Poll

Grow a spine, Fanny!

Oh, I concur!

I'd say Marianne Dashwood, I guess (which is not to say I dislike her). She seems a bit like Mariah Bertram to me, but more sensitive in nature.

Also, I have a different opinion of Fanny. Given her familial situation and her shyness, it didn't bother me that she wasn't a stronger character like most of Austen's heroines.

Edited to say: I've changed my vote from Marianne to Emma. I'm reading Emma right now and she just seems like a big snob to me. What she's done for Harriet isn't much different from what Lady Russell did for Anne in Persuasion, except that Harriet doesn't have the same affluence as Anne. Just like her father, she doesn't seem to account for the fact that not everyone is like her.

I agree; Fanny seems more real to me

I really like them all so it was heard to choose.

I don't like this poll!!!

I was tempted to put Fanny, but she is one of the most challenging of Austen's heroines.

Perhaps that is the sort of poll I'd like!!!
This one is too competitive and black/white.
I don't think Jane Austen herself would approve.
(Now I'm channelling!!!)

By the way, my name is Wayne, from Sydney Australia...and sad to see such a scarcity of males
in the vicinity. Jane's brothers loved her books.
So I'm in the Very Best of Company.
Cheers from Me!!!

Marissa wrote: "I really like them all so it was heard to choose."

So DON'T Marissa.
And tell us why!!!

OK if I had to choose.....it would be Fanny Price of Marianne Dashwood. I have to agree with Jody about her. ( Marianne ) I've always thought she was somewhat mean to poor Brandon. And and that he was to good for her.

I'm not surprised that Fanny jumps to mind.
However I've always felt that it was Jane Austen's fault.
Perhaps Fanny is poorly written.

I recently reread Persuasion, and Anne Eliot bugged me no end. Most of her sufferings are brought on by her own bad choice years ago, yet at the end of the book she's convinced she did the right thing. At the beginning she didn't feel so. If her romance with Frederick Wentworth had not ended happily, would she still be so smug in her virtue?

And I confess myself surprised at how many people voted for Elizabeth Bennett here! I would love to hear some reasons why ....

Emma bugged the heck out of me... She just drove me up walls whenever I read the book.

Emma bugged me. Fanny needs a spine. Elinore was too self sacrificing. Elizabeth didn't think before she spoke. Catherine was too immature at times. Anne was too eaily lead. Marianne loved with everything she was and despite it ending badly did what her heart told her too. And she got Brandon. :-)

A very nice neat summary, Alexandria.
I'm sure Jane would appreciate it too!!!!

Cheers, Wayne from Sydney,Australia.

Thank you Wayne. I think I must have been in a bit of a ranting mood when I wrote that :-)

A very concise and correct and creative rant!!
DON'T apologise!!!

It is around the faults of her heroines that Jane Austen builds her plots.
No faults, no characters, no novels.
NO Jane Austen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I TOTALLY agree Maia...she really is a difficult character to come to grips with.
But is "meekness" the virtue that Jane Austen is pushing??!!!
Experiencing the book as a film gave the character quite a different slant.I've seen two...one was good and the second one rotten.
It's years since I read it so I really need to reread it to discuss it properly with you. But my impressions of Fanny are vivid still... a very puzzling character. But I can't see someone as sharp as Jane Austen making a "mess" of her main character, can you???
So what possible answers/interpretations can one resort to?

What about Emma??
I'm surprised how many people don't like her, and yet for Jane Austen she was her favourite.I had no trouble with Emma myself.Perhaps it's because I've caught myself rushing to judgement once too often and have to eat humble pie and apologise.One is never in possession of ALL the facts, so discretion and selfcontrol are vital.
And stop being over-confident??
Do you see yourself in any of the Main Girls???

I know it had a blonde British actress as Fanny.
I'd seen her in other shows and liked her, but she was awful in MP....everything was!!!!It was much worse than the Patricia Rozema one, and more recent.

