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Fanny Price is born to a poor family, but is sent to her mother's rich relations to be brought up with her cousins. There she is treated as an inferior by all except her cousin Edmund, whose kindness towards her earns him her steadfast love. Fanny is quiet and obedient and does not come into her own until her elder cousins leave the estate following a scandalous play put on in their father's absence. Fanny's loyalty and love is tested by the beautiful Crawford siblings. But their essentially weak natures and morals show them for what they really are, and allow Fanny to gain the one thing she truly desires.
ohhhh man this is an interesting one. there's something so strangely modern about the language and sensibilities, even if some of those sensibilities are being reproached through austen's moral lens. yet contrast that against the total normalisation of the slave trade - it's like a glimpse into a parallel universe, the "other country" that is the past. despite the uncanny sense when reading it, though, i found this utterly absorbing, and it's certainly austen's most mature work, as a writer and teller of tales. i liked fanny a lot more than i thought i would at first - her timid attitude really grew on me - but can i be honest? i'm kind of team crawford. mary did nothing wrong !!! i liked mary! she had a fun attitude that resonates more with a modern audience, i'd say. and it did break my heart a little that after all that, henry's feelings for fanny were genuine. one can't help but imagine how things could've gone if he'd tempered his vanity... but i guess that's also the point. aughhh austen really is the only person who can write a moral novel that gets to me !!! ( )
About thirty years ago, Miss Maria Ward of Huntingdon, with only seven thousand pounds, had the good luck to captivate Sir Thomas Bertram, of Mansfield Park, in the county of Northampton, and to be thereby raised to the rank of a baronet's lady, with all the comforts and consequences of an handsome house and large income.
Quotations
But there certainly are not so many men of large fortune in the world, as there are pretty women to deserve them.
It is Fanny that I think of all day and dream of all night.
Last words
On that event they removed to Mansfield, and the parsonage there, which under each of its two former owners, Fanny had never been able to approach but with some painful sensation of restraint or alarm, soon grew as dear to her heart, and as thoroughly perfect in her eyes, as every thing else, within the view and patronage of Mansfield Park, had long been.
Fanny Price is born to a poor family, but is sent to her mother's rich relations to be brought up with her cousins. There she is treated as an inferior by all except her cousin Edmund, whose kindness towards her earns him her steadfast love. Fanny is quiet and obedient and does not come into her own until her elder cousins leave the estate following a scandalous play put on in their father's absence. Fanny's loyalty and love is tested by the beautiful Crawford siblings. But their essentially weak natures and morals show them for what they really are, and allow Fanny to gain the one thing she truly desires.
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Book description
Adopted by the rich Bertrams, Fanny finds her bold cousins are daunting, her aunts and the remote Sir Thomas intimidating. Only thoughtful Edmund recognises her qualities and helps to improve her lot. But when the delightful Mr and Miss Crawford arrive to enliven the family group, even he dismisses Fanny's reservations. At first all is excitement and pleasure. Gradually, however, the effects of recklessness and selfishness accumulate. As Fanny's unswerving integrity and quiet strength become the support of the shattered family, she finds a happiness she could not have anticipated. While displaying the sparkle and clarity for which Jane Austen is renowned, the tone here is often sober and uncompromising. The issues of probity and responsibility are explored, alongside the often unhappy complexities of family life, in a considerable and profoundly satisfying novel.
Haiku summary
A maid of pure heart, Enduring persecution, Her wisdom triumphs. (hillaryrose7)
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Discussion Thread: Mansfield Park
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