MANSFIELD PARK
Sta,—Surely by now someone else should have pointed out that Fanny Price was the original Angry Young Woman! There being no Redbrick, or even White Tile Universities, she was none the less educated in the wake of her 'betters,' who were less able to profit by it, and seemed about to be deprived of the fruits of her accomplishments. Her sentimental memories of her humble origins (fostered by the un- typical William's letters and rare appearances) were shattered by the reality, and she found nearly all who surrounded her in each environment a worthless lot, with two exceptions among the Prices (William and Susan) and two among the Bertrams (Sir T.homas and Edmund)—and she was undoubtedly right. Every reading of Mansfield Park reinforces the impression that Henry Crawford was an unscrupulous philan- derer and something of a sadist, and his sister selfish, cold-hearted and warped by ambition. Neither was an unmitigated villain—but who is? Neither Edmund nor Fanny is wholly admirable: again, who is?
As for 'What happened to Jane Austen,' the answer is well known. She was herself deracinated and trans- ported reluctantly to Bath, which she did not like since her schooldays (v. Persuasion) and where she could not work (v. The Wassons). Later, her brother Henry failed in business and entered the Church in the Evangelical interest. Small wonder that Edmund and Fanny were prigs. The spleen once worked out, we have the glow of Emma and Persuasion in the resettled, country years before the author's health broke down.—Yours faithfully,
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