Jane Austen Adaptation Review: Mansfield Park (1999)

Mansfield Park remained for many years my least favorite Austen novel: the heroine so passive and mild, the moral themes so unyielding, and the injustices Fanny endures so extensive, that I found the novel often more pain than pleasure to read. I finished reading it again about a week ago, and I am more inclined to rate it higher. Of all Austen's novels it is, perhaps, the most critical of moral corruption and metes out more punishment to those who err. While Fanny remains very timid and quite unlike fan favorite Elizabeth Bennet, I had much more sympathy for her and respect for the delicate way Austen delineated her circumstance and portrayed her character. When Fanny does defy everyone she loves, that action is highlighted by her usual acquiescent nature and becomes a key pivot in the novel, while the comparabe scene of Lizzy standing up to Lady Catherine de Bourgh is just what we'd expect the lively Miss Bennet to do. Fanny is shown to be just as courageous and right-minded as all the Austen heroines, although much more shy.

For that reason, I find myself more disappointed by the 1999 film adaptation of the novel that previously. I like the film quite a lot -- I agreed with critics like Ebert and Holden that many of the changes from the novel are mostly welcome, and stay true to the spirit of Austen's work. But upon rewatching it right after I reread the novel, I was struck by how different the film Fanny is, and how much that change hurts the dramatic and satisfying character arc of the novel.

Fanny is shown from the very beginning of the film to be a sort of stand-in for Jane Austen herself: a writer, a keen observer of human nature, a lively spirit who loves horseback riding and describes herself as a "wild beast." She addresses the camera directly, recounting romances, like a Regency Carrie Bradshaw. How opposite from the novel's Fanny! She was scared of riding for many years and, it's implied, never got quite as comfortable on horseback as Mary does after just a few lessons. The novel's Fanny is timid, and doesn't dare to ask for anything due to her. She believes the best of everyone, even the odious Mrs. Norris. That, I've come to see, is her strength and core to the novel's theme. Austen's message is that even the most retiring, gentle, and accomodating woman can still hold on to her principles, challenge her entire family, and in the end, be utterly vindicated for staying true to her values. If Fanny is made into the sort of woman who naturally speaks up and defies authority, even making saucy remarks to her relations, that message is lost. Austen recognized that not all women are Elizabeths and Emmas, and she showed that even reserved Annes and Fannys can still find happiness in the integrity of their thoughts, feelings, and actions. It is a shame the film erases this critical point.

Comments

[Fred]

I hated how shoehorned-in the slavery subplot felt in the movie. Like it was making an awkward appearance from another movie entirely. I know the divestment from the Caribbean was supposed to represent the moral arc of the family, but the execution felt totally ham-fisted. It sounds like the changes to Fanny reflected a similar lack of subtlety on the filmmakers' part.

[Erin]

Hi Jane. :D Stopped by to see what you were up to and found this post very interesting. I read Mansfield Park for the first time last year, and just a month or so ago watched the movie while I was home sick. So my memory of it may be a little addled. ;)

I really loved MP the book, though I also completely understand the criticism of Fanny, which seems to be common in the Austen community. What I saw Austen doing -- which she may or may not have intended -- was something really interesting with regard to issues of class (which are kind of toyed with but not dived into in P&P). Fanny's timidity seems a function of her class situation, which we see illustrated in particular because we begin with her at such a young age. Ordinarily I think I would have tended to be highly critical of such a shy character, but about the only thing that really annoyed me about her was her somewhat inexplicable prudishness (more the inexplicable than the prudishness).

I enjoyed the movie, but I agree with Fred that the presentation of the slavery issue seemed kind of extreme and out of place. It was an interesting topic, and I might not have minded the update, but the execution was decidedly gratuitous and seemed melodramatic.

I have to wonder if the update to Fanny's demeanor was a function of the shifting issue of class, also. Almost as if it was an admission that modern western audiences in particular would not tolerate such a timid heroine. I really like Frances O'Connor, so maybe I gave the movie too much of a pass, but the update to Fanny's character seemed a kind of light modernization, an attitudinal shift that parallels emphasizing the also class- and economic-related update to the presentation of slavery. I saw both Fannys as primarily illustrations that women, no matter their birth, can have a heroic adherence to their principles, and so the muting of her timidity didn't quite seem so glaring. I have to go back now and think about the book and whether the message you describe is more critical to the theme... it could also be I forgive that trait's absence because I disliked it in the book.

Hope you're doing well. :)

[RepCom1140]

One of these days I'm going to read Mansfield Park, if only because I keep remembering it being discussed in Whit Stillman's Metropolitan!