Mansfield Park

Oct 26, 2010

Elizabeth rated it

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Shelves: in-by-of-england, austen-and-friends, reviewed, virginia-woolf-recommends, boston-janeites

Vladimir Nabokov didn't like Jane Austen. He didn't appreciate her minimalist approach to writing. Why spend time on imagery or metaphor? It's not like there were a lot of examples around for her to work from. Besides, the story is supposed to amuse ones family and friends by holding a mirror to them, without their realizing it, not really anything more. Well, of course, there was the possibility of also making money from the book but she had seen little of that so far. But he wasn't wrong when ...more

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Aug 12, 2007

Greyeyedminerva rated it

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I was astounded to find that many of the reviews on this site criticize this book for the main character, Fanny Price, & her timidity and morality. It is very different from Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, whose smart, sensible heroines make the novels, but I actually enjoyed this book immensely for its social commentary.

Most of the characters in this book singlemindedly pursue wealth, status, and pleasure regardless of their personal and moral costs. Their antics ...more

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Suzanne I'm not sure I found the antics of the characters "pretty hilarious" and I can see why the character of Fanny Price has been criticised. I...more
Nov 08, 2009 01:36am

deleted user Hey Suzanne, I think I see where you're coming from regarding Jane's tendency to "over write" in some places. My problem was not being able ...more
Sep 26, 2010 03:08pm

Nov 25, 2011

Kim rated it

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Shelves: audiobook, re-read

This review contains some spoilers.

About a year ago I started a Jane Austen project, which has involved listening to the six major novels on audiobook, most of them narrated by Juliet Stevenson, who is simply wonderful at bringing Austen’s characters to life. It says something about me that in this period I have listened to Persuasion twice. It says something else about me that I left this book until last. That I did so won't come as a big surprise to admirers of Jane Austen's ...more
This review contains some spoilers.

About a year ago I started a Jane Austen project, which has involved listening to the six major novels on audiobook, most of them narrated by Juliet Stevenson, who is simply wonderful at bringing Austen’s characters to life. It says something about me that in this period I have listened to Persuasion twice. It says something else about me that I left this book until last. That I did so won't come as a big surprise to admirers of Jane Austen's novels. This is the novel which is most likely to be disliked, even by readers who would otherwise call themselves fans of the author. That includes me. I have read Jane Austen’s other novels innumerable times, but this one only twice before: once at school and once at university. Until this week it was not a novel that I would have described in positive terms.

One of the main reasons for the unpopularity of Mansfield Park is the heroine, Fanny Price. A lot of what is perceived to be wrong with Fanny comes from the fact she is so unlike other Austen heroines. She lacks the wit and liveliness of Elizabeth Bennett, the warmth of Anne Elliot, the energy of Elinor Dashwood, the passion of Marianne Dashwood, the self-confidence of Emma Woodhouse, the youthful high spirits of Catherine Morland. Fanny is shy, quiet, nervous, physically weak and very serious. She has a strong sense of right and wrong. She lacks a sense of humour and many would describe her as unbearably self-righteous and a prig.

Fanny’s character has always divided opinion. According to Austen’s biographer Claire Tomalin, Austen’s mother thought that Fanny was insipid. Austen’s niece and one of her nephews couldn’t bear her. Her sister Cassandra was fond of Fanny but wanted her to marry Henry Crawford. So, the problems with Fanny as a character are not merely a result of her moral principles being at odds with a modern sensibility. Fanny is just not a good fit with the Austen heroines readers know and love.

However, even though Fanny has some unattractive personality traits, she is still a very interesting character. It’s not hard to see the scared, lonely and frightened little girl in the reserved young woman she becomes. In addition, it’s clear that Fanny’s dislike of Henry and Mary Crawford is not just because of her good principles. It’s also because she is in love with Edmund (and therefore can’t love Henry) and Edmund loves Mary (so Fanny is jealous of her). So while Fanny proves to be a good judge of character, she also has her very human flaws.

My own response to Fanny shifted back and forward during the novel. I felt for the unloved child, but I wanted to shake the passive young woman. I understood her love for Edmund and I wished she liked Henry. She would annoy me and then say something profound. My reaction to the other characters was also complex. I loved Edmund’s care and compassion for the young Fanny, but found his self-righteousness annoying. I was charmed by the Crawfords, but deeply aware of their very considerable flaws. There was nothing complex about my response to Mrs Norris and Lady Bertram, though. Mrs Norris’ malevolence and Lady Bertram’s stupidity are worth the purchase price of the book.

There’s so much more to say about Mansfield Park than I have written in this review. Maybe the best thing I can say is this: it is a novel which has made me think a lot, both as I was listening to it and since. That’s not my usual reaction to Austen. Normally, I read Austen and simply enjoy the writing, the characters and the wit. This time was different. I found Mansfield Park interesting, engaging, frustrating and puzzling. It’s gone up to a four star read and I won’t be waiting another thirty years before I read it again.
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Jul 25, 2008

Holly Goguen rated it

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Recommended to Holly by: hollygoguen@gmail.com

Shelves: literature, favorites

I have seen no small amount of reviews toting Fanny Price as Austen's least likable heroine, and to be honest...I'm not sure where they get that impression from. Granted, Fanny's characteristics often shine by what they are not, next to the undesirable character traits of those around her.....but does this appropriateness of demeanor, attention to honor and morals, and respect toward elders (especially the ones least deserving of it) truely mean she is not fit for her lead status? I think not. A...more

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Trice I'm totally with you guys on the value of Fanny Price's character, but I think you've misconstrued what I was saying when I said 'active.' Having fini...more
Feb 05, 2010 02:19am

Trice and you know, I was just thinking, I could see Fanny and Elizabeth being close friends if they met. I'm not sure the contrast is the same.

I ...more
Feb 05, 2010 02:30am

Jan 17, 2008

Rebecca rated it

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Recommends it for: Brit lit lovers

I don't think this book would have been so disappointing if I hadn't just seen the movie adaptation of it (specifically, the 1999 version). I saw the movie first, and liked the plot so much that I started the book. I enjoyed reading P & P and S & S, so I assumed I would enjoy Mansfield Park also. I quickly found out that the movie was much more entertaining -- but more importantly than that, its social/political message was more palatable to me than the book's.

