Shiza Danish

Having first read this book and put it aside before finishing half of it, I hadn’t realized how much my expectations had been shaped from pride and prejudice or Emma. I started this story with the intention of really liking the heroine, and that’s where I went wrong. While the character of Fanny Price did grow on me as I kept reading, it’s not why I enjoyed this book. If jane Austen had written a character as saucy and witty as Elizabeth Bennett, or as hilariously in self denial as Emma, it wouldn't have shed light on the many social issues that Mansfield park explicitly addresses. It is through Fannys quiet and reserved nature, it is through her lack of frivolities and superficiality that really sets apart the other characters. She might be an uninteresting character at first, but it serves to bring about the other characters forward in a light that exposes every bit of their faults. And as you read on, her unwavering principles, her in depth observations and her superior understanding of the nature of other characters makes her a different yet worthy Austin heroine. Putting her character aside, the contrast with Fanny price to that of her surroundings is what makes up the substance of the novel. It is a thorough insight into how Jane Austen viewed the society she lived in. It shows her view of the wealthy and affluent, in Julia and Maria letting their vanity sink the characters in conduct despite their thorough education and civilized manners, or Mary Crawford and her manipulative manners and lack of refinement despite her enamoring beauty and accomplishments. I think from all the Jane Austen novels, Mansfield park is definitely the most nuisanced and unpredictable. It starts off slow but we’re constantly kept on edge as characters are given more and more depth and insight. I liked that she took the time out to explore every character and used the last chapter to bring not only their flaws but their strengths in plain view and tied it all together with the resolution of the plot. To end, after pride and prejudice, I remember being confused and shocked at Austen labeling it “too bright and light and sparkling” because I thought it did contain a good deal of social commentary and satire, but after reading Mansfield park I really get what Austen meant.