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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
slow-paced
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
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:
Complicated
I'm amazed at the lower score that I found here. I enjoyed it as much as Sense & Sensibility and Pride & Prejudice. Well written, never boring and the characters really come to life. What's not to like? Perhaps that the ending has suddenly a very fast pace compared to the rest of the book which makes it seem like the writer had a deadline to finish it. But personally I didn't mind that, only when reflecting and looking for flaws did I think of this.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another great story by Jane Austin, though at times it dragged a bit. Overall, the romance, the class issues, etc...were all present and written and presented well. She was a master writer, Jane Austin, and this was no disappointment.
the slowest of slow burns are you kidding me???? the last 30 or so pages were STRESSFUL. my girl fanny is what i aspire to be
Aunt Norris, though.... I'd banish her to Bath with the Elliots, except I think they would all enjoy each other's company more than they deserve.
challenging
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
i enjoyed this book as a source and liked the portrayal of expectations and reality of the late 18th century english society. there are tons of aspects i found interesting and would love to analyse further. HOWEVER the story bored me, dragged so much longer than it needed to and then the ending was so rushed. also i could NOT stand edmund. glad you got what you wanted fanny but why did you want him.
emotional
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:
Yes
In one of Mansfiled Park's chapters there's a following passage: 'We have all been more or less to blame, every one of us, excepting Fanny. Fanny is the only one who has judged rightly throughout; who has been consistent. Her feelings have been steadily against it from first to last. She never ceased to think of what was due to you. You will find Fanny everything you could wish.' There's nothing worse for a character-driven prose than a protagonist described in this fashion as there's nothing in it to actually drive the narrative forward. This quote is a perfect summary for the novel - everybody's in the wrong and only Fanny Price is blameless, perfect and utterly boring. It's mindboggling how Austen managed to create a heroine like that in between her two most prominent protagonists - Elizabeth Bennet and Emma Woodhouse (Pride and Prejudice and Emma respectively) - who were flawed, who errored and made amends, who felt real; Fanny Price feels like a statue in a museum - lifeless, static and cold.
The central love affair falls flat as it's quite disingenious: Fanny's love interest is open about the fact that she's just a plan B, somebody to settle with in case his passion for another girl doesn't come to fruition, which makes it considerably hard to root for such a relationship. It's one-sided and incredibly lukeworm for a central couple - literally everybody else's personal life is more captivating even when Austen is determinately dissaproving of their conduct. Unlike the abovementioned Pride and Prejudice and Emma, Mansfield Park doesn't feel like a witty and observational commentary on society, but rather like tedious moralizing and incessant preaching about the vitue of passivity: follow Fanny's example, do nothing, wait, let things happen to you on their own accord and thus you shall prosper. No, thanks.
The central love affair falls flat as it's quite disingenious: Fanny's love interest is open about the fact that she's just a plan B, somebody to settle with in case his passion for another girl doesn't come to fruition, which makes it considerably hard to root for such a relationship. It's one-sided and incredibly lukeworm for a central couple - literally everybody else's personal life is more captivating even when Austen is determinately dissaproving of their conduct. Unlike the abovementioned Pride and Prejudice and Emma, Mansfield Park doesn't feel like a witty and observational commentary on society, but rather like tedious moralizing and incessant preaching about the vitue of passivity: follow Fanny's example, do nothing, wait, let things happen to you on their own accord and thus you shall prosper. No, thanks.