In the movie, the pr...moreI don't think this book would have been so disappointing if I hadn't just seen the movie adaptation of it (specifically, the 1999 version). I saw the movie first, and liked the plot so much that I started the book. I enjoyed reading P & P and S & S, so I assumed I would enjoy Mansfield Park also. I quickly found out that the movie was much more entertaining -- but more importantly than that, its social/political message was more palatable to me than the book's.

In the movie, the protagonist, Fanny Price, is a spirited, independent-minded, witty, and fiercely smart girl of 18 or so who loves reading and has a secret crush on her cousin Edmund. Everyone around her is vain, selfish, and superficial, but she remains a voice of reason and kindness throughout. In the end, of course, she gets Edmund and lives happily ever after.

In the book, Fanny does still get the man and sees her foolish relatives get their just desserts, but her personality is so different from the Fanny of the movie that I felt a bit cheated and deprived. It quickly became apparent that the movie had taken radical liberties with Fanny's character -- but they were liberties that I felt improved the story and maybe they were necessary for a '90s audience. At least, they felt necessary to me.

The Fanny of the book is subservient, repressed, and suffers from "nerves," to the point that I could not respect or like her. Her "virtue" (so Austen calls it) is in putting everyone's needs and desires (as stupid as they may be) ahead of her own welfare and happiness. Austen obviously came from a time when women were idealized as being domestic angels that were meant to serve and be silent, but I had had higher hopes for Austen's subversive potential. Not only was Fanny unrealistically pure and virtuous, she let others walk all over her, even when speaking her mind would have been justified. The narrator also repeatedly described Fanny's frailty, mentioning several times that strolling leisurely for more than an hour was enough to make Fanny exhausted and completely dependent on the nearest male, lest she collapse in the garden. In addition, Fanny's intellect and interest in reading is downplayed, and her time appears to be spent sewing, talking, and taking exhausting strolls in gardens. In other words, she has a completely bland and prudish personality that only distinguishes itself in contrast to her reprehensible relatives.

Overall, Austen's message seems to be: "If you neglect your own health and happiness for long enough, in the name of serving and submitting to those who consider themselves your superiors, you will eventually be rewarded by a decent income and a handsome husband."

One other change made in the movie, in addition to Fanny's character, is the nature of slavery. In the book, very slight mention is made of the fact that Fanny's uncle and guardian owns slaves in Antigua (in fact, Austen never uses the word "slave," you just have to infer). No mention beyond this is made of the issue. In the movie, however, Fanny comes across some of her uncle's notes about the plantation and is morally outraged, and in the end, her uncle (partially because of her influence), decides to give up his plantation. This was totally absent from the book, and is yet another example of Austen's claustrophobic and circumscribed focus on domestic and trivial issues to the exclusion of significant historical factors that should influence her character's lives, but don't.

I must admit that this book has lowered my regard for Jane Austen, but that aside, it has several funny and touching moments, and has some of the best insights into human stupidity that I've ever read, making it well worth a read by anyone. (less)

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Jul 02, 2011

Holly rated it

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Recommends it for: Austen fans, regency fans

Shelves: female-writers, classics, english-writers

I'm really not surprised that not a lot of people like Fanny Price. She's timid, moralistic and extremely passive. But really, what were people expecting her to do, exactly? Tell her cousin she loves him? B-slap Miss Crawford? Fanny is low in society, brought up to be grateful to everyone, and has no independence (dowry, etc,.). A lot of women were like that in those days. Many shy people also have a higher regard for authority than others, because of authority's 'better' judgement, and that is ...more

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Jun 04, 2007

Kelly rated it

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Recommends it for: only hardcore Austen fans

Shelves: fiction, brit-lit, owned, 19th-century, its-the-quiet-ones

Dear Jane,

Please accept my profound apologies for what I am about to write. I would be most grateful if you would be inattentive to the following review. Please believe in my most profound respect and adoration for you.

Yours & etc,

Kelly

This book is god awful. Do not read it. The writing is fine. This is no fault to any technical flaw. But the heroine is absolutely awful. I have no sympathy for her and her life, and no interest in it either. She is ...more

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Dec 09, 2011

Jeannette rated it

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Shelves: classics, austen

2nd review December 2011

I started this read of Mansfield Park with the goal of determining why this is my least favorite of Austen’s works. I also decided to give Fanny a closer scrutiny, to see if my opinion of her is unjust.

What I found to be sorely lacking in Mansfield Park is Jane Austen’s snarky humor. In her other works, there is always someone or something to laugh at or about. In P&P we have Mrs. Bennet’s flutterings, and Mr. Collins’s groveling. Mrs. Jennings...more2nd review December 2011

I started this read of Mansfield Park with the goal of determining why this is my least favorite of Austen’s works. I also decided to give Fanny a closer scrutiny, to see if my opinion of her is unjust.

What I found to be sorely lacking in Mansfield Park is Jane Austen’s snarky humor. In her other works, there is always someone or something to laugh at or about. In P&P we have Mrs. Bennet’s flutterings, and Mr. Collins’s groveling. Mrs. Jennings brings the comic relief in S&S. But, In MP all the reader is given is Mrs. Norris. Mrs. Norris is not funny; she is mean-spirited, selfish and greedy. She gets her just reward in the end, but at the expense of Maria Bertram. Even Lady Bertram fails to amuse.

The “villainous” male character is also lacking in humor. Mr. Collins, Mr. Elton, Mr. Thorpe were all cast as the bad guy, but they were also “overdrawn” in a way that the reader could laugh at. But, what’s funny about Henry Crawford? He’s the most charming man in the book, and, yet, he is really cold-hearted and calculating. Even with the prospect of winning Miss Price before him, he goes astray, just for the pleasure of the game. Even Willoughby is a more sympathetic character.

And, then there are Fanny and Edmund. Through this reading I developed a true sympathy for Fanny. Hers was a case of nature vs. nurture. Her sweet temper and pure heart were a blessing and a curse for her. She was neglected and put upon by the entire family, her beloved Edmund included. And, yet, he becomes her prize at the end. No Captain Wentworth, or Charles Bingley to be gained, but Edmund, who esteems her, but cannot truly love her.

So, that sums up why I will never rate Mansfield Park as highly as I rate the rest of Austen’s novels. The tenderness, the beauty, the humor are all missing here.

