Thoughts on 'Mansfield Park'
Finished Jane Austen's Mansfield Park this evening. Interested in other people's thoughts.
I have read a few of Austen's other works, and so many aspects of the novel were familiar ground. Where it differed was in the character of Fanny Price; she is an admirable woman in many respects, but many find her anodyne at best and bland at worst. Elizabeth Bennett and Emma Wodehouse have cast long shadows over the rest of Austen's novels as far as main characters are concerned, but Price's homespun virtues are a more honest reflection of the qualities most of her contemporaries would have had. Not having to grovel to one's relatives on whom one was entirely dependent tended to free up time to worry about being droll.
Esssentially, I think that by lamenting Price's relative lack of excitement as a character, we forget her interest as a fascinating insight into what the experience of a more typical Georgian woman would have looked in the late 18th-century (to the extent that Austen's depiction can be said to reflect society as it was). For every forthright Lizzy Bennett and imperious Emma Wodehouse, there were likely dozens of Fanny Prices. She also shows a refreshing good sense; although less dramatic, one never worries that Price will do anything implausible. In fact, her character is rendered more vivid by the fact its delineations are so clear.
Her patience and endurance are her chief strengths. It is in this way that she is most protagonist-like, in fact, with her preternatural good humour and toleration serving as three parts survival mechanism to one part personality trait. When one lives entirely as a dependent, it is these skills, rather than generating bon mots on demand, that circumstances require.
Perhaps I am tilting at windmills, and people don't harbour this poor estimation towards her. Perhaps she only suffers from comparison. Thoughts on the novel generally as well as Price specifically are welcome!