Mansfield Park

Jane Austen finished "Mansfield Park" in 1813, after "Sense and Sensibility" and "Pride and Prejudice." It is a more complex novel than either of its precedessors or its successors ("Emma", "Persuasion", and "Northanger Abbey"). Its heroine, Fanny Price, is rather the middle child in Austen's sisterhood, often overlooked when compared to her more attractive older sisters or more interesting younger sisters. Still, Fanny Price is worth getting to know.One of a growing brood of children in a lower middle class family in Portsmouth, Fanny is placed for raising with her much wealthier Aunt and Uncle Bertram at Mansfield Park in the English countryside. The ten year-old Fanny is painfully shy, physically sickly, and less educated than her Bertram cousins, who mostly ignore or make subtle fun of her. Her Aunt Norris, responsible for the day-to-day raising of her cousins, thrives on tormenting Fanny. Only her cousin Edmund takes an interest in her. Under his guidance, she begins to catch up to her cousins as she matures into an attractive young woman. Most importantly, she fortifies a strong sense of morality.The prolonged absence of Fanny's Uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram, to tend to his estates in Antigua, leaves the household under the uncertain leadership of Aunt Norris, just as the wealthy Mary and Henry Crawford arrive from London. Mary and Henry are the same age as the older Bertram children, but worldly, manipulative, and less grounded in solid values. Henry flirts shamelessly with Fanny's engaged cousin Maria and trifles with Maria's younger sister Julia, while Mary flaunts her considerable charms at Edmund. The Bertrams are tempted into inappropriate behavior, which only Fanny resists.Sir Thomas re-imposes order upon his return from the Caribbean. Maria is married off to a wealthy if rather stupid neighbor. Edmund courts Mary Crawford, to the distress of Fanny, who has an interes in Edmund and who sees Mary for the shallow manipulator she is. Fanny herself is courted by Henry Crawford, who starts by trifling with her emotions but comes to seek her as a wife. Great pressure is placed on Fanny by Sir Thomas, by Edmund, and by Mary to accept Henry as an advantageous match.The anguished Fanny holds her ground, and is effectively exiled to Portsmouth, where she finds little to love in her vulgar birth family except a promising younger sister. In her absence, the Bertram family falls to pieces in sickness and scandal. Fanny will be summoned back to Mansfield Park, with a final opportunity for personal happiness.As Tony Tanner's excellent introduction makes clear, Fanny is unique among Austen heroines in her invariably good moral sense. Her attraction as a character is based less on the personal growth and maturation we expect in a Austen heroine and more on her perseverence in the face of very attractive temptations and seemingly reasonable pressures. It is Austen's genius to insert complex characters into the subtle relationships between four families in the story. The story provides a fascinating venue for social commentary and compelling domestic drama. The witty and enthusiastic but morally flawed Crawfords, for example, seem more attractive than the shy, vulnerable, and withdrawn Fanny or the understated Edmund."Mansfield Park" is very highly recommended to fans of Jane Austen's romances. Its complex characters and storyline may ultimately be as rewarding to the reader as the more popular novels.

When Mansfield Park first appeared in print in 1814, it was thought of as the least romantic novel by Jane Austen.In the story, as the result of her aunt Norris’s guiles, Fanny Prices comes to live with her Aunt Lady Bertram and Uncle Sir Thomas Bertram at Mansfield Park at a young age. Fanny Price’s own family has nine children and the father is an old sailor who drinks, as Fanny’s mother, unlike her two sisters Lady Bertram and Aunt Norris, has married beneath her.The Bertrams have four children--two boys, Tom and Edmund and two girls, Maria and Julia. Of all the four children Edmund is the one who befriends and helps Fanny. Although Fanny’s situation in Mansfield Park is much better than what it would have been in the home that she was born, she is nevertheless beneath the family’s own children and often is the receiver of Aunt Norris’s contempt.Still, Fanny becomes an indispensable companion to Aunt Bertram, and although she is shy and deferential, she is better accepted once all the children reach young adult status. At this time, both Maria and Julia have come out (as debutantes) in the society, but nobody has thought of Fanny, and Fanny has never been to a ball. Edmund still is a best friend to Fanny and is becoming ready to be ordained.In the meantime, Sir Thomas leaves for Antigua to take care of his plantations. About the same time, the Crawford siblings Henry and Mary arrive in the neighborhood, Henry begins flirting with Maria, who falls for him, and Edmund goes after Mary while Fanny has secretly fallen in love with Edmund. Then all the young people get involved in the production of the play.Up to here in the story, I had to force myself to read on because the social class distinctions and the fake politeness of speech and manner got to me, which I am sure, an author of Austen’s caliber correctly portrayed the English society of early nineteenth century. With the production of the play and the events that followed it, the story finally captured me and I read it to its end.As to its end, nearly everyone gets married and is not all that happy, except for Edmund and Fanny. Although I am not all that much in favor of first cousins marrying, it has been done in most societies and the twists and turns just before that have made the reading of this novel quite interesting.The writing style of the author is insightful not only where the characters are concerned but also with the social structure, scenery and settings, and civility and ethics requirements of the times. One thing that separates Austen’s style from that of today’s understanding of style is that author information as to Austen’s judgment is inserted quite often and especially during denouement; however, the writing is detailed and empathetic specifically where Fanny is concerned. Also, the author begins by showing a setting or an event, and then she zeroes into the characters. As such, most of the internal story is told by the author and not shown by the dialogue or other tools of fiction.Characterization is exquisite with most of the primary characters’ behaviors differing from one another.The ending is told not shown and it ends abruptly with the author saying, she is purposely not showing the details of events or the realization of the change in Edmund. “ I purposely abstain from dates on this occasion, that every one may be at liberty to fix their own, aware that the cure of unconquerable passions, and the transfer of unchanging attachments, must vary much as to time in different people. I only entreat everybody to believe that exactly at the time when it was quite natural that it should be so, and not a week earlier, Edmund did cease to care about Miss Crawford, and became as anxious to marry Fanny as Fanny herself could desire.”Unlike most readers who love Victorian or Georgian Romance Novels, I had always stayed away from them because of what I deemed as pretentiousness that turned me off. After reading Mansfield Park, however, I am getting warmed up to reading another such novel.

A wonderful novel, delivered on time by Amazon. With clear print on good quality pages, it has made me look forward to buying more books from Amazon in the future. Good job!

Poor Fanny who looks so frail but appears to be so strong in the end.The most romantic story by Jane Austen

Un bellissimo libro, come del resto tutti quelli della scrittrice

Reviews call this the darkest of Austen's novels. It has a psychological dept that her other books, lighter and more satyrical, lack. A good insight on trauma, love and honor.

Although an Austen fan, I always found Mansfield Park her dullest novel. Tempted by the talented cast, I decided to buy this BBC radio dramatisation. It was truly worth it, as it is brilliantly executed.