The Literature Network - Jane Austen's venture into tragedy. ('Mansfield Park')

Jane Austen's venture into tragedy. ('Mansfield Park')

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From: Contemporary Review
Date: 19980601
Author:Harris, H.R.

Its somber mood and serious content separate 'Mansfield Park' from the rest of Jane Austen's works, which are generally light and amusing. The anxiety and fear inherent in 'Mansfield Park' are a result of Austen's recent perusal of Shakespeare's 'King Lear' while she was planning to write the novel in 1811. The parallelisms between 'Mansfield Park' and 'King Lear' are evident in the former's structure, remarkable textual similarities with the latter, and the strong circumstantial evidence that she incorporated the themes of the highly tragic play into this particular work.

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