I’m pretty conflicted in terms of how I feel about this book. I used to really dislike Austen, in my younger years, but after re-reading Northanger Abbey a few years ago, I realized that any dislike I had harbored had been more likely due to shortcomings of character on my part than lack of talent on hers. And I proceeded to consider myself an Austen admirer.

Reading Mansfield Park has put me back in a somewhat muted sense of understanding of Austen. I know that Fanny Price, the lead character, has been considered by many to be a hit-or-miss character, in that many readers either find her endearing or find her ridiculously prudish, and it is my understanding that this was true even when the novel was written.

It does seem to me, however, that this is one novel where alot of the persuasion Austen uses to build the readers’ sense of impropriety and extol the value of modest social mores is lost in a time warp. Of course, the ultimate resolution and fallout of the buildup obviously still evokes social reproof, but the telltale clues along the way seem very small and outmoded to a modern day reader. The whole rigamarole about the inappropriate “play” (for instance) I can understand operating on a more metaphorical level within the novel… the enticements of setting, the traps of deceit and role-playing, etc. But on the level of the plot, it bogs down when the premise is that, on some level, theatrics are shocking and tread a very precarious line between being cultural and being a moral morass.

Ultimately, Austen’s trademark ability to portray diverse personalities shines through anything that could be considered time- or era- dependant, but I really wonder how much we can sympathize with or be endeared to a Fanny Price in a world where the moral basis of Fanny Price’s heroine-ism no longer exists.