Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
I have
always loved Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, so much that I have read it
several times. So why haven’t I read any
of her other novels? I am not a prolific
reader and since I have seen all the stories numerous times in movie production
I didn’t think I needed to. But there are times when
you just need a little fix of Austen writing and instead of rereading P&P I
decided to delve into Mansfield Park.
Mansfield
Park is the story of Fanny Price, the poor niece of the Baronet wife of Sir
Thomas Bertram. Mansfield Park is the home and setting of the
family adventures and misadventures.
Fanny is brought to live with the Bertrams when she is 10 years
old. The Bertrams have two sons and two
daughters. The girls and their Aunt
Norris never cease to remind Fanny that she is not of their class. Fanny manages to endure the ongoing mental abuse and
it doesn’t canker her. Lady
Bertram is not well, whether in body or spirit we are not quite sure why. Fanny forms an alliance with Edward Bertram, the
younger son of the Family. He treats her
kindly and with compassion. The hopeless
unrequited love that Fanny has for Edmund dominates the story. The family dynamics form the contrasts that
are usually part of Austin’s stories; the rich and the poor, the nice and the
mean, the powerful and the weak, the righteous and the depraved. Fanny’s sweet nature keeps her balanced. She is mostly content to be near Edmund and
makes herself an asset to the weak and needy Mrs. Bertram. She blossoms in the eyes of many as her good
nature becomes a leveling force.
There are
lots of interesting characters and twists and turns in the story. Fanny sees it all play out almost from the
sidelines. She forms negative opinions from
her perceptions that keep her from accepting a happy situation. She has strength of character, even as those
around her judge her as weak and vulnerable.
I admired her ability to stand firm on her values. I saw her as a Christian ideal; one who is a
friend even to those who abuse her, one who is firm in her convictions even
under pressure, one who finds contentment in solitude, one who has a sense of
peace in the turmoil of those around her.
I enjoyed
this book as much as P&P. I
definitely plan to read other Austen Novels.
Masterpiece
Theatre’s recent production of Mansfield Park (2007) with Billie Piper, was
very disappointing. The one from 1999 with Frances O'Connor
may have been in movie theaters. It is
much better but has a very disturbing element that I can’t figure out why they
would put in. The older son spent time
in Antigua with his father and in the movie came home with drawings he made of sexual
encounters with black women, which Fanny sees (and we do too). It was not
in the book. Was it all about getting a
PG rating? And there was another little
overt sexual encounter that would have made Jane Austen very sad. Austen could insinuate immorality without it
being in your face. Why can’t we stick
with the story? Mostly this stuff ruined
a lovely movie.
