A ha! I started reading Mansfield Park by Jane Austen again (for my next semester at school) and I really like it. I have read it before — about 12-14 years ago and I didn’t really like it. I thought the heroine, Fanny, very unexciting – much too placid and perhaps a little dumb. I couldn’t understand Austen’s point in writing this story or creating this character. I prefer Austen’s Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice or Anne from Persuasion. But I am discovering there is more to the book and perhaps to the character than I originally thought.
It just goes to show you that there are times when you just aren’t ready for a book. This time around I am totally struck by how Mansfield Park is an Austen take on a Shakespeare play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (which I must also read for next semester). I am so excited about this. I did an internet search on the two titles together and came across one scholarly work that takes this interpretation. So cool! Now I want to do a ton of research and learn all I can on Mansfield Park so perhaps I can work on my own analysis. I love literary analysis!!
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