In "Mansfield Park," we see Fanny thrilled to receive a quire of writing paper, and sending letters to her sister Susie, which contain a great deal more observation and speculation than family correspondence really requires. This young woman could grow up to write--well, Pride and Prejudice. We are so accustomed to the notion of Austen's wit and perception that we lose sight of the fact that for her to write at all was a radical break with the role society assigned her.
Women in the early years of the 19th century were essentially commodities until they were married, and puppeteers afterward, exerting power through their husbands and children and in the management of their households. Thus of Austen's novels (and those of George Eliot, Mrs. Gaskell and the Brontes) can be seen as stories about business and finance--for a woman's occupation and fortune came through marriage.
The key thing about Fanny Price, and about many of Austen's heroines, is that she was ready to say no. Her uncle, Lord Bertram, informs her that Henry Crawford has asked for her hand, and "I have agreed." Fanny does not love Henry. She loves her cousin Edmund, who is engaged to the worthless Mary Crawford. When she says she does not trust Henry, there is a ruthless exchange with her uncle. "Do you trust me?" he asks. "Yes, sir." "Well, I trust him, and you will marry him."
Later in the film, there is a bloodcurdling scene in the drawing room, after a scandal has threatened the family's reputation. Without revealing too much, let me ask you to listen for Mary Crawford's chilling analysis of the emergency, and her plan for what must be done. To modern ears, it sounds crass and heartless. In 1806, just such conversations would have sounded reasonable, to people schooled to think of the family fortune above any consideration of love or morality.
"Mansfield Park" is a witty, entertaining film, and I hope I haven't made it sound too serious. Frances O'Connor makes a dark-haired heroine with flashing eyes and high spirits. Harold Pinter is all the country Tory one could possibly hope for. Alessandro Nivola makes a rakish cad who probably really does love Fanny, after his fashion. And Embeth Davidtz's cold-blooded performance as Mary strips bare the pretense and exposes the family for what it is--a business, its fortune is based on slave plantations in the Caribbean. This is an uncommonly intelligent film, smart and amusing too, and anyone who thinks it is not faithful to Austen doesn't know the author but only her plots.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7s7vGnqmempWnwW%2BvzqZmq52mnrK4v46mmKerlp6yrbCMqZiro11mhnqF