Mansfield Park
Introduction and Notes by Dr Ian Littlewood, University of Sussex.
Adultery is not a typical Jane Austen theme, but when it disturbs the relatively peaceful household at Mansfield Park, it has quite unexpected results.
The diffident and much put-upon heroine Fanny Price has to struggle to cope with the results, re-examining her own feelings while enduring the cheerful amorality, old-fashioned indifference and priggish disapproval of those around her.
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Readers say *Mansfield Park* is a complex and morally driven novel with rich social commentary, typical of Austen’s style. Many find the main characte...
One of my very favorite Jane Austen books - timeless themes (ex: struggles to meet family expectations, generational gaps, daily challenges with practicing one's virtues and values...) I have such a soft spot for Fanny and her persistence of goodness and kindness in spite of her hardships and trials (*a bit of a Cinderella story and an ending that I can get behind :) :) )
I also appreciate how Austen's own convictions come through this novel alongside the witty and thoughtful dialogue penned throughout
I'd give this 3.5 stars if I could. This book seemed long and dragged on and on. However, I liked certain ones of the characters. You loved to hate them. However, I did not like the main character. She let people walk all over her all the time. She truly bored me. This wasn't my favorite Austen novel.
Okay. I’ll start with positives
Writing is funny, self-aware, biting at times, and overall pleasant and flowy in that Jane Austen way
With this said I will probably never reread this book, and I’m not totally convinced I summarily enjoyed it. It is the most controversial (and least popular) Austen novel and it is obvious why; it seems to advocate for social conservatism through a protagonist that is not captivating, funny, or particularly intelligent. I don’t think the main takeaway is that a woman need be chaste and demure to be suitable- knowing other Austen works this can’t be the case- but I don’t see a really nuanced articulation of these traits’ value that would suggest a more complex moral of the story, that gives women more agency. I think there are some opportunities for nuance and philosophical reflection (particularly in Lady Bertram and Mrs. Price’s similarities, and the living contexts of their children) but they are not explored or developed I FEEL
Also the ending is egregiously rushed, and the first 100 pages were boring as HELL
Writing is funny, self-aware, biting at times, and overall pleasant and flowy in that Jane Austen way
With this said I will probably never reread this book, and I’m not totally convinced I summarily enjoyed it. It is the most controversial (and least popular) Austen novel and it is obvious why; it seems to advocate for social conservatism through a protagonist that is not captivating, funny, or particularly intelligent. I don’t think the main takeaway is that a woman need be chaste and demure to be suitable- knowing other Austen works this can’t be the case- but I don’t see a really nuanced articulation of these traits’ value that would suggest a more complex moral of the story, that gives women more agency. I think there are some opportunities for nuance and philosophical reflection (particularly in Lady Bertram and Mrs. Price’s similarities, and the living contexts of their children) but they are not explored or developed I FEEL
Also the ending is egregiously rushed, and the first 100 pages were boring as HELL