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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Not my favorite Austen — Dickensian heroine at a house party gone awry added to a lack of consistent perspective such as we find in P&P, Emma, or S&S just makes it not as delightful to me — nonetheless a great book and commentary on social pressures on women and steadiness as a virtue. I tend to reread or listen to my fave of Austen’s books (mentioned above) at least once a year; I am drawn to MP and Persuasion far less often. Again, still brilliant, just not my go to.
Mansfield Park is not my favorite Jane Austen novel, as the main character is a bit insipid, but I love this annotated edition.
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I tried to start this before and never got into it. I have seen it called Austen’s most “problematic” novel, and I definitely can see why. Obviously, there’s the first cousins element, which is tough for a modern reader to swallow. But Fanny’s personality is also very old-fashioned. It’s not just that she’s shy (Anne Elliott is a great shy protagonist written by Austen!) or square, but also that her morality seemed so guided by Edmund’s thoughts. By the second half, she has more of a backbone, however.
“Let him have all the perfections in the world, I think it ought not to be set down as certain, that a man must be acceptable to every woman he may happen to like himself.”