Yes, I agree Maia, Elizabeth is a GREAT heroine...a breath of fresh air if ever!!!!!

I don't even understand this question. I am in love with them all.
Fanny is more complex than you give her credit for. She isn't quiet out of meekness, but fortitude and patience.
I admire her for not sticking her foot in her mouth (something I am known to do).
Sometimes the best thing to do is stand back and let people figure things out for themselves. Let the truth unfold as it always does.
Besides, we can't have every character be E.B. Then we wouldn't have different stories.

hmm.. I thought Jane Bennet would make the list.

Emma Woodhouse!!

Why does everyone hate Fanny and Emma? I like them both. I get a kick out of Emma~

Elanor is immature and snobbish. She does charity work because it is expected of her, makes friends of enemies to be above pettiness, but rejects those beneath her for no reason other than their station in life. She never tried to understand Jane Fairfax, who desperately hid her love for Frank Churchill, or truly sympathize with long-suffering Miss Bates, or even her ‘friend’ Harriet’s true feelings for her farmer. Yet she is perfect for Mr. Knightly, just the sort of woman he can admit into his circle with pride.

Alexandria wrote: "Emma bugged me. Fanny needs a spine. Elinore was too self sacrificing. Elizabeth didn't think before she spoke. Catherine was too immature at times. Anne was too eaily lead. Marianne loved with eve..."

Elinor put others ahead of herself! How could you say she was too self sacrificing? No one can be too self sacrificing, in my opinion. Elinor Dashwood is my favorite Jane Austen character because she never thought only of herself.

I voted for Emma Woodhouse, because even up to the end she seemed a bit selfish. Even Marianne Dashwood was a better character because she learned from her naive mistakes. Emma just seemed to be trying to justify herself by doing charity work.

This is just my opinion, please don't shoot me down for it.

Maureen wrote: "Elanor is immature and snobbish. She does charity work because it is expected of her, makes friends of enemies to be above pettiness, but rejects those beneath her for no reason other than their s..."

I believe you meant Emma Woodhouse.

Yes, I meant Emma, the wealthy Austen heroine.

Maureen wrote: "Elanor is immature and snobbish. She does charity work because it is expected of her, makes friends of enemies to be above pettiness, but rejects those beneath her for no reason other than their s..."

I think you meant Emma but I agree with you 100%.I can't stand Emma.

Why does everyone hate Emma? :o

Dear L,
Jane loved this one most of all...you're in the BEST of company!!!!

Wayne wrote: "Dear L,
Jane loved this one most of all...you're in the BEST of company!!!!"

Indeed! I beg the following question: Who is less admirable? A person who kindly performs a bit of charitable work (perhaps for a bit of recognition), or the person who does none at all?

:)

And in an era during which large estates literally employed and supported much of the rural townships economically through their presence, I would wonder how so many can criticize her for her wealth, alone.

L wrote: "Wayne wrote: "Dear L,
Jane loved this one most of all...you're in the BEST of company!!!!"

Indeed! I beg the following question: Who is less admirable? A person who kindly performs a bit of charit..."

I was not criticizing her for only her wealth, but her attitude. As I said before, she seemed a bit selfish, and seemed to justify herself by doing charity work. She especially seemed selfish with Mr. Knightly, when her friend confessed she had a slight attraction towards him. Emma quickly snatched him up and away from Harriet. She had no regard for the way Jane Fairfax felt. She seemed ignorant of others' feelings.

Wayne wrote: "Do you see yourself in any of the Main Girls???"

I tend to see myself in Elinor Dashwood. I have a friend who rants and raves about her love life to me (much like Marianne did to Elinor), and I try to just listen and comfort. Nevermind my feelings. Mind you I have feelings, many feelings, I just tend to keep them to myself.

