Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Review: Mansfield Park


Mansfield Park
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



It has been many years since I first read Mansfield Park.

As before, I find that I don't really like Fanny Price all that much. She's so good, so patient, so quiet . . . such a paragon of virtue that I have a hard time rooting for her. Long ago, I read a critic's response to the book that stated (sorry, it's a spoiler, so I'll hide it) that Fanny and Edmund's home must have been incredibly boring and that their neighbors likely dreaded an invitation to dinner at their house.

I can't help but root for the underdog in this book: Henry Crawford. While he proves himself to be be morally challenged, I do believe that he loved Fanny and would have brought more emotion to her life than Edmund. In marrying Edmund, Fanny found happiness, contentment, and satisfaction. In a marriage to Henry, I can't help but think she would have found some emotional upset (after all, he wasn't always good) but I think that the emotional highs would have balanced that account. He, at least, was passionate. Sadly, both Jane Austen and the period in which she wrote were suspicious of passion, so Edmund had to win. Darn it.

I realize this book is over 200 years old, but as it's a lesser known Austen, I've chosen to hide some of my comments. Feel free to read and comment--and don't hold back in the comments. Anyone that reads that far deserves to be spoiled. :)



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