October 2009

This is not one of my favorite Austen books. I enjoy it, but it's a little bit difficult for me to stick with it if I'm not in the mood. I prefer to watch this one on film.(less)

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Jan 14, 2008

Yennie rated it

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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This one's a little more drawn out than I'd like (and incongruously abrupt at the end), but it's sweet. Many people are highly critical of Fanny Price because she's so timid (and she lets things happen to her rather than set about making a life for herself), but my heart went out to her quite a bit. True, we may prefer to read about Lizzy Bennets and Jane Eyres-- strong-willed women with wit and independence-- but aren't there a great number of Fanny Prices in the world whose stories need to be ...more

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Feb 13, 2008

Charity rated it

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Recommends it for: people who want to end their love affair with Jane Austen

Shelves: 1001books, suckass, brit-lit, austen

Argh! I am very surprised that I was able to finish this book. I found it to be completely tedious. If this had been the first book I had read by Jane Austen, it would have been enough to turn me off from the rest of her works.

Fanny was too virtuous a character to be likable. She was dull as powder and entirely too submissive. I would have much more enjoyed reading about the spunky Miss Mary Crawford. She would have proved to be a more approachable heroine and her high jinx could nev...more

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Aug 24, 2009

Sandybanks rated it

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Shelves: british-literature, classics, 2009, pemberley

I initially thought that this novel is not on par with the other Austens that I have read, it being nothing more than a didactic novel about morality and propriety as conceived by the provincial English gentry at that time. Fanny Price's timidity, shyness and physical weakness did not endear her to me. Edmund, the oh-so-proper clergyman, who disapproves of theatricals and other improprieties, seemed to be an incredibly boring 'leading man'. His sudden turn from being a big brother to Fanny to h...more

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Jun 18, 2008

Jessica rated it

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This has become one of my favorite Jane Austen books. I could not get through it as a teenager, but now that I am older, I like it and find myself re-reading it often.
The heroine, Fanny Price, is unusual for Austen; unlike the confident, clever heroines like Elizabeth, Emma, and the Dashwood sisters, Fanny has no real talents, except that she is kind, a good listener, helpful, and tries to do the right thing. This is sometimes a nice change, though occasionally as a modern women I someti...more

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May 23, 2008

Amber rated it

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The first part of this book is a little slow but as you come to the end of the book all of this background information makes the story and characters much more complete in my opinion, and therefore worth the effort. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was sad to see that so many did not because they were expecting Fanny to be like Elizabeth, or Emma, from Austen's other novels. I, as many, did not first love Fanny but as I came to understand her more I really came to admire her strengths and want...moreThe first part of this book is a little slow but as you come to the end of the book all of this background information makes the story and characters much more complete in my opinion, and therefore worth the effort. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was sad to see that so many did not because they were expecting Fanny to be like Elizabeth, or Emma, from Austen's other novels. I, as many, did not first love Fanny but as I came to understand her more I really came to admire her strengths and want to be more like her in many ways. I also don't find her character weak. She stands up for what she believes in and is not so easily swayed as many of the other characters in the book are. She is soft-spoken but I think this just adds to her strength and self control. I would have liked to see her a little more self-confident, but I find her character more believable as it is. I also think that she does become much more confident by the end of the book and I am glad that she doesn't turn out to go to the other extreme of being very vain and self-centered.
I also enjoyed that this book wasn't just a romance novel. I think romance is great but I think it is even better when it is coupled with a true and constant love - especially when the book ends in marriage.
I haven't really seen many other comments about this but I personally think that this book also carries a moral about being an active parent and practicing what you preach. Maria and Julia are given every advantage, education, status, etc. but they don't truly learn virtue from their parents and this effects what they end up doing with their education and status. Fanny on the other hand was humble when she came to Mansfield Park and really did seem to learn virtue from Edmund (and perhaps she already had a lot of virtue, but we do not know really what she was like before.) Also at the end of the book her uncle takes a much more active role as her guardian. It really inspired me to teach my children to be well mannered and educated, but first and foremost to teach and be an example of morals and virtue.
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Feb 22, 2008

Oceana9 rated it

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Recommends it for: Anyone who can stand nineteenth-century British novelists.

Fanny Price. Yes, the protagonist's name is really Fanny Price. This book is uber-Austen, so expect all the Austenish things: a saintly heroine, clever talkin', love triangles and love squares. Much walking amongst the shrubbery. Letter-writin'. Good brother vs. bad brother. (Both are hot.) Evil rich sisters (both are hot.) Poor, destitute cousin taken in by "charitable" impulses (Fanny is not hot, but then, of course, gets hotter and hotter as people begin to notice her. She is hottes...more

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May 25, 2010

Ian rated it

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Shelves: did-not-finish, wish-i-could-like-it

Okay all my English Lit friends, please be patient with me and cut me some slack. I want to enjoy classic English literature, and some of it I do, but for the most part it's really tough for me to maintain concentration and absorb it in any meaningful way. Jane Austen in particular is one I wish I could enjoy because she just seems so ... I don't know, foundational? Fundamental? Insightful? Real? Maybe even sexy in her own early-nineteenth-century way? But when it comes down to it I always fa...moreOkay all my English Lit friends, please be patient with me and cut me some slack. I want to enjoy classic English literature, and some of it I do, but for the most part it's really tough for me to maintain concentration and absorb it in any meaningful way. Jane Austen in particular is one I wish I could enjoy because she just seems so ... I don't know, foundational? Fundamental? Insightful? Real? Maybe even sexy in her own early-nineteenth-century way? But when it comes down to it I always fail. The book is always too daunting, too difficult, or just too not-my-thing for me to make it all the way through. I feel like the Achaeans, marching forward with confidence that the gods are on my side this time, only to find I was merely a pawn in some divine squabble when Hector and his army of determined Trojan defenders drive me back to the shores of Ilium.

Part of my problem this time was the poor quality of the Librivox reading. The first two chapters were read by someone decent; I was enjoying her voice and her portrayal of the characters, then a new reader shows up for chapter 3. I don't like her as much as the first reader but I'm starting to get used to her when, in chapter 5, yet a third reader takes go at it. Well the third reader sucked and she read three chapters. A fourth reader takes over in chapter 8 but by that time I had taken all I could take, and had to admit defeat.

