Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The most disturbing of Austen's novels but still a pleasure from beginning to end, 22 Nov 2006
Mansfield Park, although certainly regarded as a part of the canon of English literature, is often considered to be the weakest, least dazzling of Austen's novels. Without the witty sparkle of Pride and Prejudice or the gothic indulgence of Northanger Abbey, it has struggled at time to match the popularity of her other titles. But oh, what a treat those who pass over Mansfield Park are missing. Certainly, it is the most disturbing and perhaps the least superficially pleasing of Austen's output but it has rewards aplenty for the careful reader.
Mansfield Park, home of the affluent Bertram family, takes in a young poor relation with the overt intention of giving her the advantages of a good education and good connections while preserving her sense of gratitude and subservience. Fanny, the haplessly lucky chosen beneficiary of such benevolence is uprooted from friends, home, family and all that it familiar to take up residence in the grand house with her grand relations. Austen sets Fanny up as the heroine, designed to evoke the sympathy of the reader: this is a challenge for a modern audience, many of whom will find her weak and too self-deprecating to be genuinely engaging. And similarly, the sins and deficiencies in disposition and feeling with which Austen gifts brother and sister, Mary and Henry Crawford, may seem not so damning today as Austen intended. This however, does little to detract from the overall value of the novel itself. The relationship between the Bertram family and its colonial role (their wealth derives from sugar plantations in Antigua) is only hinted at overtly, but beautifully explored through the metaphorical position of Mansfield as the centre of all that is English. Similarly, contemporary values regarding manners, position, influence and identity are gently rolled out for the reader through the evolving relationship between the Bertrams and their acquaintances and within the family itself. And yet, with all this meat beneath the surface, there is still a gentle and touching domestic love story, which evolves over the course of the novel as the more passionate, less fatalistic engagements and attachments of side characters wax and wane.
Mansfield Park is a masterpiece of English manners, of Englishness and of empire. It is also a pleasure to read from beginning to end. Now, I'm off to start at the beginning again!
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It'sJane Austen, but not as we know it., 26 May 2003
Many associate Jane Austen with lively, witty heroines and the joys that come from the triumph of charm and humour over stupidity and formality. That's why so many consider Mansfield Park an abberation, a miserable moralistic tale that is only enlivened by funny caricatures and some entertaining episodes. I disagree with this view. In this book, Jane Austen is showing us that while humour and personality can animate and delight us, there are other things that should not be overlooked. Things like love, respect and integrity. And when Fanny "wins" in the end, I am glad for her. She has been true to what she believes, and while she would probably be as much fun to be with as a pile of paving slabs, she did well to keep her head, "when all about [her] were losing theirs." It goes without saying that the book is a masterpiece, and not one word of it is wasted. It is bursting with incisive - if not cheeky - observations of the strange workings of society (then AND now), and we are allowed many laughs at the expense of all of the characters. Don't be dismayed by this story, or become one of those who likes to "pretend" that Mary Crawford is the real heroine of the book because she is prettier and funnier and sometimes kind. She's a nasty piece of work. Trust the author about this one; she knew what she was writing, and she knew that life just doesn't turn out to be "Pride and Prejudice" for everyone.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a heroine of depth, 7 Aug 2000
By A Customer
I'm quite amazed at the absolute loathing Fanny Price awakens in so many readers - why do people despise the one truly virtuous character, describe her as weak, insipid, boring and all the rest, whereas Maria and Julia, snooty, self-absorbed, conceited bitches who consistently treat Fanny as a doormat, are deemed interesting? Why is virtue so suspicious to modern readers? Why do we prefer sparkling froth (Mary Crawford) to quiet depth (Fanny)? As reviewer Sartoruia states, Fanny has her reasons for being the way she is - quiet, shy, humble, sincere. Why do readers hate these qualities, why is there no empathy for Fanny after the way she has been treated? As for Fanny being weak - are these people crazy? Is it weak to resist the enormous pressure that Fanny was up against to marry Henry Crawford? To escape her position of dependency to become a highly respected woman of stature? What a wonderful revenge it would have been to all those who looked down at her previously: Maria, Julia, Mrs Norris! What freedom, at last! And yet Fanny resists: her love for Edmund is stronger. Is this weakness? She does not fall prey to Henry's Casanova charms, as so many society belles have done. Is this weakness? She sees through his character, recognises him for what he is - a frivolous womanizer. (How many modern-day so-called emancipated woman have fallen for such types! ) She has the strength to stand to her own opinions, and upholds her moral strength in spite of her lowly position. I call that admirable! That is genuine self-esteem, not the shallow self-infatuation readers seem to demand in a heroine.. She is not swayed by Henry's professions of eternal love - for someone who has never known a man's - or anybody's - love, who has no hopes of ever winning the man she loves - this is extraordinary. A lesser woman would have been so hungry for love she'd have melted at such devotion! But Fanny knows what she wants, and finally her quiet strength shines through and wins. This novel is a masterpiece, Fanny is wise, strong, deep, Austen's strongest and most interesting heroine by far.
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