{"id":337,"date":"2016-05-02T11:14:00","date_gmt":"2016-05-02T11:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/2016\/05\/02\/mansfield-park-by-jane-austen\/"},"modified":"2020-10-28T16:25:52","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T16:25:52","slug":"mansfield-park-by-jane-austen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/2016\/05\/02\/mansfield-park-by-jane-austen\/","title":{"rendered":"Mansfield Park by Jane Austen"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mansfield<\/a><\/div>\n

Fanny Price is no Elizabeth Bennett. But really, why should she be? \u00a0There is no reason for Jane Austen to have written the same character and the same story over and over. However, it seems that many people fall in love with Pride and Prejudice and then expect Austen’s other works to be the same. \u00a0They want all her novels to be “light and bright and sparkling” as Austen described Pride and Prejudice. \u00a0Mansfield Park<\/i> is a darker, less sparkling book but it stands squarely on its own merit. \u00a0It is a novel with a quiet, meek, yet morally strong heroine and it contains a biting commentary on the society of the day.<\/p>\n

It is possible that a meek yet morally strong heroine is hard for people to relate to in this day and age. \u00a0Modern-day sensibilities value the feisty, opinionated woman, the woman who won’t take any nonsense from anybody and the one who goes after what she wants with a single-minded determination that crushes all in her path. \u00a0Fanny Price is none of these things. \u00a0She is quiet, shy, easily upset, easily moved to tears, someone who, in the vernacular of the day, knows her place. \u00a0Her place was that of a poor relation. \u00a0She was taken in by her aunt’s family and raised by them from the time she was ten years old. This did not mean she was equal to the daughters of the family. \u00a0She was poor. \u00a0This meant more back then than it does to us today. \u00a0She accepted her position. \u00a0That is a thought that is hard for the modern-day reader to understand. \u00a0I think it is possible many get frustrated with her and want her to throw off the traces and rebel against her position. \u00a0However, Fanny was constantly reminded, sometimes simply by events and sometimes by unkind words, exactly what her position was. \u00a0Her aunt, Mrs. Norris says;<\/p>\n

‘But I shall think her a very obstinate, ungrateful girl, if she does not do what her aunt and cousins wish her–very ungrateful indeed, considering who and what she is.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This comment by Mrs. Norris was not widely approved of but it did crudely express the position Fanny was in, a position common to many poor relations who felt an obligation to their richer relatives who took them in. \u00a0Poor relations have so much to lose, they cannot be a rebel because a rebel can end up out in the cold.<\/p>\n

Fanny’s values are clear cut and she expects the rest of society to feel the same way she does. \u00a0She is obedient, respectful to those in authority even when they do not seem to deserve that respect, and she has an elevated moral sense. \u00a0It is through Fanny and her moral sense that Austen comments on the society of her day. Fanny is disturbed when her cousin flirts with one man while engaged to another and she is disgusted by the man who knowingly flirts with that cousin. \u00a0She disapproves of the play that is being put on because it is a vehicle for that flirtation and because the play itself is questionable. \u00a0Fanny disapproves of the way Mary Crawford speaks of the clergy and she also dislikes the lack of respect Mary shows toward her own uncle. \u00a0She believes in upholding the standards of the day and is truly disturbed as she watches the slow disintegration of those standards in those around her.<\/p>\n

Meek and mild Fanny has the courage to stand up to opposition when she feels it is necessary. \u00a0She refuses to act in the play even though pressured to do so. \u00a0She refuses to accept an offer of marriage even though she is called willful and perverse and ungrateful, hard words for a girl who has built her life around being grateful for what she has been given, little though it may be. Some find Fanny judgmental, but is it judgmental to have high standards and stick to them when those around you are not doing so? \u00a0Fanny was not perfect and she knew that. However, she had the courage of her convictions. \u00a0Isn’t that admirable?<\/p>\n

Fanny is not the most appealing character in the book in many ways. \u00a0She is quiet and meek and Mary Crawford is her antithesis. \u00a0Mary is light and bright and sparkling but she is also worldly and disrespectful. \u00a0She is full of fun and essentially kind, yet self-centered and hardened to the things that offend Fanny. \u00a0It is interesting to see how the coming of Mary and her brother, Henry, into the community infect the inhabitants with a different attitude. \u00a0Those around Fanny are the ones who throw off the traces and it is through her eyes that we see what is happening. \u00a0For really, this is not the story of Fanny Price specifically. \u00a0As the title suggests it is the story of Mansfield Park as a whole.<\/p>\n

I feel like I am not doing a good job of selling Mansfield Park<\/i>. \u00a0Many may not be pulled in by the thought of a prim and proper, shy heroine. \u00a0But let’s be clear here. \u00a0This is Jane Austen. \u00a0Anything she writes is going to be superior to most other novels. \u00a0Mansfield Park<\/i> is written with her customary wit and incisive language. I must say that I do have a fondness for a heroine who is described this way;<\/p>\n

her happiness was of a quiet, deep, heart-swelling sort; and though never a great talker, she was always more inclined to silence when feeling most strongly.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mansfield Park<\/i> is undoubtedly the most controversial and the most sophisticated of Austen’s novels. \u00a0It is definitely one that bears repeated reading. \u00a0It is not as bright and sparkling as Emma<\/i> or Pride<\/i> and\u00a0Prejudice<\/i>. It may not appeal to the teenager in us as Sense and Sensibility<\/i> does. \u00a0It is not just plain fun as Northanger Abbey<\/i> is. \u00a0It is not as romantic as Persuasion.<\/i> \u00a0 It does not have to be any of these things. \u00a0Fanny Price should be valued for her quiet strengths and so should the novel that contains her.<\/p>\n

