Mansfield Park

I have read this twice and I will keep reading it until I don't hate it anymore. Jane Austen is my heroine and I think she is brilliant and awesome and if I could spend everyday doing Jane Austen things life would be perfect, but I still despise Fanny and find this novel, while being technically good, totally boring.

Ik ben niet opgewassen tegen zulke lange oubollige Engelse zinnen, meestal wist ik niet wat ik nou aan het lezen was. En dat is meer mijn probleem dan van Jane Austen, want sommige delen die ik wel begreep waren erg goed, maar ik ben hier nog niet slim genoeg voor.

I thought it would be a solid 4-star. However, the characters' reactions to things that happen later in the book, specifically regarding events that center around Fanny, threw me a loop and made me want to die. Poor Fanny is all I can say; it felt like she was being gaslit, and I was so stressed.

I enjoyed it overall a lot more than I have other Jane Austen books I've read, not that they were bad, I just overall enjoyed this more.

Summary: Fanny Price, the eldest daughter of a very large family, is sent to live with her wealthy aunt and uncle. While she is educated and materially taken care of there, her feelings and wellbeing are often disregarded. It is not long before she starts developing feelings for the one person in the house who seems to care about her, but when the Crawfords come to visit, things get a little bit messy in the romance department.

“She had all the heroism of principle, and was determined to do her duty; but having also many of the feelings of youth and nature, let her not be much wondered at if, after making all these good resolutions on the side of self-government, she seized the scrap of paper on which Edmund had begun writing to her, as a treasure beyond all her hopes, and reading with the tenderest emotion these words, ‘My very dear Fanny, you must do me the favour to accept' ‰ЫУ locked it up with the chain, as the dearest part of the gift.”

It has been a while since I read a Jane Austen novel. Fanny, the shy, sensitive, intelligent and morally upright girl is the poor cousin brought up in her wealthy maternal aunt's house. Nobody takes any notice of her but her cousin Edmund, so of course she loves him devotedly. The arrival of Mary and Henry Crawford, a well to do, lively, and attractive brother and sister brings changes to the more or less placid life everyone is leading at Mansfield Park.

I feel a little queasy about the way things turned out. I was rooting for Henry, so that Fanny could get out of the Bertram household and experience a little more of the world. But rooting for which man the heroine “gets to” (has to) marry also feels bad–mercenary, crude, in bad taste. And crude and mercenary people who value the wrong things are at issue in this book. The idea of marrying without love is spoken of as shameful, but at the same time Fanny is pressured to marry Henry even though she says she can never love him, and all around her women are marrying without love so that they can have the closest thing to an independent life that exists in those times.

Also, there is class consciousness. Fanny, the daughter of an “unsuitable” marriage between a young woman of a “good family” and a sailor, is gentle, kind, has good manners and a good mind, although her aunts and cousins undervalue her because of her lower class background. But Mrs. Norris, one of her “quality” aunts, is selfish, mean, and unable to see those qualities in herself or others.

In spite of my queasiness about how insular Fanny's life is, it's an absorbing book and a classic for a reason. Jane Austen has an unmerciful eye for people and their hypocrisy.

Remember the scene from ‘The Office', in which Dwight and Pam are repairing a printer, but there are only German instructions?
“That is either an incense dispenser or a ceremonial sarcophagus”. Dwight later explains that his German is preindustrial and mostly religious.

My situation reading this book wasn't entirely dissimilar. Culture heavily influences language, and language from an entirely foreign culture of 1800s England must be hard for people not acquainted with it. With the aid of a few helpful fans on r/janeausten I got some idea about clergy and livings; a topic which takes up a few chapters in the beginning. The rest of it is not easy either.

Austen's other books were written around the same age too, but the themes of those books are relevant in the present. ‘Pride' and ‘prejudice' haven't changed much over 200 years. ‘Sense' hasn't changed either. (Sensibility though has thankfully taken a sensible turn; which made me really confused about what to feel about Marianne. But that's for another review). Mansfield Park as far as I understood deals with norms and propriety. And this has changed drastically over the years. Which probably made this book a difficult read.

PP and SS are all about Elizabeth and Elinor. Though, there's stuff going on in the background, they drive the story. Elizabeth and Elinor were the reason(s?) why those books were written. At least in the first half, Fanny appears to be more like an excuse for Mansfield Park to be written. Fanny slowly ‘fades in' into the story. And even in the later half, she is more an observer than a doer. (There are some quotable dialogues, one or two - when she rarely speaks. I'm too lazy to type those down here)

The whole book is rather a character study - from the workings of societal relations than a linear drama. There is no intrigue of what-next or will-they-won't-they. It's intended for passive observation of interactions between characters which gives us an insight into their personalities. We have all sorts of people in here. And THAT is the primary attraction.

