Mansfield Park Readalong: Final Post

Mansfield Park

by Jane Austen

★★★★

In the second half of the book the relationship between the Bertrams and the Crawfords becomes much more complicated. Henry has decided he’s interested in Fanny and Edmund wants to pursue a courtship with Mary. After a complicated back and forth with necklaces Fanny feels more lost than ever. She received a necklace from Mary, but she’s worried it’s really from Henry but she doesn’t want to offend her friend. Poor Fanny has no interest in Henry and turns him down multiple times.

Her uncle is incredibly disappointed in her decision, thinking it a wonderful match. He decides to send her back to live with her family so she can understand how valuable a comfortable lifestyle is. While with her family she realizes just how little she has in common with them. Meanwhile her letters from Mary are beginning to make her understand her friend’s true shallow nature. When Edmund’s older brother Tom becomes ill Mary is more concerned with whether Edmund will benefit from his death than anything else. Henry visits while she is with her family and we begin to see a more genuine side to his personality beneath his flirtatious exterior.

All of that becomes a moot point when he runs away with the now married Maria. The scandalous act horrifies both Fanny and Edmund. Mary makes excuses for her brother causing Edmund realizes how blind he has been to her true temperament and he breaks off any understanding between them. Then in a shocking turn of events Edmund falls in love the Fanny and the two are married.

My Thoughts:

Mansfield Park seems like the book that Austen fans love to hate. I feel as though my opinion of it has changed through rereading it. The first time around I found Fanny whiny and moralistic. The second time around I took into account her situation and the strength it takes to stand your ground regardless of peer pressure.

I think that because I already knew what decisions Fanny was going to make I was able to pay more attention to the reasons why she made them. Her reasons for refusing Henry Crawford’s advances are incredibly valid, but it's incredibly difficult for Fannie to stand up to Sir Thomas and try to explain why she doesn't want to marry Henry. He loses all respect for her thinking that she just doesn't like Henry as much as she might.  She feels she can't be honest about her reasons for refusing him without implicating her cousins in Henry's bad behavior. Yes she still stands her ground saying that she doesn't want to marry despite her Uncle’s pressure. That's an impossible position to be put in considering Sir Thomas has given her a home for the last almost decade of her life.

The section where Fanny returns to her family is heartbreaking. She no longer feels like she knows her parents and siblings. She doesn’t feel at home there despite the fact that she’s been calling it home for a decade. It’s hard for her to realize it, but Mansfield Park is her true home.

I was also impressed with the big issues Austen tackled in this one. Adultery was an incredibly scandalous subject during that time period and Austen makes it a focal point of the book. Everything hinges on Henry’s actions and when he runs away the entire Bertram family is thrown into chaos.

The one part of the book that still doesn’t sit right with me is the marriage at the end. It’s too neat and tidy. The entire second half of the book Edmund has been telling Fanny that Mary is the only woman he could ever love. Then when that doesn’t work he decides he can’t live without Fanny? It doesn’t feel right. The two were raised in the same house, just like brother and sister. It feels like a marriage of convenience and I just hate that. I think Fanny could do so much better. There’s one bit from the final chapter that makes me think even Austen thought the quick turn around of Edmund’s feelings was a bit of a stretch…

“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.”

BOTTOM LINE: I’m so glad I reread this. It’s still not my favorite, but I gained such an appreciation for it this time around. Fanny is not just a moralizing condescending character. She's a strong woman who sticks by her principles even with unbelievable pressure from those around her. I respect that. I may not love her and the way I love some of Jane Austen's other heroines but I feel like I understand her better now.

Mansfield Park: Midway Point

Mansfield Park: Chapters 1-25

Plot summary so far:

In the first half of the book we meet the Bertrams, a wealthy family that decides to take in the eldest daughter of their relation. They’ve decided her presence will cause very little inconvenience for them and their status will give her a much better life. Little thought is given to how difficult it will be for the 10-year-old girl to leave her family and move in with strangers. The young girl is Fanny Price and as she begins her new life with her Aunt and Uncle’s home she is timid and shy. She cries every day until she finally finds a kindred spirit in her cousin Edmund. She desperately misses her older brother and Edmund fills that role for her.

As the story progresses and Fanny grows up she begins to form her own opinions about the people she lives with. In addition to Edmund she has two female cousins, Maria and Julia, and another male cousin, Tom. Her uncle, Sir Thomas, is gone for much of the first half dealing with his business in Antigua. His eldest son Tom is with him for part of that time. While he is gone two young people, brother and sister Henry and Mary Crawford, move in the area and begin to spend time with the Bertrams. Their presence causes the tightly knit world of Mansfield Park to begin to unravel.

