Sir Bartholomew
04-07-2008, 07:54 AM
Fanny Price will always be the least popular among Austen's set of heroines. Just the mention of her name, or even of Mansfield Park, can excite warm reactions. Why people dislike her? She's quiet, shy, timid, docile, a shade backstabber, and a prig. Someone from this forum said
I feel like I'm meant to have sympathy for her, but I just can't find any emotion for her at all, except perhaps anger.
The best approach, I think, to Mansfield Park is to contrast it against Pride & Prejudice, an approach generally known. Not that Austen disapproved of Elizabeth Bennet's candor, but I think Austen feared that her readers failed to appreciate her strongest values. I imagine Austen reading an enthusiastic review of Pride & Prejudice with something like: "Elizabeth Bennet the new standard for young women: rebellious, lively, playful, saucy and outspoken" and at the same time scratching her head. I guess she wanted to rectify these misinterpretations and owed the public an explanation.
One of the best things about Mansfield Park is the silent battle between Fanny Price and Mary Crawford; the former a negative copy, the latter a prototype of Elizabeth Bennet, as they vie for one dull man's attention. There's this scene where a play is in progress, Aunt Norris insults Fanny Price in front of everybody. Mary, seeing her opportunity to prove what an angel she is, runs to comfort Fanny while Edmund looks at her with affection. This misinterpretation of action and of character pervades the whole novel. Example: Sir Bertram thinks Fanny's reluctance an encouragement to Henry Crawford's proposal. Everybody thinks they know more than they do, except for Fanny, whose silence enables her to observe those around her better.
I don't believe Austen wanted her readers to "like" Fanny Price, to understand her is sufficient; and through this people will appreciate the virtues of Elizabeth Bennet Austen wanted appreciated. The purpose of Mansfield Park is wider, more complex. Aside from that former thingy, readers will also have fun detecting symbols and forebodings. In serious note, readers will also find Austen's contempt against amendments against the status quo. She argues rules must not be changed. The real problem is that the young are brought up with wrong notions and mismanagement. Alterations are unwise.
Calling Mansfield Park as Austen's worst book is unwise. The book has too much to offer. Not only does it satisfy, it also has believable human (if not likeable) characters. I love Lady Bertram and her pug, and at the same time slap Aunt Norris' face. Austen's skill in this novel is too apparent to ignore. Yes, it is not as funny as Pride & Prejudice but the insight is stronger and more prominent.
I feel like I'm meant to have sympathy for her, but I just can't find any emotion for her at all, except perhaps anger.
The best approach, I think, to Mansfield Park is to contrast it against Pride & Prejudice, an approach generally known. Not that Austen disapproved of Elizabeth Bennet's candor, but I think Austen feared that her readers failed to appreciate her strongest values. I imagine Austen reading an enthusiastic review of Pride & Prejudice with something like: "Elizabeth Bennet the new standard for young women: rebellious, lively, playful, saucy and outspoken" and at the same time scratching her head. I guess she wanted to rectify these misinterpretations and owed the public an explanation.
One of the best things about Mansfield Park is the silent battle between Fanny Price and Mary Crawford; the former a negative copy, the latter a prototype of Elizabeth Bennet, as they vie for one dull man's attention. There's this scene where a play is in progress, Aunt Norris insults Fanny Price in front of everybody. Mary, seeing her opportunity to prove what an angel she is, runs to comfort Fanny while Edmund looks at her with affection. This misinterpretation of action and of character pervades the whole novel. Example: Sir Bertram thinks Fanny's reluctance an encouragement to Henry Crawford's proposal. Everybody thinks they know more than they do, except for Fanny, whose silence enables her to observe those around her better.
I don't believe Austen wanted her readers to "like" Fanny Price, to understand her is sufficient; and through this people will appreciate the virtues of Elizabeth Bennet Austen wanted appreciated. The purpose of Mansfield Park is wider, more complex. Aside from that former thingy, readers will also have fun detecting symbols and forebodings. In serious note, readers will also find Austen's contempt against amendments against the status quo. She argues rules must not be changed. The real problem is that the young are brought up with wrong notions and mismanagement. Alterations are unwise.
Calling Mansfield Park as Austen's worst book is unwise. The book has too much to offer. Not only does it satisfy, it also has believable human (if not likeable) characters. I love Lady Bertram and her pug, and at the same time slap Aunt Norris' face. Austen's skill in this novel is too apparent to ignore. Yes, it is not as funny as Pride & Prejudice but the insight is stronger and more prominent.