but realistically something has to take that spot. It doesn’t mean I didn’t appreciate it.
That being said, if you are going into this hoping for a swoony, angsty romance…you might want to keep looking. I mean, there is angst, but it’s all one-sided. Up until the 95% mark our ‘hero’ is still pining over a woman who isn’t our heroine. Edmund never shows Fanny anything deeper than brotherly affection, and then in the last couple pages we’re told that he decides that maybe Fanny might be an okay wife for him after all. 😒
Edmund is absolutely the worst of Austen’s leading men. He’s judgmental, priggish, and stuffy. And even though Fanny is FAR from my favorite Austen heroine, she deserves better than Edmund.
All that said, I did enjoy the discussions of class and the whole section where Fanny goes back to visit her impoverished family after living at Mansfield Park for several years was probably my favorite part of the novel, just to see the juxtaposition of what her life could’ve been like and what it actually was.
I put off reading this book for a long time because I heard from so many people that it is their least favorite Austen. I’m glad I read it because while I didn’t LOVE it, it still has many of the hallmarks of all Austen’s other work, including her witticisms when discussing society and human nature.
It probably is my least favorite Austen novel, but realistically something has to take that spot. It doesn’t mean I didn’t appreciate it.
That being said, if you are going into this hoping for a swoony, angsty romance…you might want to keep looking. I mean, there is angst, but it’s all one-sided. Up until the 95% mark our ‘hero’ is still pining over a woman who isn’t our heroine. Edmund never shows Fanny anything deeper than brotherly affection, and then in the last couple pages we’re told that he decides that maybe Fanny might be an okay wife for him after all. 😒
Edmund is absolutely the worst of Austen’s leading men. He’s judgmental, priggish, and stuffy. And even though Fanny is FAR from my favorite Austen heroine, she deserves better than Edmund.
All that said, I did enjoy the discussions of class and the whole section where Fanny goes back to visit her impoverished family after living at Mansfield Park for several years was probably my favorite part of the novel, just to see the juxtaposition of what her life could’ve been like and what it actually was.