Yes, it is true the poor quality of the audiobook clouded my perception but, by the time I quit, the story also had completely lost my interest. I can take only so much of rich spoiled brats talking about nothing to one another and feeling very good about themselves for doing so.

On that note--and I'm sure this sounds absurdly basic to you English Lit types but consider that I've had a hard time with this stuff and am humbly imploring you to grant me some leeway in that regard--it seems to me Jane Austen deplores the nineteenth-century English upper class as much as I do. Correct?

In a world full of objectionable people, two sets of people in particular spark strong negative reactions in me. First are those who, either deliberately or through willful ignorance, perpetrate injustice upon others. Second are those who believe they are entitled to wealth, power, respect, and/or service merely due to an accident of birth. I didn't get far enough to know if Mansfield Park addresses the first set, but it certainly addresses the second. The idea of a class of people who hold nearly all of a nation's wealth and power, and to whom society pays respect and service, and membership in which is determined by birth, is utterly objectionable to me on every possible grounds.

Don't kid yourself into thinking we don't have a wealthy, powerful, privileged, and exclusive class of people in these United States. We sure as shit do. I deal with them at work. When you think of people who rely on government services your mind might first go to America's poor and elderly: the people on welfare and social security. But the people receiving the real benefits from our government are the ultra wealthy. They're wealth and power is made possible and maintained by our government-funded judicial, educational, law-enforcement, and physical infrastructures. Without courts schools, fire and police and military, not to mention utilities and an interstate highway system, America's Privileged Class would not have their privileged lives.

And with all their wealth and privilege, and for all they owe the government for making it all possible, America's Privileged Class go to great lengths to hide their income and invent ingenious schemes to evade taxation. Their sense of entitlement even extends to thinking the government should do all it does for them for free. That's where people like me come in. I work for a state government and part of my job to make sure America's Privileged Class are paying what they legally owe to the government.

So what does my job have to do with me not finishing Mansfield Park? I think it's just that I've acquired a jaded, cynical, often disgusted attitude towards people who think (sometimes, it seems, literally) the world revolves around them. So, when those type of people sit around congratulating one another on their awesomeness, I can only listen to so much. I reached my limit in chapter 8 (apparently I have pretty low tolerance) and, thus, couldn't finish the book.(less)

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Jun 29, 2011

Valerie rated it

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Recommended to Valerie by: The movie

Shelves: classic

I remember watching Mansfield Park on the TV before I knew it was called Mansfield Park, before I knew it was a Austen novel, before I became a reader and even knew who Jane Austen was. Some years later, when I found out about all this I was excited about reading Mansfield Park. I've been meaning to ever sense reading P&P.

But...*sigh*...Fanny, Fanny, Fanny, she is one of the most difficult heroines that I've ever encountered. I just didn't know how to take her. All the characters ar...more

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Oct 12, 2008

Annalisa rated it

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Shelves: classics, chick-lit, audiobook, romance

Of all the Jane Austen, I've read, this is the one that shows the distance of time the most. I smiled at terms like "knocked up" or "fagged" for tired and "conjugal felicity" and "making love" as completely innocent terms. Certainly not word choices one would use today without someone misinterpreting your meaning.

And the characters seemed removed as well. Most of Jane Austen's heroines seem strong, against her social ideal in that day and there...moreOf all the Jane Austen, I've read, this is the one that shows the distance of time the most. I smiled at terms like "knocked up" or "fagged" for tired and "conjugal felicity" and "making love" as completely innocent terms. Certainly not word choices one would use today without someone misinterpreting your meaning.

And the characters seemed removed as well. Most of Jane Austen's heroines seem strong, against her social ideal in that day and therefore beyond her time. But that Fanny. If her extreme shyness did not bother me enough instead of endear me, her weakness did. And I'm not just talking about her weak character, but her inability to even walk for 15 minutes without tiring out. In that day it may have been ladylike and appealing, but to me it is lazy and damsel in distress. Fainting spells and getting "knocked up" is so 19th century.

Even Edmond who is supposed to be the sweet hero, the one you are supposed to root for in the story, wasn't all that appealing to me. He was alright, but he seemed to enable Fanny's weakness to much. It's alright to be understanding and I appreciated him speaking up for her when she felt cornered by her acquaintances, but to encourage her all the time to stop walking and to rest and sit down, to encourage her to be weak, I didn't like. And his moral guide (as well as Fanny's) is all well and good, but it was a little too stringent for my liking. Their big objection to the scandalous inappropriate behavior of rehearsing a play made me smile. All that opportunity to act and flirt, so improper.

Even the storyline is one I doubt most modern-day authors would follow. When the Peter Pan character grabs the attention of the unsocial nerdy main character, that character nowadays would be in awe, not turned off by his incessant flirting. The modern novel is loaded with love stories of girls who finally catch the eye of the uncatchable one. But then again our decorum holds nothing against something as harmless as flirting (ok not all flirting is harmless, but amongst single looking-for-spouse crowds it is). I kept imagining modern remakes in my head and as much as I imagined the shy nerdy girl getting the best friend in the end, I could picture her getting the good-looking one everyone wants too.

The book was alright. I liked it enough. Once again I listened to it in audio format which had me impatient with lengthy description often and it's much harder to rewind than it is to glance up a few paragraphs. It's a fairly complicated twisting story. For my memory, more than anything, I included a synopsis of the tale. If you don't want to know what happens, don't read the following:

A girl, Fanny Price, raised by her wealthy aunt, Lady Bertram, and uncle, Sir Thomas, watches her cousin, Edmond, whom she is in love with (still can't get over the cousin thing) fall in love with a spoiled shallow girl, Mary Crawford. Mary's brother, Henry, sets out to make Edmond's sisters, Maria (who is engaged) and Julia, fall in love with him for sport. But after the girls compete with each other for attention and he, disinterested in both, leaves the company, Maria begrudgingly marries her wealthy fiance and Edmond becomes engaged to Mary. Our flirty womanizer Henry returns to make Fanny fall in love with him. We all know what would happen with the one girl who won't fall at his feet. He falls in love with her and she thinks he is a disgrace and is embarrassed by his advances and refuses his offer to marry to the dismay of her uncle. So Henry takes off to London where he runs into Maria and they take off after having an affair and consequently Julia elopes. When Mary is upset that Fanny didn't distract him and only worried that they got caught, not that they were sinful, Edmond the clergyman realizes her true character and breaks all ties with her. And it is then that he finally sees the girl he has always loved like a sister who is completely devoted to him. (less)

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Aug 16, 2007

Karen rated it

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This has always been my least favorite of Austen's novels. I cannot fault her writing (perish the thought!). The social commentary is fascinating, as always. It is simply that I cannot stand the heroine, Fanny Price.