The genteel proper Edmund(who I'm not sure is supposed to be likeable), the prodigal son, William. Their mother who's like a stoned royal lady - completely useless, only has vague idea of what's going on around her and people treat her with utmost respect.
......The woman's husband has to cross the Atlantic for work stuff.....
“Lady Bertram did not at all like to have her husband to leave her; but she was not disturbed by any alarm for his safety, or solicitude for his comfort, being one of those persons who think nothing can be dangerous or difficult, or fatiguing, to anybody but themselves”

And isn't Mrs. Norris fun? I've seen many an Aunt Norrises on Indian serials. So she wasn't hard to figure out. Then there's Ms. Crawford who you would expect to turn out to be a fascinating character, but ends up one-dimensional. Two sisters whose only role is to jealous of each other. And Mr. Crawford with his really weird character arc.

While reading this, I was in a constant struggle to figure about what this book was really about. Apart from what I mentioned above, there is this theme explored in the last few chapters, in multiple situations, when Fanny reaches her own home.
“She could think of nothing but Mansfield, its beloved inmates, its happy ways. Everything where she was no was in full contrast to it. The elegance, propriety, regularity, harmony, and perhaps above all the peace and tranquility of Mansfield, were brought to her remembrance every hour of the day, by the prevalence of everything opposite to them here.”
It's nothing much. Just how, circumstances change people. ‘Cause I had to find some meaning in this mess.

Maybe there is more to this book, that has clearly gone above my head. The book moves slowly and takes wild turns, including the ending, which must be the wildest turn that didn't do justice to many characters. It would make you think why all the stupidity earlier had to happen at all.

The book is underwhelming at first, then it kind of grows on you, ‘cause the characters are interesting, and then it just shrivels up and dies on you.

Maybe I'll appreciate it on a later read, but I wouldn't know.

As a poor cousin sent to live amongst her more privileged relations, Fanny Price is a fairly meek and boring leading character, as far as Jane Austen books go. She's content to be a wallflower, and her poor self-esteem isn't helped by comments from her aunts like “remember, wherever you are, you must be the lowest and the last”. Yikes.

Even the dude she is pining for says “she is the only woman in the world whom I could ever think of as a wife” - and he's not talking about her! Ouch.

The romance all gets summarised in a “at some point in the future, this and this happens” which is fairly unsatisfying as an ending.

A very slow moving book but beautifully written. A great sketch of Fanny's life.

Fanny Price herself and romantic relationships seem to be the most controversial part of the book. There are numerous great reviews already, so I am just writing down my personal opinion for my own benefit.
The character of Fanny Price is perfectly believable. An unloved child with a sickly disposition, it is only natural that she is quiet and complacent. However, for about half of the book it did lessen my enjoyment of it. When you observe the world with the eyes of Lizzie Bennet you can have fun over the follies of your neighbours. But with the eyes of Fanny Price, you can experience only anxiousness, fear and uneasiness.
Nevertheless, it feels like in the second part of the book Fanny is no longer an observer, and even though she doesn't take any active actions she strongly opposes desires of her relations to protect her principals. It reminds me of the opposite situation at the beginning of Persuasion. All in all, I see Fanny as strong as Austen heroine should be, she may not be Lizzie, but she is not that different from Anne or Elinor.
As to romantic relationships, I'll only talk about those that involve Fanny directly. SpoilerA lot of people wanted Henry Crawford to marry Fanny and have his redemption ark. I have not met people like Mr Crawford yet thankfully, but it is my strong belief that one must not attach themselves to another person in the hopes of changing them for the better. Of course, it is great if some mutual improvement can happen, like in Pride and Prejudice, but love should come first and Fanny was right in her refusal. Her falling in love with him over time was, of course, possible, but would require him to change immensely. And I do not believe that Crawfords would ever change their ways, it is difficult for anyone, but especially for people so self-centred.
She loves Edmund as he is, and though I dislike him for being patronizing and for his inconsistencies, there is no other person Fanny would be happy with. They know each other since she was ten and are intimate friends who share opinions on all the subjects of importance. And I think this is principal to Fanny. Even if it's not why she fell in love with Edmund, it is why they will make great life partners.
There are no perfect characters in this book (like in all Austen's books probably), and none of the characters is really charming and likeable, which may be why many people feel disinterested. But all of them are believable and there are some interesting topics raised in this book. I didn't know though if there is any conclusion, any lesson I can draw from this book. But now, writing this review, I have decided what it will be - you can not be happy by disobeying your principles and you should share your moral code with the person you choose to attach yourself to.

