Mansfield Park (Penguin Classics)

I wanted to love this book - of course I wanted to - I wanted it to have the magic of Austen's other work. Sadly, I was disappointed. It is absolutely not a bad book - just not a phenomenal one as I had expected. The plot and the characters come across as far too didactic and judgmental and perhaps even (gulp) a tad anti-feminist. I'm trying to rethink the book so that I can reach any other conclusion - I'm trying to remember it was a product of its times - yet, I haven't been able to come around yet.

Would I recommend this book for you? Are you hoping for another Pride & Prejudice or Sense & Sensibility? Well, then no. Are you looking to enjoy Austen's lavish prose, intricately developed characters, and an accurate depiction of what women realistically could strive for in the early 19th century? Then absolutely, you'll love this book.

Three sisters got married. The first married a baronet, the second a clergyman, and the third one married a penniless soldier. Which one of the three is banished from the family? A no-brainer here. But in a misguided effort to help out Mrs. Price, Lady Bertram and Mrs. Norris agree to care for Fanny, the only daughter from seven children. Fanny Price is shy and awkward with a weak disposition. She misses her family horribly, especially her brother William. Mansfield Park, her new home, is a cold place where she is treated like nothing more than a charity case. Edmund Bertram is the only exception. He has treated Fanny with kindness since her arrival, and he reminds her a great deal of William. But as Fancy gets older, and her two female cousins begin to court, she develops other feelings for Edmund. And now that the Crawfords have come to visit, and Edmund develops a crush on Mary Crawford, it seems that Fanny will no longer be a priority in his life. She is lonelier than ever. Maybe, just maybe, the charming Henry Crawford will be able to make things better...

Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors. Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility are on the top of my "to be read every couple of years" list. Mansfield Park, however, has never sparked my interest and attention quite the same way as the aforementioned three. I thought I'd feel differently about it now, but I still think Fanny Price is dull, Edmund is fickle, Mary the liveliest character in the book (no wonder Edmund likes her) and Henry a little too suspiciously charming. Even though the novel opens with a rather hilarious first chapter (Austen had a wonderful way with irony), the story sort of goes downhill from there, going from boring to worse. The book is not terrible, but it's not Austen's best effort either -- at least not by my measure. But don't let me stop Mansfield Park fans from loving it, or from those of you who haven't read it from trying it. Anything written by Austen is definitely worth reading.

Mansfield Park seems to appear quite frequently on people's "least favourite Austen book" lists, but over the years I've come to think more and more highly of it. I've become very fond of timid, frail little Fanny, whose heart is a good deal warmer than those of the more flamboyant female characters. She's affectionate, loyal, and prepared to stick to what she feels to be right even though she suffers all the more for it because she's so powerless.

But Fanny is not a beguiling heroine to hang a whole novel on, and Austen does not attempt to. Mansfield Park is a rich and complex work, with ambiguous characters, plots within plots, and layers of symbolism that aren't what I usually associate with Jane. Her use of the play "Lovers' Vows" is sheer brilliance in what it shows us of the characters and their entwined relationships, even down to the fate of the performance itself. On a smaller scale, the game of "Speculation" does something similar.

Mary Crawford can be seen as a portrait of what Elizabeth Bennet might be if she had all the wit and liveliness we love, but without solid virtue at her core. Mrs Norris is, I think, Austen's nastiest female character (in the six novels, at least; I'm not counting Lady Susan). She makes Lady Catherine seem like a cuddly granny. Edmund is very silly for most of the book, but it's (mostly) convincing, and it's forgivable, because he gets there in the end. Henry Crawford plays the villain, but he had a very good chance of being the hero.

The editor of my edition says he considers Mansfield Park "one of the most profound novels of the nineteenth century", which is high praise indeed. I'll content myself with saying I like it very much.

First of all, the heroine's name is Fanny. I'm sorry but I can't get past the name. I know it was probably a very popular & fashionable name back when the book was published but for me, names are very important, & this is a horrible one.

Other than her name, I like Fanny. She is very quiet & kind, despite being treated exactly like the unwanted relation that she was. She has an enormous amount of patience to put up with all the idiocy that surrounds her. She always does what she believes to be right even when it seems like the whole world is trying to push her in the opposite direction.

Fanny has two love interests. Her first love is her cousin that she's grown up with, almost as brother & sister, which makes it even more weird to our modern world. But I suppose it's not so unusual for their time & it's understandable since she probably didn't know that many young men & no one was as kind to her as Edmund was. He was basically her only friend.

Her second love interest is the charming Henry Crawford, a new neighbor to Mansfield Park. He & his sister have moved to the country from London. They are everything that is fashionable & turn the Bertram family upsidedown. At first he does not really like Fanny, she is just something to help him pass the time while his sister flirts with Edmund. He notices how quiet & reserved she is & his first goal is to make her attach herself to him. As he persists & gets to know her, he actually starts to genuinely care for her (as genuinely as a man like him can care, anyway).

Will Fanny hold on to her love for Edmund or will she fall for the charms of Henry. Will Edmund continue to be blinded by Mary Crawford's beauty & wit? You'll have to read the book to find out...or, I suppose, you could watch one of the films.

This story is somewhat different than Austen's other books. Most Austen fans will say that this is not their favorite & I agree. I do still enjoy it, though, & have read it several times because I just can't get enough of her storytelling.

Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors. I've seen various movie releases for her books but it's rare to find anything that are as good as the books. It's no surprise that Ms. Austen still delivers a great story with great writing in Mansfield Park.