I was certainly too young to appreciate it when I first read it, but even recently when I listened to an audiobook version I kept wanting to slap her.

On the other hand, I adore the movie, Mansfield Park, precisely because the filmmakers departed from the ...more

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Mar 18, 2008

Maggie rated it

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Shelves: classics, 2008

In my opinion the most difficult of Austen's books to get through. Fanny, while similar to other Austen heroines, is a borderline curmudgeon, so staunch is she in her convictions. Of course, the villians (if they can be called that) are so terribly naughty, by the standards of the day, that this almost becomes a comedy of extremes. But, all's well that ends well, and one day the heroine's beloved suddenly notices her and they all live happily ever after. Sorry, Jane, this isn't one of my fav...more

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Feb 17, 2009

Jen rated it

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The edition I have is actually different and has several commentaries, and the full script for the play "Lovers Vows."
One of the commentaries stated how many people didn't like this story because they felt the heroine, Fanny Price to be "too moral" and not as interesting as other characters. When they accused her of being excessively moral I thought of Dorothea from Eliot's Middlemarch who sucks joy out of life in a desire to be devote and useful to the world. Fanny ...more

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Dec 29, 2011

Charmaine Anderson rated it

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Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
I have always loved Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, so much that I have read it several times. So why haven’t read any of her other novels? I am not a prolific reader and since I have seen all the stories numerous times in movie production I didn’t think I needed to. Sometimes you just need a little fix of Austen writing and instead of rereading P&P I decided to delve into Mansfield Park.

Mansfield Park is the story of Fanny Price, the poor ...moreMansfield Park by Jane Austen
I have always loved Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, so much that I have read it several times. So why haven’t read any of her other novels? I am not a prolific reader and since I have seen all the stories numerous times in movie production I didn’t think I needed to. Sometimes you just need a little fix of Austen writing and instead of rereading P&P I decided to delve into Mansfield Park.

Mansfield Park is the story of Fanny Price, the poor niece of the Baronet wife of Sir Thomas Bertram. Mansfield Park is the home and setting of the family adventures and misadventures. Fanny is brought to live with the Bertrams when she is 10 years old. The Bertrams have two sons and two daughters. The girls and their Aunt Norris never cease to remind Fanny that she is not of their class. Fanny manages to endure the mental abuse and it doesn’t canker her. Lady Bertram is not well, whether in body or spirit we are not quite sure why. Fanny forms an alliance with Edward Bertram the younger son of the Family. He treats her kindly and with compassion. The hopeless unrequited love that Fanny has for Edmund dominates the story. The family dynamics form the contrasts that are usually part of Austen’s stories; the rich and the poor, the nice and the mean, the powerful and the weak, the righteous and the depraved. Fanny’s sweet nature keeps her balanced. She is mostly content to be near Edmund and makes herself an asset to the weak and needy Mrs. Bertram. She blossoms in the eyes of many as her good nature becomes a leveling force.

There are lots of interesting characters and twists and turns in the story. Fanny sees it all play out almost from the sidelines. She forms negative opinions from her perceptions that keep her from accepting a happy situation. She has strength of character, even as those around her judge her as weak and vulnerable. I admired her ability to stand firm on her values. I saw her as a Christian ideal; one who is a friend even to those who abuse her, one who is firm in her convictions even under pressure, one who finds contentment in solitude, one who has a sense of peace in the turmoil of those around her.

I enjoyed this book as much as P&P. I definitely plan to read other Austen Novels.

Masterpiece Theater's recent production of Mansfield Park (2007) with Billie Piper, was very disappointing. The one from 1999 with Frances O'Connor may have been in movie theaters. It is much better but has a very disturbing element, that I can’t figure out why they would put in. The older son spent time in Antigua with his father and came home with drawings he made of sexual encounters with black women. It was not in the book. Was it all about getting a PG rating? And there was another little overt sexual encounter that would have made Jane Austen very sad. Austen could insinuate immorality without it being in your face. Why can’t we stick with the story? Mostly this stuff ruined a lovely movie.
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Jun 06, 2011

Destinee Sutton rated it

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Shelves: british, grown-up-books, historical-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I think I would've liked this a lot more if I weren't so icked out by the cousin thing. Yes, in Austen's time there was nothing wrong with marrying your first cousin. But, still, just...gross. If he had at least been her second cousin once removed or something, I might have let it pass. But, thinking of their genetically disadvantaged children, I wanted Fanny to give up Edmund and really try to make it work with Henry. Or even just be single at the end of the book! Heck, she's only 18. Maybe let...moreI think I would've liked this a lot more if I weren't so icked out by the cousin thing. Yes, in Austen's time there was nothing wrong with marrying your first cousin. But, still, just...gross. If he had at least been her second cousin once removed or something, I might have let it pass. But, thinking of their genetically disadvantaged children, I wanted Fanny to give up Edmund and really try to make it work with Henry. Or even just be single at the end of the book! Heck, she's only 18. Maybe let the story end with Fanny still looking for a nice, moral, not closely related guy. Moreover, it's not super romantic to end up with a man who was desperately in love with someone else through the whole novel and only turned around in the very last pages.

In other criticisms, I also felt that the first half of the book could've used some paring down, while the end of the book was too rushed. And I have to agree with readers who don't super love Fanny Price as a heroine. Yes, Fanny is overly judgmental and uptight (not to mention boring and pathetic). I did admire her adherence to a strict moral code, but I was put off by her coldness. She didn't have to marry Henry or be super BFFs with Mary, but she could've showed a little human kindness towards them, a little softening at their good intentions. With all her lack of self-confidence, it still seemed to me that Fanny's immunity to her neighbor's charms was caused by moral arrogance. Mary's not good enough for Edmund and Henry isn't good enough for her. Is it lonely up there on your high horse, Mr. Darcy? I'm sorry...Fanny?

