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swordsandthings 's review for:
Mansfield Park
by Jane Austen
3.5 stars
My second read as I follow along with The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) movie (it started as a Hugh Dancy thirst watch, but I don’t think I could classify it as a joke anymore). I was supposed to have Mansfield Park done in March, but my Virginia Woolf course got in the way. I don’t think that this break in the middle of the novel made me dislike it more than I would have, but there’s no way to know.
Mansfield Park should be shorter. That specific brand of Jane Austen humor was there, but it gets lost in Fanny and Edmund’s constant “oh i’m such a good person, and all of you are wicked” morality. Fanny’s was an interesting viewpoint to read from. I related to her in many ways, but I don’t think I like her. Are we supposed to like her? Are we supposed to want to be as upstanding as her? I, for one, would have wholeheartedly taken part in the play.
Overall, though, Mansfield Park was enjoyable and wholesome to read—especially nearing the end when I feel like Jane Austen realized how much she still had to wrap up and did it as quickly as possible by quickening the pace. Even though I did not fall in love with it, I found this peek into the domesticity of all those connected with Mansfield to be quaint and charming. It’s the sort of thing that envelops you and makes you feel like you’re being hugged (if you ignore the Alabama-ness of the ending and the of-the-time sexism throughout), and I think everyone should read Jane Austen because of that.
Now, onto Northanger Abbey which promises to be my favorite!
My second read as I follow along with The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) movie (it started as a Hugh Dancy thirst watch, but I don’t think I could classify it as a joke anymore). I was supposed to have Mansfield Park done in March, but my Virginia Woolf course got in the way. I don’t think that this break in the middle of the novel made me dislike it more than I would have, but there’s no way to know.
Mansfield Park should be shorter. That specific brand of Jane Austen humor was there, but it gets lost in Fanny and Edmund’s constant “oh i’m such a good person, and all of you are wicked” morality. Fanny’s was an interesting viewpoint to read from. I related to her in many ways, but I don’t think I like her. Are we supposed to like her? Are we supposed to want to be as upstanding as her? I, for one, would have wholeheartedly taken part in the play.
Overall, though, Mansfield Park was enjoyable and wholesome to read—especially nearing the end when I feel like Jane Austen realized how much she still had to wrap up and did it as quickly as possible by quickening the pace. Even though I did not fall in love with it, I found this peek into the domesticity of all those connected with Mansfield to be quaint and charming. It’s the sort of thing that envelops you and makes you feel like you’re being hugged (if you ignore the Alabama-ness of the ending and the of-the-time sexism throughout), and I think everyone should read Jane Austen because of that.
Now, onto Northanger Abbey which promises to be my favorite!