We might even excuse, rather than damn, her for later abandoning her first husband for another man. For instance, we might censure a woman who marries a dullard for his money and status. Of course, Austen’s moralizing is not to current cultural tastes. The ending feels rushed, but there was not much left for Austen to do after rewarding the righteous, rehabilitating the middling, and punishing the villains and fools. Austen, in her most judgmental book, pronounces a happy ending for her virtuous characters, and suitable chastisement for the rest. “Mansfield Park” is almost an anti-romance novel, as it is full of couples who should not be wooing, let alone marrying, each other.īy the end of the story, these ill-advised romances have ended in disaster, and Fanny’s judgment and character are vindicated. But, contrary to popular opinion, Austen’s works are not romance novels in the common sense of the term–they are comedies of manners. It is also less alluring to most readers than a straightforward love story. ‘Mansfield Park’ Isn’t a Typical Romance Novel Standing one’s ground is an action, but it is harder to dramatize than the alternatives. Doubting his character and constancy, she will not consent to marry Henry Crawford, the rakish, eligible man whose heart she had inadvertently captured. Thus, even when she begins to come into her own, her story is dominated by a refusal. Her struggle is to retain her goodness and principles while moving from the background to the foreground.

The character sketch of the latter might be the most devastating that Austen ever composed, as good as, or even better, than anything Charles Dickens or Anthony Trollope created.īecause of this slow development, the heroine’s character arc is more subtle than many of Austen’s other creations.

The other characters move around her stillness.Īlthough this precludes a quick unfolding of her character, it does allow Austen to develop some of her most vivid secondary characters, from the dim-witted Mr. Instead of being the center of attention like the witty Elizabeth Bennet, Fanny spends the first portion the novel in the background, observing as others drive the action.

But her intellect is hidden by her shyness, her kindness is taken for granted, her principles are misunderstood, and her beauty is often overshadowed by others’. She is intelligent, kind, principled, and grows up to be a very pretty young woman. Despite this, Fanny has some attractions and virtues.

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