Hello there, blog readers!

It’s been a bit. A year and a half? Sorry about that. There’s a bit more of a writing update in my newsletter, which I revived a couple of months ago. Check it out here.

But today, I’m heading back to the roots of this blog, which was all about book reviews, but also even further to my college years. Why? Well, for Mother’s Day this year, my son got me the Jane Austen Game, in which you pursue a husband of good fortune or stay single to become a Woman of Independent Mind. As in Austen’s time, it seems easier to go the husband route—and also more fun. If you choose the single route, you have to sit out the balls where you accept or reject suitors. I played as Elizabeth Bennett (of course) and ended up with Sir John Yates from Mansfield Park. The problem was: I couldn’t remember who John Yates was! Which led to this set of stories on Instagram:

About that thesis, it’s a 60-page work entitled “Interpreting Jane Austen for Nineteenth-Century and Twentieth Century Audiences.” Yeah, that’s a mouthful. Here’s a summary statement from my abstract:

By studying reviews and critical essays, dating back to 1811, and film versions of her novels, this thesis will attempt to show the extent to which contemporary thought influences interpretations of Austen’s novels.

Oh, I had fun. I read all of the books, watched all available movies as of 1999 (my thesis was presented in early 2000), and read numerous scholarly works, including a biography by Austen’s nephew.

But I didn’t particularly enjoy Mansfield Park. At the time I recall watching the recently released movie (which my thesis notes could not be included due to a lack of scholarly review as of yet) and thinking I liked that Fanny better, because they turned her into a “stronger” character. I’m kind of disappointed in that younger me, now that I’ve reread the book. As I suspected she would, Jane surprised me once again with an entirely new perspective. (Yes, we’re on first name terms.)

Here’s the thing about Fanny Price. As a younger reader, I found her weak–and she is described as physically weak–but now I see that as a character she’s actually quite strong. Here’s this young girl, uprooted from her family and sent to live with her wealthier relatives. She’s constantly reminded that she’s a poor relation, dependent on their charity. The only family member who treats her with true kindness is her cousin Edmund.

But when she ultimately receives a proposal from a man whose intentions and character she finds questionable, she says no, even when pressured by everyone around her. She even stays strong when her uncle sends her back to her birth family. But in the end, Fanny’s judgment proves correct. She shows more discernment than anyone else, even more than Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice. Fanny truly sees the good and the bad in the people around her and decides how best to interact with them.

I rewatched that 1999 film adaptation, as well as another from 2007, and now I have a completely opposite view. I think they’ve done Fanny–and Jane Austen–a disservice in how they’ve portrayed her. I think it’s hard for film viewers to connect with a quietly strong character whose struggles are mainly internal. She actually doesn’t have a big character arc–the point is that she remains steadfast throughout, while the other characters around her change. Even the man who proposes to her almost changes permanently for the better (and his backsliding is one of my biggest disappointments in the story!).

In the end, it’s still my least favorite Austen book, but it’s not because of Fanny herself, per se. I appreciate her so much more on this later read, and perhaps I would appreciate her even more on another subsequent read. Honestly, I still don’t love the romance. I get that Jane Austen intended Fanny for Edmund all along (it’s foreshadowed from the very beginning), but the explanation of how he came to return her love after being hung up on another woman for the whole book left me less than satisfied. I guess in that sense, the two movies did a slightly better job of showing him finally notice her. I’ve heard there’s a mini-series from the 1980s that’s more faithful, so I might watch that at some point too.

This reread was a great reminder of how my own perspective on a story can change over time. Have you had that experience? Doesn’t have to be with a classic!