Despite being engaged, Maria becomes interested in Henry Crawford.  Edmund also develops a bit of a crush on Mary Crawford. He has always seen himself as a bit of an outsider with his family. He disapproves of the dismissive way they treat Fanny and their shallowness. When Tom returns the Bertrams and Crawfords decide to  put on a play. This is a turning point in the story, forcing everyone to make their first major moral choice. The racy content of the chosen play causes both Fanny and Edmund to decide not to be involved with its production. Edmund later changes his mind to prevent someone from outside their home getting a role.

For the first time Fanny’s company is actively sought by someone, namely Mary Crawford, and she is not excluded. She can’t bring herself to participate in the rehearsals, but she watches the others performing.

In addition to Fanny’s inclusion, Edmund changes drastically as well. He begins to compromise his beliefs to justify Mary Crawford’s behavior and Fanny becomes more stubborn and condescending in response to his actions. Sir Thomas arrives home and casts a dark air over the whole house, the feeling of playful joviality disappears as the Crawfords leave.

My Thoughts:

On that note I stopped for write a midway post. I will say I’m enjoying this more than I did the first time around, but I think that’s because my expectations were so low.

Brona made a great point that the early parts of the story have the same feel of Jane Eyre. I couldn’t help but think about that as I read the first half. Both women are taken in by their relations at a young age. Both are treated as charity cases. Jane Eyre is much more tormented, but Fanny is neglected. I think it’s interesting that both women go on to become strong and to form their belief system on a high moral ground, always standing firm in their beliefs.

For some reason Jane Eyre is much more likeable in this action, but they are truly similar. I was wondering if there’s something about being raised in that environment that would encourage that end product. Maybe being raised by people who are cruel or neglectful and watching those same people value money and status over relationships and kindness makes the individual value the opposite in the extreme.

I’m a little more understanding of Fanny’s difficult position this time around. She’s feeling 18th Century peer pressure and is struggling with a desire to be included, while at the same time not wanting to compromise her beliefs. I will say that my impression so far has enforced my negative thoughts about the final romantic connection in the book. I didn’t like it the first time around and I don’t think I’m going to like it any more this time.

So a few questions:

If you’ve read Jane Eyre, did you find any similarities between the two books?

Do you think Edmund agreed to be in the play to protect the honor of his sisters or because of Mary?

What do you think of Maria’s scandalous flirting with Henry?

p.s. This is part of Adam's Austen in August event! 

Mansfield Park Readalong: Austen in August

I decided to host this readalong in August to coincide with Adam's awesome annual Austen in August event. It will be very relaxed. This is the sign-up post. I'll post my thoughts on the first half on Friday, August 16th. Then I'll post my final thoughts on August 30th. Join in if you'd like and post whenever you want! 

I read Mansfield Park at the height of my Austen love. At that point I'd read all of her major novels except Emma. I loved every single one of her books that I'd read and so my expectations were high for Mansfield Park. I was incredibly disappointed. Fanny was an annoying, moralistic heroine and the final romantic pairing just didn't work for me.

Since then I've always wondered if I gave MP a fair shake. It's not usually anyone's favorite Austen novel, but it's often called her most complex novel. For years I wanted to reread it and see if I could get past my first impression (bonus Austen points for a Pride & Prejudice reference).

So, I know that's not the strongest recommendation for reading along with me, but Austen in like pizza, even if it's bad it's still good. You'll never regret reading one of her books. I'm looking forward to rereading MP with a bit more objectivity and some good discussion this time around! 

 

March Classic Meme Question

Do you love Jane Austen or want to “dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone”? (Phrase borrowed from Mark Twain).

1. Why? (for either answer)?

2. Favorite and/or least favorite Austen novel?

Yes! I definitely fall in the love category with Austen. Since reading Pride & Prejudice for the first time 10 years ago I have been a big Austen fan. I’ve read all of her novels, most of them multiple times. Her work is so clever and I gain something new every single time I read it. She manages to talk about the social customs of her time in an objective way. She pokes fun at outdated traditions and allows her characters to buck the social norms. She created some of the most memorable characters is all of literature (Mr. Darcy!). She infuses even the most serious of stories with humor. Her work has been loved for centuries. She has inspired so many film versions of her stories, including Clueless, the modern-day version of Emma and the infamous and wonderful BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. 

2) My favorite Austen novel has always been Persuasion. While I adore the others, Persuasion has a maturity that gives the romance much more depth. There is no love at first sight here, instead it’s a love that has weathered time and opposition. It’s about a woman realizing she has to stand up for herself in order to find happiness. It’s about finding the strength to say no to the people who don’t have your best interest at heart. And that letter! Oh my gosh, that’s enough to make it my favorite all by itself.

My least favorite is Mansfield Park. I’m planning to re-read this soon to see if my opinion has changed, but right now it’s definitely my least favorite. The most common complaint about the book is that the heroine is just too good. It’s hard to relate to someone who seems to have no faults. Also, I never really felt the spark between the heroine and the man she ends up with (don’t worry, no spoilers).

Image from here Classics Club here.