This was a hard choice for me - I was torn between being peeved with Fanny for her annoyingly unerring goodness; Catherine for her immaturity; and Marianne for her romantic histrionics and self-centeredness. I finally settled (after changing my vote twice haha) to Marianne. I always had a problem with her ending up with Colonel Brandon when she spent most of the book putting him down. He deserves better than her. But she's the woman who makes him happy, and because he is older and understanding, he loves her just the way she is. Ditto for Henry Tilney (one of my favorite Austen heroes). I guess I get to see a little more of Catherine's growing maturity in the books. Marianne's redemption seems forced and unnatural (in the book - however, in the most recent adaptation of S&S we get some scenes where Marianne explains how her appreciation and love for Brandon has grown over time. I so wish Jane Austen had written a scene like than in her book!)

Emma irritates and annoys me.

This website sucks

Just kidding

It's not one best but it's still good keep up the good work

This poll is hard, I love all of Jane Austen's heroines. I eventually settled for Anne Elliot, not that I don't like her, but because I found her harder to relate to.

I love all the Austen heroines, so this was incredibly hard!! But I picked Fanny Price, I could never understand her. But that is because I am just like Marianne. So Fanny is the opposite of me. I do admire her for firm convictions of right and wrong, she just doesn't reveal her feelings and show them!!!!! Ahhhhhhh!! Everything just slides out of her hands and she lets it.

I love Emma. Because she unsnobbed herself and humbled herself and turned her life completely around when she realized how selfish she was! And she then tried to fix her mistakes with those she loved, openly and verbally.

I love Marianne cause she learned that sense is worth choosing and that a man of principals and character is worth loving and that just because people aren't like you doesn't mean you can't be friends!
She also learns to think of others and find admirable traits in others.

I love Elizabeth because she realizes that judging others isn't all that life is about! And that once you give people a chance you might like them!! Also she learns that looking at one side of the coin doesn't always give you the full picture.

I love Anne because she realizes that you have to have backbone and not let others bully you or manipulate you and that not all people are trying to hurt you. You can trust again.

And I love Catherine because she laughs at her mistakes and desperately wants to stop living in the fantasy world she loved at the beginning of the novel. She also endeavors to be come rational and sensible.

I love Elinor because she learns to open up and let others see inside her heart! She learns that being alive means sharing your problems with others so you both grow and learn.

But I actually never learned anything from Fanny!
Can someone share what they learned from Mansfield Park?!
I would love to hear.
I probably missed something, under the surface of things.

How can I dislike any of them? :)

I am just in awe as to why most voted for Fanny.

For me Fanny is one of the strongest of Jane’s heroines - sure she was written as meek and feeble - but her mind, emotions, and will are not easily altered no matter how she was treated and manipulated by people around her.

Yes - she should somehow grow a little spine so she could fight and stand for herself and what she believes in, but understand that what she was thinking and feeling - being grateful and mindful of her relatives taking her in - was not easy to deal with. Imagine having that inner battle inside her mind and heart always reminding herself to always be just in her place as she should be.

But in the end - she endured all situations with great fortitude. She stood by her decisions against Mr. Crawford’s personality and behavior and didn’t falter.

And this is one of the reasons why she’s one of my fave Austen heroines. Her and Anne Elliot. Their characters are just soo kind, patient and enduring. They’re angels. 🤣

That's a tough call between Emma and Fanny.

Emma a manipulative classicist asshole that by the end of the books learns to not overtly express these sentiments through action. Her reaction to Knightley and Harriets possible marriage attests that. So its hard not to read her character as a sexist women shouldn't meddle in the affairs of other people -- thats why only men vote! It feels like a censure on her sex rather than her actual terrible views.

Characters like Fanny are just boring.

I hated Fanny because all she did throughout the book was mope around and sit there feeling sorry for herself, like, life isn't therapy, get over yourself and move on! #Don'tBeACompleteIdiot. Maybe Jane was experiencing depression when she wrote Mansfield Park.

Fanny then Marianne. Very different personalities. So it is not that Fanny is introverted.