What if things had turned out differently? If Henry had (and I think this is entirely plausible) had the sense not to go after Maria again, it would totally change the story. Mary and Edmund would've gotten married and probably been happy. Henry might have moved on and found a different girl to make him happy. And we'd have Fanny left alone with only her nerves and Lady Bertram to keep her company.

One last thing: Do you think J.K. Rowling named Filch's cat Mrs. Norris after Fanny's odious aunt? That is too perfect. (less)

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Feb 10, 2012

Michael G. rated it

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Some of you will agree, some may disagree, some of you may get just a bit pissed-off (that's American for angry)...but here goes.

I love Jane Austen. I love her use of the English language, and I am happy that her work is still available for me to embrace. I could not have written KING JOHN'S LADY without having been previously exposed to Ms Austen. Part of my personality is like Strider and Aragorn in Tolkien's trilogy: another part is like Bilbo Baggins. Jane introduced us to Fa...moreSome of you will agree, some may disagree, some of you may get just a bit pissed-off (that's American for angry)...but here goes.

I love Jane Austen. I love her use of the English language, and I am happy that her work is still available for me to embrace. I could not have written KING JOHN'S LADY without having been previously exposed to Ms Austen. Part of my personality is like Strider and Aragorn in Tolkien's trilogy: another part is like Bilbo Baggins. Jane introduced us to Fanny Price who over-came much in her life....she rolled with the punches and was the last gal standing.

I'm going to get personal again......when my David graduated from the University of St. Andrews, his mother, who is my wife, Cathy and I were there for the ceremonies. We saw actor Michal Douglas get his honorary degree in Humanities and saw our youngest son get his Master's degree in a ceremony that is a thousand years old in that institution. Later, that evening we threw a party for David and about 20 of his peers in a basement restaurant in the city of St. Andrews. I had to speak loudly to be heard over the din of 300 people talking, ice clinking in glasses, forks scraping over plates...yada yada yada...so to ensure that I was heard, I spoke loudly. I was talking about a beautiful dog I once had....an Old English Sheepdog named Fanny. Soon, I realized most of my young friends, who except for David, were from some part of Great Britain, were giggling and David was telling me to shush!!! It turned out that 'Fanny' had become another modern slang term for a vagina......who knew, not me.

As Jane Austen schooled us about her characters, I fell in love with Fanny. Yet, I couldn't get that graduation party out of my mind......Fanny now is another way to talk about a girl's??? I was applauded. I tried to sleep, but sleep was denied me. I thought about how I would explain this travesty to Jane if we were allowed to have a conversation.

"Hi Ms Austen"
"Hello Michael."
"You made even the discussion of plays and balls enjoyable to an ole hard-ankle like me. I did find it odd, however, that our beloved Fanny's name has been so abused as to now commonly be synonymous with that of the female genitalia."
"Thou surly jest. I shall file protests with the literary society."
"No Jane....don't bother. The 200 odd years since you released your work have seen too many changes in the language you knew. It would require much from you to understand the usage of the words as they are now employed. I am forever grateful to you and those who published your work for preserving a reference to language that was used with skill and love. Perhaps those in the 21st century will become so affixed to their hand-held devices that they will only communicate in 25 characters of less. They seldom even look away from that that they hold. It's a real wonder they get home safely.".........mgc

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Mar 06, 2009

Akari rated it

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(Contains minor spoilers and slight loss of temper. But language doesn't get any worse than the word "angry" which is repeated several times. You have been warned): For me, this book was rather boring for the first 200 pages or so. After that, the plot became more interesting. But this may be because I had just been reading many Jane Austen books in a row so I was getting tired of the pace (which is pretty slow). Jane Austen was quick in resolving the entire story and fixed up everythi...more

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Oct 17, 2010

THE rated it

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Now how well do we know Jane Austen? I suggest that her writings are among the most significant in English literature because of her subtle characterization, ironic language, and brilliant dialogue. Even better, like all great works, we can see within them qualities that their author never envisioned in her wildest NORTHANGER ABBEY nightmares. Of feminism, we must accept that its influences were tenuous and not radical like her contemporary Mary Wollstonecraft, who wrote A VINDICATION OF THE RI...moreNow how well do we know Jane Austen? I suggest that her writings are among the most significant in English literature because of her subtle characterization, ironic language, and brilliant dialogue. Even better, like all great works, we can see within them qualities that their author never envisioned in her wildest NORTHANGER ABBEY nightmares. Of feminism, we must accept that its influences were tenuous and not radical like her contemporary Mary Wollstonecraft, who wrote A VINDICATION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN (1792). Nor was she a Marxist (since Karl Marx was born a year after Austen's death), and in fact, she displayed no inclinations to unravel the socioeconomic details of her world. Nonetheless, it is possible to see the seeds of a pre-Marxist feminist critique in Austen's most underestimated work, MANSFIELD PARK.

Fanny, the protagonist, is a child of extreme poverty, but linked by kinship to the wealthy Bertram family, whose fortune derives largely from a plantation in Antigua. Fanny is sent to live with the Bertrams in the hope of raising her social and economic propects. She is surrounded by her uncle, family patriarch Sir Thomas, a slaveowning, protocapitalist member of the emerging bourgeoisie, and two aunts, Sir Thomas's wife, who is dazed and detached, and Mrs. Norris, who is caustic and mercenary. She also has four cousins; Maria and Julia, who are represented as preening daughters of the materialistic Sir Thomas, as is Tom, his ne'er do well son. Only Edmund, the younger brother is portrayed as a sympathetic, if slightly pompous, young man of integrity as he prepares to join the clergy. It is only Edmund who pays attention to Fanny and attempts to mitigate her near serf status with regard to her aunts. Even his efforts, however, falter when he encounters a lovely and charming newcomer, Mary Crawford, a social-climbing schemer, and her dilettante brother, Henry, a lothario unthwarted by Fanny's loathing.

