"It all could have turned out differently… but it didn’t."

I just watched a movie so wonderful that I could not wait another moment to blog about it. While my appreciation for Jane Austen stories has increased greatly in recent years, my admiration skyrocketed this evening with the enticing story of Mansfield Park. In many ways, it is Anne of Green Gables grown up, with a light touch of Cinderella, some of the great dialogue showcased in Pride and Prejudice, all mixed up together but better. At least in the movie (I am told she is somewhat different in the book), lead Fanny is understated, underappreciated, but of course witty, noble, an excellent writer, and looks darn good in maroon. (Have I found my Jane Austen alter ego at last?! I’ll let you be the judge.) There are the obligatory awful girls her age (cousins in this case), the lifelong best friend (Edmund), and the perhaps a little too available bachelor (and his sister) who move into the parsonage the family just happens to have on Mansfield Park. (Because, as Lady Catherine de Bourg taught us all, it is useful to keep an annoying member of the clergy close at hand.) There are the perhaps-predictable romantic twists, and at first watch you wonder how much Fanny and/or you the viewer are underestimating her rather vigilant suitor. For being a well-off guy with his “pick of the litter,” as it were, you have to admire his going to Portsmouth, and I admit the starling bit almost worked on me…

I realize at this point if you haven’t seen the movie you have no idea what I’m talking about, so let me back up a little. One of the great things about this story are the many sociopolitical dynamics brought into the story that make the characters real. I tend to be annoyed by high Victorian storytelling – and Mrs. Bennett’s rantings and ravings of poverty while they have servants is always an aggravation to my senses. This story weaves in slavery and cuckolding and liquid opium (“… and all this time I thought it was vodka!”) and the place of women in society and the consequences of marrying for love. Now, as I consider myself an aspiring writer of things worth reading, I have long rebelled against the entire movement of modern literary criticism – the school that is determined to find meaning in a story from the plot, characters, punctuation, page numbering, and occasional séance with the author. Therefore I refuse to pontificate on “the point” Austen was trying to make in Mansfield Park; instead, I will admire the subtle manner in which she weaves history and social questions into her work in such a way that they neither steal the show nor sink inconsequentially into the background. This is the true mark of the story-weaver. Anyone can do just about anything to make a point, and while novels can be used to that end, it is not the end of all novels. There is nothing wrong with telling a story for the story’s sake, but it is made all the richer by evidences of humanity with which one can relate both through the heart and mind – a trait which Austen possessed in spades, I daresay.

So it is a story for its own sake, and a beautiful one at that. The tension at times is as frustrating as it is delicious, acted out very well in this particular telling. You are strung along and sometimes wonder if you are rooting for the right people – but don’t worry, unless you are incredibly dense, you probably are. (If you simply can’t wait to find out what happens, I’ll go ahead and provide a spoiler… just click here. There. Doesn’t that clarify the matter? *grin*) The movie also includes what is probably the best proposal scene ever.

I apologize if I seem overzealous. Perhaps it’s just been too long since I saw a romantic comedy. In any case, it is fun to have seen a movie everyone in this household can agree on. I am forever indebted to Allis and Sarah for making me watch it, and watching it (again) with me.

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Selected favorite quotations from Mansfield Park:

Surely you and I are beyond speaking when words are clearly not enough. ~Edmund

I have no talent for certainty. ~Fanny

I hope... I hope you know how much... how much I shall... write to you... ~Fanny

Life seems nothing more than a quick succession of busy nothings. ~Fanny

H: And what is your opinion, Miss Price?
F: I am sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Crawford, but I'm afraid I do not have a ready opinion.
H: I suspect you are almost entirely composed of ready opinions not yet shared.

E: Oh, don't be an imbecile.
F: Oh, but imbecility in women is a great enhancement to their personal charms.
E: Fanny, you're being irrational.
F: Yet another adornment. I must be ravishing.

Maria was married on Saturday. In all important preparations of mind she was complete, being prepared for matrimony by a hatred of home, by the misery of disappointed affection, and contempt of the man she was to marry. The bride was elegantly dressed and the two bridesmaids were duly inferior. Her mother stood with salts, expecting to be agitated, and her aunt tried to cry. Marriage is indeed a maneuvering business. ~Fanny

There are as many forms of love as there are moments in time. ~Edmund

E: And has your heart changed towards him?
F: Yes. Many times.