Jane Austen: Mansfield Park

MANSFIELD PARK is a novel by Jane Austen from 1814 - it was translated into German in the second half of 20. (!) century. Yes! Unbelievable, isn't it??!? (I think it was in the 1970ies/1980ies - but I am not so sure about that.)

In a nutshell:

Fanny lives - as a poor relative - in her rich uncle‘s and aunt’s mansion: Mansfield Park. Fanny is a rather shy girl, who is secretly in love with her cousin Edmund. – But: Edmund is in love with Mary Crawford, a superficial young lady, whose brother Henry is courting Edmund’s sisters Maria and Julia – and eventually decides that Fanny is the woman of his dreams..

This is the plot of Jane Austen’s novel - in a really short version. There are complications/persons that I did not even mention.

Fanny is a quite invisible heroine – she is not at all like Elizabeth Bennet (PRIDE AND PREJUDICE) or Marianne Dashwood (SENSE AND SENSIBILITY). I like her very much. And I feel a bit sorry for her, because she is always neglecting her wishes. Can you imagine the difference to young Jane Eyre? (As you probably know, I am reading JANE EYRE now.)

Of course Fanny is going to grow up, she won’t be a Rosa Parks or someone like that but she becomes a bit more mature – and of course she is the one to marry Edmund.

This is a not sooo romantic Jane Austen novel because the part of the story which could be the romantic climax is rather short and a bit too talkative.

~ Yes, Anne Bennet: you are completely right! ;”) ~

I like MANSFIELD PARK just because of its humor – I love Mr. Rushworth and I am a fan of Mrs. Norris and her sisters. I love that J.K. Rowling named the cat of the Hogwart’s caretaker “Mrs. Norris” after the Austen character – but now I cannot use the name for a cat myself – because I will not name a cat after a character from HARRY POTTER. Well.. Bellatrix Lestrange is a good name.. and Sirius, Lucius and Serverus.. well..

• Not only reading MANSFIELD PARK:
  There are – at least – three adaptations to the screen of this book - and two of them that I know: The BBC adaptation with Billie Piper as Fanny Price leaves out Fanny’s visit to her family in Pourtsmouth, while the adaptation with Frances O’Connor as Fanny and Johnny Lee Miller as Edmund adds Jane Austen’s letters to her sister Cassandra to the story, a bit about slavery in the colonies and – this is far more sensational: - sex!