Without detailing plot and additional characters, this novel employs pithy dialogue and a highly crafted narrative structure to reveal the nature of gender inequality in which the subordination of women (specifically Fanny, but not exclusively) is determined by the incipient capitalist mode of production (evidenced by Sir Thomas's West Indian plantation, the nature of labor relations at Mansfield Park and nearby estates, and hints of the socioeconomic aspects of life in cosmopolitan London). Austen clearly indicates (without bombastic description) that the system that maintains the Bertrams and their coterie serves the interests of capital and the ruling class...not people of substance and integrity like Fanny. Thus, Fanny's triumph, hard fought (but inevitable) is a revolutionary coup on a miniature scale that overthrows the capitalist and patriarchal system of Mansfield Park. Sir Thomas is defeated and (we are led to believe) reformed in his attitude to both women and society in general. Mary is disgraced for her mercenary ways, Henry suffers ignominy, young Tom sees the errors of his wastrel ways, and even Fanny's aunts and female cousins are chastised for their behavior. Most importantly, Edmund finally realizes the genius of Fanny and defers to her judgment. In essense, Fanny Price becomes the spiritual leader of the family, establishing a matriarchy in all but name. The bourgeois veneer remains, but the world of Mansfield Park has been turned upside down. The "withering away" of the the patriarchal capitalist class structure has begun according to the revolutionary rhetoric of Ms. Austen. (less)

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Dec 16, 2009

Minli rated it

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Shelves: own, sucky-endings, made-me-think, classics

Mansfield Park is far from being the most romantic of Jane Austen's novels, but I find it a remarkably astute study of character and sociality. Mansfield Park is filled with imperfect (sometimes unbearable!) individuals, from the vain and pampered Maria, to the only slightly less so Julia; from the debonair and morally cracked Crawfords to Mrs. Norris's utterly infuriating existence. Within Mansfield Park are several sets of foils, Fanny for the majority of the young women, Edmund for Henry Craw...moreMansfield Park is far from being the most romantic of Jane Austen's novels, but I find it a remarkably astute study of character and sociality. Mansfield Park is filled with imperfect (sometimes unbearable!) individuals, from the vain and pampered Maria, to the only slightly less so Julia; from the debonair and morally cracked Crawfords to Mrs. Norris's utterly infuriating existence. Within Mansfield Park are several sets of foils, Fanny for the majority of the young women, Edmund for Henry Crawford, and the entirety of Mansfield Park to Fanny's home in Portsmouth. Nearly everyone has their faults--Fanny not excepted--and I was impressed with Austen's masterful craftsmanship and sensitivity.

I like Fanny Price. I really do. She's not the most assertive or the most witty of Austen's heroines, but she's extremely principled--something I admire and identify with. She never lowers her moral standards to accept Henry Crawford, even when pushed to by Mary, Edmund and Sir Thomas. I have confidence that, were Henry diligent and changed enough to win Fanny over, he would have succeeded--but he did not. Fanny was perceptive enough to wait, to always reflect upon the others' behaviours, and to recognize faults and re-assess them. Mrs. Norris, perhaps one of the most damn annoying characters I've read in Austen with little redeeming qualities I can think of, continued to harp on about Fanny's ungratefulness and blame her for everyone else's bad behaviour. Fanny is never at fault, of course. She DOES realize the debt she owes to the Bertrams, but never compromises her own moral excellence. In fact, I wonder if it could be said that virtue can be inborn, and not just cultivated. Fanny became a reader (now I am drawing parallels to myself), and I wonder if that's where she got these strong ideas, since she couldn't have gotten it at Portsmouth or at Mansfield. Fanny's presence at Mansfield Park illuminates everyone else's imperfections, and ultimately sets things to right.

All the characters are so wonderfully HUMAN I wanted to hug this book. I still think Fanny deserved a lot better than Edmund in the end, but I think Fanny is delighted just as it turned out. But this book was far from being about the romance. While Edmund's crush on Mary was believable, I'd wished his change of heart had been more gradual, and his love for Fanny more.. I don't know. Just more. I mark it one star down for the last chapter. Mansfield Park is not one I would re-read again and again, but it's so wonderfully perceptive and put-together, I recommend it for anyone a fan of Austen or the Regency period. (less)

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Feb 15, 2011

Harmonybites rated it

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Recommends it for: Austen Fans; Readers of Classics

Shelves: classics, romance, fiction, novels

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Jane Austen is one of my top favorite authors, and when it came time to rate her novels here, I gave her Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Persuasion five stars, the highest possible. When it came time, however, to rate Mansfield Park, the novel Austen herself most esteemed among her own, I rated it only one star to reflect my remembered loathing for it. Looking at others’ reviews, I can see I was not alone in my disdain. The introduction to the annotated Norton Critical Editi...more

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Jun 26, 2009

Amanda rated it

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Shelves: classics, romance, 2009

It would be nearly impossible for me to try to describe the plot of this book without spoilers, so I’m not going to describe it at all. It’s an Austen novel. It goes without saying there will be a romance that isn’t resolved until the very end, that it will be resolved favorably, and along the way there will be lots of social commentary. However, I thought this book focused a lot less on romance and a lot more on human nature, class structure, and the contrast of good vs. the appearance of good....moreIt would be nearly impossible for me to try to describe the plot of this book without spoilers, so I’m not going to describe it at all. It’s an Austen novel. It goes without saying there will be a romance that isn’t resolved until the very end, that it will be resolved favorably, and along the way there will be lots of social commentary. However, I thought this book focused a lot less on romance and a lot more on human nature, class structure, and the contrast of good vs. the appearance of good.

I’ve read four Austen novels before this one – Persuasion, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice. While I liked P&P the most of those, I thought all four of these books were very similar. There was always at least a few evil characters, and a few characters who were continuously ribbed on as comic relief. There were generally bad or silly parents, and misunderstandings in love. Mansfield Park starts out that way, for the first chapter or two, but very quickly takes a different path. A more realistic-feeling path, in my opinion, with more well-developed characters who don’t fit into “good” or “bad” so easily. There are, in fact, few characters that I can say fit into either of those categories, and no one is so easily caricatured. Character-wise, I think this has been the best Austen work I’ve read, though I admit that it was slow (especially the first 75 pages or so) and not as interesting to me as P&P was.

Fanny Price is the heroine of this book, and is very unlike many of the other heroines in Austen’s novels. She is quiet, painfully shy, physically weak, not at all forceful, and slightly neglected by her adoptive family. She lives with her aunt and uncle, as her own parents are poor and have, in total, 10 children (all born within 11-12 years). Her female cousins treat her slightly contemptuously, though they are more neglectful than mean, and her aunts pretty much just use her as a servant. Fanny never complains – in fact, she hardly says a word the whole book – which really would have gotten to me after awhile (I’m not a huge fan of doormat heroes…) except that internally, she proved to be very strong. When presented with an unwanted proposal from a man she can’t respect, she refuses him despite all his encouragement, her uncle’s anger and lectures, her beloved cousin’s censure, and her friends’ pleas. Nothing anyone can say or do will induce her to belong to a man she can’t agree with, and this takes strength of character that I don’t know if I would have expected in someone like Fanny.