So far my favourite book of those written by Jane Austen :) It‘s not as funny as Pride and Prejudice or Emma and not as light, too. Instead it is a great story about a young woman and her family, a portrait of very different characters and some of the social differences of that time.

I like Jane Austen, and she's up to her usual tricks of wit and societal drama in this story. BUT I felt this pacing was much too slow; at times I was reluctant to finish it. I will say, the story is a good one, once the plot picks up, and I felt a rollercoaster of emotions for Fanny Price and the gang. I'm glad I read it as part of Jane Austen's collection of works, but will be reticent to pick it up again.

I actually quite liked this story and how complete many of the characters felt. My only complaint is it seemed to drag on forever in the sense that I at no point did I feel entirely confident in what the lesson would be and Austen always has a lesson from her time. However, I recognize keeping me puzzled was quite good! Yeah, it's not a great romance but it's a pure one and I greatly appreciate it.

It's not my favorite Austen—that's still Persuasion—but it's an excellent book and one I'll definitely be rereading!

Through most of the book, Fanny could be substituted with a rag doll and it would have no effect on the story or action. The rest of the characters are lively enough.

I can't quite believe it, but I have now read all six of Jane Austen's novels. I feel quite proud of myself.

Mansfield Park is my final Austen read. It's the story of a poor girl, Fanny, who is sent to live with her affluent relatives. She grows into a refined and beautiful young woman, despite her treatment as a second-class person by the rich members of her family. Fanny is captivated by her resolute cousin, Edmund, while in true Austen-ish fashion, Edmund is drawn to a beautiful neighbor, Mary Crawford, and Mary's brother, Henry, becomes infatuated with Fanny.

It's a wild ride of a romantic triangle, with all sorts of triangles within triangles. At the same time, Austen takes us out of the drawing room, into the corners of lives lived in poverty, into the lives of those who are involved in slave trade, into lives of the idle and morally uncertain rich, and leaves her readers with lots to think about.

Well ... I pretty much hated this book.

I realize it's social commentary. I understand the moral struggles going against societal norms and peer pressure. And the cousins marrying thing is, albeit not cool, not the most grievous concern.

This ought to have been a short story. With some economy of words, and greater use of exposition (which Austen excells at), the reader could easily have come away with the same understanding Austen hiped we would. Much of the detail I regarded as meaningless, even in the end.

The language, as always, was excellent. Hence the second star.

Kind of a letdown after reading Pride and Prejudice. It was fairly monotonous throughout and was at times painful to read because of how sad Fanny's life was. The ending was abrupt and strange; everything got tied up in the last chapter randomly and disappointingly. Edmund just happened to realize he could marry Fanny one day and that was it. Overall, fairly boring and not very entertaining with a disappointing ending and a very dull main character.

This is my third foray into the works of Austen in my resolution to read her collected works this year, and it's as disappointing as the first two–maybe more. Once again, we have a collection of mostly empty-headed young women who fawn over largely unworthy men with healthy inheritances/incomes. There are two of these women who are capable to some thought, of being almost well-rounded, and they're both in love with the same man (who, other than being utterly clueless about this fact for the entire novel is the only single guy worth bothering with). But there's a twist this time–the protagonist doesn't come from the same social class as everyone else, she's been taken in and raised by her wealthier uncle. Hardly a Dickensian orphan, but still, not “worthy” of being in the company with these people. Everyone else gets married and whatnot, leaving the triangle socially isolated until things finally come to the only just (and entirely predictable) conclusion for all involved, and they all lived happily ever after. There was nothing real here–no real heart, no soul, just a bunch of cardboard cutouts going through the motions. Once again, I have to ask–how did Austen get the rep she has? I want to fall under her spell, I want to like her stuff, but I just can't. Not yet anyway. Here's hoping [b:Emma 6969 Emma Jane Austen http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309203623s/6969.jpg 3360164]'s better.

I love Jane Austen and all, but this one is just kind of weird. I don't really care for any of the characters; the Crawfords are entirely unsuitable, considering what happens (kind of abruptly) in the last few chapters, but at least they have some personality. I don't know if Edmund is meant to be Mr. Collins Light, but he really is. Also, he and Fanny are cousins, which is still pretty gross.

I'm not too fond of Mansfield Park. I found it rather boring, the people were not likable, not even Fanny and Edmund. But - it was ok, and now I have read it.