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Cassandra's avatar

I enjoy reading Mansfield Park, although honestly, it's been a while. I do like Fanny and appreciate her bravery in rejecting Crawford. But I think one of the reasons I do like her is that I hate Mrs. Norris so much. Austen created such a moral monster in her. I've never seen a good adaptation that takes Fanny's character seriously. The BBC one from the 1980s is the most true to the book, but I found the actress who played Fanny excruciatingly awkward and mannered. Love to see someone take the novel on and make a strong adaptation that doesn't turn Fanny into Jane Austen.

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Jennifer's avatar

Cannot wait!

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Anton's avatar

This conversation cracked something open in me. “Mansfield Park as a wet blanket survival manual” might be the most persuasive frame I’ve ever encountered. Suddenly Fanny and Edmund feel less like narrative obstacles and more like long-game moral endurance athletes. Also: “Jiminy Cricket marrying his own Jiminy Cricket” is going to live rent-free in my head forever. Thank you both — I’m showing up to the March 24th session with my awkward earnestness fully intact.

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Anton's avatar

“Fanny Price: homunculus or high priestess of moral inertia?” is exactly the kind of spiritual diagnostic I didn’t know I needed. I love that this course is turning moral dullness into a heroic trait. We don’t need another Joan of Arc; we need someone to politely refuse a theater invitation for 200 pages. Consider me fully enrolled in Team Wet Blanket.

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Laurel Wilson's avatar

Do I want to do this course if I am adamant that Fanny Price is a DRIP??

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Daniel Lavery's avatar

You will be in excellent company! That is by far the most popular modern response to Fanny Price

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Laurel Wilson's avatar

Phew! I’m almost as relieved to hear that as I was to learn that the latest iOS update finally includes a flag emoji for the island of Sark.

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