This was reviewed as part of my Classics Club <\/a>list.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fanny Price is no Elizabeth Bennett. But really, why should she be? \u00a0There is no reason for Jane Austen to have written the same character and the same story over and over. However, it seems that many people fall in love with Pride and Prejudice and then expect Austen’s other works to be the same. \u00a0They want all her novels to be “light and bright and sparkling” as Austen described Pride and Prejudice. \u00a0Mansfield Park is a darker, less sparkling book but it stands squarely on its own merit. \u00a0It is a novel with a quiet, meek, yet morally strong heroine and it contains a biting commentary on the society of the day. It is possible that a meek yet morally strong heroine is hard for people to relate to in this day and age. \u00a0Modern-day sensibilities value the feisty, opinionated woman, the woman who won’t take any nonsense from anybody and the one who goes after what she wants with a single-minded determination that crushes all in her path. \u00a0Fanny Price is none of these things. \u00a0She is quiet, shy, easily upset, easily moved to tears, someone who, in the vernacular of the day, knows her place. \u00a0Her place was that of a poor relation. \u00a0She was taken in by her aunt’s family and raised by them from the time she was ten years old. This did not mean she was equal to the daughters of the family. \u00a0She was poor. \u00a0This meant more back then than it does to us today. \u00a0She accepted her position. \u00a0That is a thought that is hard for the modern-day reader to understand. \u00a0I think it is possible many get frustrated with her and want her to throw off the traces and rebel against her position. \u00a0However, Fanny was constantly reminded, sometimes simply by events and sometimes by unkind words, exactly what her position was. \u00a0Her aunt, Mrs. Norris says; ‘But I shall think her a very obstinate, ungrateful girl, if she does not do what her aunt and cousins wish her–very ungrateful indeed, considering who and what she is. This comment by Mrs. Norris was not widely approved of but it did crudely express the position Fanny was in, a position common to many poor relations who felt an obligation to their richer relatives who took them in. \u00a0Poor relations have so much to lose, they cannot be a rebel because a rebel can end up out in the cold. Fanny’s values are clear cut and she expects the rest of society to feel the same way she does. \u00a0She is obedient, respectful to those in authority even when they do not seem to deserve that respect, and she has an elevated moral sense. \u00a0It is through Fanny and her moral sense that Austen comments on the society of her day. Fanny is disturbed when her cousin flirts with one man while engaged to another and she is disgusted by the man who knowingly flirts with that cousin. \u00a0She disapproves of the play that is being put on because it is a vehicle for that flirtation and because the play itself is questionable. \u00a0Fanny disapproves of the way Mary Crawford speaks of the clergy and she also dislikes the lack of respect Mary shows toward her own uncle. \u00a0She believes in upholding the standards of the day and is truly disturbed as she watches the slow disintegration of those standards in those around her. Meek and mild Fanny has the courage to stand up to opposition when she feels it is necessary. \u00a0She refuses to act in the play even though pressured to do so. \u00a0She refuses to accept an offer of marriage even though she is called willful and perverse and ungrateful, hard words for a girl who has built her life around being grateful for what she has been given, little though it may be. Some find Fanny judgmental, but is it judgmental to have high standards and stick to them when those around you are not doing so? \u00a0Fanny was not perfect and she knew that. However, she had the courage of her convictions. \u00a0Isn’t that admirable? Fanny is not the most appealing character in the book in many ways. \u00a0She is quiet and meek and Mary Crawford is her antithesis. \u00a0Mary is light and bright and sparkling but she is also worldly and disrespectful. \u00a0She is full of fun and essentially kind, yet self-centered and hardened to the things that offend Fanny. \u00a0It is interesting to see how the coming of Mary and her brother, Henry, into the community infect the inhabitants with a different attitude. \u00a0Those around Fanny are the ones who throw off the traces and it is through her eyes that we see what is happening. \u00a0For really, this is not the story of Fanny Price specifically. \u00a0As the title suggests it is the story of Mansfield Park as a whole. I feel like I am not doing a good job of selling Mansfield Park. \u00a0Many may not be pulled in by the thought of a prim and proper, shy heroine. \u00a0But let’s be clear here. \u00a0This is Jane Austen. \u00a0Anything she writes is going to be superior to most other novels. \u00a0Mansfield Park is written with her customary wit and incisive language. I must say that I do have a fondness for a heroine who is described this way; her happiness was of a quiet, deep, heart-swelling sort; and though never a great talker, she was always more inclined to silence when feeling most strongly. Mansfield Park is undoubtedly the most controversial and the most sophisticated of Austen’s novels. \u00a0It is definitely one that bears repeated reading. \u00a0It is not as bright and sparkling as Emma or Pride and\u00a0Prejudice. It may not appeal to the teenager in us as Sense and Sensibility does. \u00a0It is not just plain fun as Northanger Abbey is. \u00a0It is not as romantic as Persuasion. \u00a0 It does not have to be any of these things. \u00a0Fanny Price should be valued for her quiet strengths and so should the novel that contains her. This was reviewed as part of my Classics Club list.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,35,47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-classics-club","category-featured","category-jane-austen"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2845,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337\/revisions\/2845"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}