There were two things I really enjoyed in this book. First was the contrast of Fanny’s home at Mansfield Park, with her aunt and uncle, to her parents’ home. She goes to her parents’ home after being away for nearly a decade, and what she finds is not at all what she expected. She has so many siblings, all so close together in age, and they are completely unmanageable, noisy, and living in this cramped house. The servants are awful, the food is ill-prepared, everything is dirty, and her mother has basically given up. I understand Fanny’s feelings all too well. It’s hard to go back to a place and expect one thing, from memory, and receive something totally different. It’s a complete shock. Especially if it’s a place you haven’t seen since childhood. But futhermore, Fanny’s sensibilities are offended by the lack of restraint in her siblings. They are wild. They are undisciplined. Personally, it takes me time to adjust in any house where kids are running around without regards to their parents. I come from a very disciplined home, and run mine in the same fashion. While I understand that people raise their children in different ways, and some feel it’s important for kids to have huge amounts of freedom when they’re young, I become completely stressed out in that type of situation. I just want to take everyone in hand and make them behave! I don’t, of course, but it’s hard to resist the temptation, especially when parents just say, oh, they can’t do anything about it, they don’t have enough energy/authority/etc to do anything about it. Now granted, if I had 10 kids in 11 years, I’d probably be the same way (more likely I’d be in a mental institute), but still it was jarring enough just to read about! Austen did very well with those scenes. I was as much in horror of Fanny’s family’s home as Fanny was.

The other thing that really struck me in this book was the contrast of good vs. the appearance of good. While no character was really evil, there were characters more influenced by the world, and who thought about morality in a different way than Austen seems to think. She gave them more credit in this book, though, than she has done in previous books I’ve read. When a married woman runs off with an ex-lover, their siblings talk about the evil that’s been done. One sibling feels the crime is the deed itself, the other feels the crime is that the deed was discovered. Very different viewpoints. One sibling cared about the inherent break in morality, decency, and propriety in the elopement, whereas the other is only concerned with how people will see the event, and how quickly appearances can be mended. It sounds shallow, but this second sibling, concerned with appearances, is not treated the way I would have expected Austen to treat such shallowness. That sibling is given depth – ignorance about morality rather than defiance of it. She is doing the best she can in the only way she knows how, and while it’s clear Austen thinks she’s wrong, she’s not villified. I like that. It’s a change from other Austen books. And it feels more honest to me.

Mansfield Park is not my favorite Austen novel, but I do think it has a lot more depth and true character development than the others (thus far). Once I got past the slow beginning, I really enjoyed it.(less)

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Oct 24, 2008

Johnny Waco rated it

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Shelves: classics, imperialism

It seems that readers of Mansfield Park fall into two camps: those who don't like Fanny and those that sort of, well, don't mind her so much. Hard to find someone who loves poor Fanny. I'm not saying I love her character, but I had read a little bit about the novel before I started reading and was prepared to simply tolerate her and enjoy everything else about Mansfield Park; surprisingly, I didn't find her dislikable or annoying at all. Sure, she's priggish, and no, she's not witty, but above a...moreIt seems that readers of Mansfield Park fall into two camps: those who don't like Fanny and those that sort of, well, don't mind her so much. Hard to find someone who loves poor Fanny. I'm not saying I love her character, but I had read a little bit about the novel before I started reading and was prepared to simply tolerate her and enjoy everything else about Mansfield Park; surprisingly, I didn't find her dislikable or annoying at all. Sure, she's priggish, and no, she's not witty, but above all, she is a sympathetic figure. She's in a tough situation, the object of charity--which she's never allowed to forget, especially by the odious Mrs. Norris--and singled out as an unequal for years. Could any other personality have persevered through that? The other character I find most interesting is Henry Crawford--I followed his progression from irresponsible flirt to serious suitor and landlord, and I thought it believable. His regression as the seducer (or at least "mutually seduced") didn't feel right somehow. I almost felt that Austen wrote this plot twist to finally, completely confirm Fanny as right all along--why not have him truly change, and Fanny change along with him? I like Edmund and all, but Henry and Fanny seemed to me a dynamic couple--one where the two personalities would have challenged and hopefully complemented each other.

Mansfield Park is also notable for Edward Said's criticism; he points out that the Bertram family fortune is based on Sir Thomas's sugar plantations in Antigua, almost certainly worked by slave labor, a complicating context for a novel so concerned with virtue and right behavior. Contrast the scope and beauty of the sculpted gardens and "wild" at the Rushworth estate, a place of strolls and romantic intrigues, with the presumably sprawling cane fields half a world away, site of misery and brutality. Said criticizes Austen for not acknowledging this problem, but I wonder: did Austen never consider the complication of having the Bertrams so reliant on slavery? Was Antigua simply a convenient piece of background, or did she deliberately choose this source of income at a time when abolition was in full force in England? I have no evidence, but I have to give Austen the benefit of the doubt on this, and further admire her for not forcing the issue to the foreground, but instead having it always haunting every speech and observation on conduct and virtue(less)

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Aug 12, 2008

MountainLaurel rated it

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Shelves: classics

OK, I agree with the book flap that Fanny does improve as the story goes on. At first the way she blindly follows Edmund around is kind of annoying, and for maybe the first half of the book she doesn't say much anyway. But after the Miss Bertrams leave and Henry Crawford decides that he wants to try and make Fanny in love with him, she actually talked more. At this point the sort of constant comparing of Fanny's and Edmund's propriety with the impropriety of Maria, Julia, and the Crawfords lesse...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
What if Fanny and Henry end up together?	6	37	Feb 03, 2012 02:18pm
FIRST COUSINS	33	193	Jan 07, 2012 05:01pm
MP in Jane's Canon?	5	54	Aug 12, 2011 01:46am
"Marriage is indeed a maneuvering business.." other favorite quotes?	3	31	Jun 13, 2011 07:03pm
Books I Want To T...: Mansfield Park	2	4	Jun 10, 2011 10:37pm

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