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A review by lingualibri
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
3.0
I've never been much of a Jane Austen fan, but this was the next unread book on my shelf. My copy was published in 1892 and at one point belonged to the St. Louis Priory School. As I was reading, I noticed that several of the pages were fused together, as though they hadn't been cut correctly when the copy was first published. This leads me to think that my copy had never actually been read before. Given that St. Louis Priory is a Catholic secondary school for boys, I can't say this surprises me.
Unfortunately, a bit of the spine cracked and chipped away due to the age of the book, though I feel less bad about this given that I may be the first person to read this copy. Is it worth a little damage to allow this book to fulfill its purpose? Perhaps I'll have it repaired someday.
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As with any period piece, I'm not sure how many of the things I find strange are due to the culture of the period or if they're actually odd. For example, while Fanny and Edmund (and to some degree Lady Bertram) seem to care very deeply about their family members, the rest of the family seems somewhat apathetic about the well-being of their relatives. Mrs. Norris and Sir Bertram care to the extent of status and appearances until the last chapter. The three sisters (Lady Bertram, Mrs. Norris, and Mrs. Price) do not display any interest in each other at all, and Mrs. Price seems entirely indifferent during the course of Fanny's visit - not to just Fanny, but to the rest of her children as well.
Rather than one central plot, things just sort of...happen? I suppose the biggest conflict centers around Fanny and Edmund's relationship, and their relationships with the Crawfords. (Is that it? Is that the main plotline?) I feel like it took a very long time to get to that part and to see the story get to where it was heading. Austen really dragged out these relationships chapter after chapter for nearly 600 pages, and then resolves it all in about 20. It was as if she thought, "You know, I'd like to end this with Fanny being happy, but I'm not sure how I'm going to get there. Let's just through some drama in there so I can wrap this up nicely."
We knew Maria wasn't happy, but after chapter upon chapter of Henry Crawford dedicating his heart to Fanny, his running off with Maria feels so uncharacteristic. Additionally, I feel like the reader is robbed of seeing Fanny and Edmund's relationship come into full bloom. Yes, we've seen that they're very close, but a little romantic dialogue between them might have been nice instead of a brief epilogue of their happiness. (Is that gross? I'm assuming it was acceptable to marry your first cousin in the early 1800's, so it's not terrible of me to want more of their story, right?)
It's been 15+ years since I read Pride and Prejudice, but I think I somehow liked this story more, even with the lack of a more romantic resolution. I enjoyed that the heroine was a quiet observer of the rest of her family and that she was able to elevate her rank by simply being a kind person. She wasn't seeking romance or adventure, she just wanted to be useful. While I can't say the same about myself, I thought this was refreshing to see in a narrative.
Overall, meh to the plot, but I didn't hate it. It was just very long and it took me over a year to read.
Unfortunately, a bit of the spine cracked and chipped away due to the age of the book, though I feel less bad about this given that I may be the first person to read this copy. Is it worth a little damage to allow this book to fulfill its purpose? Perhaps I'll have it repaired someday.
------------
As with any period piece, I'm not sure how many of the things I find strange are due to the culture of the period or if they're actually odd. For example, while Fanny and Edmund (and to some degree Lady Bertram) seem to care very deeply about their family members, the rest of the family seems somewhat apathetic about the well-being of their relatives. Mrs. Norris and Sir Bertram care to the extent of status and appearances until the last chapter. The three sisters (Lady Bertram, Mrs. Norris, and Mrs. Price) do not display any interest in each other at all, and Mrs. Price seems entirely indifferent during the course of Fanny's visit - not to just Fanny, but to the rest of her children as well.
Rather than one central plot, things just sort of...happen? I suppose the biggest conflict centers around Fanny and Edmund's relationship, and their relationships with the Crawfords. (Is that it? Is that the main plotline?) I feel like it took a very long time to get to that part and to see the story get to where it was heading. Austen really dragged out these relationships chapter after chapter for nearly 600 pages, and then resolves it all in about 20. It was as if she thought, "You know, I'd like to end this with Fanny being happy, but I'm not sure how I'm going to get there. Let's just through some drama in there so I can wrap this up nicely."
We knew Maria wasn't happy, but after chapter upon chapter of Henry Crawford dedicating his heart to Fanny, his running off with Maria feels so uncharacteristic. Additionally, I feel like the reader is robbed of seeing Fanny and Edmund's relationship come into full bloom. Yes, we've seen that they're very close, but a little romantic dialogue between them might have been nice instead of a brief epilogue of their happiness. (Is that gross? I'm assuming it was acceptable to marry your first cousin in the early 1800's, so it's not terrible of me to want more of their story, right?)
It's been 15+ years since I read Pride and Prejudice, but I think I somehow liked this story more, even with the lack of a more romantic resolution. I enjoyed that the heroine was a quiet observer of the rest of her family and that she was able to elevate her rank by simply being a kind person. She wasn't seeking romance or adventure, she just wanted to be useful. While I can't say the same about myself, I thought this was refreshing to see in a narrative.
Overall, meh to the plot, but I didn't hate it. It was just very long and it took me over a year to read.