Mansfield Park was my least favorite Jane Austen novel. Fanny Price was my least favorite heroine. She was so different from Elizabeth or Emma. She made me want to shake her with her passivity and primness. She got what she wanted in the end only because they happened to work out. Fanny could have done a hundred things differently, yet she didn't.
So naturally, I started my quest to re-write Jane Austen’s novels with the most challenging novel to me—Mansfield Park. The values of Regency England align with modern LDS culture, especially in Utah. But in writing Mansfield 2nd Ward, I discovered there was so much more to Fanny Price than I had originally understood. So instead of subverting what Jane had originally written, I ended up defending Fanny’s choices. Examining why people acted as they did in the novel posed an interesting challenge. I surprised myself and I hope Mansfield 2nd Ward ends up surprising you too.
More than Meets the Eye
I thought Mansfield Park (1999) portrayed a Fanny Price I liked better than in the book. She had more spunk, stood up for herself sooner, and communicated better with Edmund.
However, the movie Fanny had too much of everything above which ended up making the tribulations with her family somewhat confusing. But one thing was clear - no matter how much spunk she had, it had to hurt that her family discounted her since she’d come to live with them. She wasn’t "family enough.” There is going to be some collateral damage to your psyche living with this, even if you have a lot of spunk. So it was almost cognitively dissonant for her to think anyone in the family except Edmund would take her seriously. Elle had to differ from this version in my book. I wanted Elle’s motivations to make sense in the context of her personality and her place in the Norris household. And as Nate’s best friend.
You’ve Got a Friend
So I had to give the book Fanny’s motivations for how she handled the Mary/Edmund situation a lot more serious thought. I’d always scorned Fanny’s reasons for quietly suffering while her love pursued someone else. Writing Mansfield 2nd Ward made me realize there could be good reasons.
Elle doesn't take action against Sophia out of love for Nate. He chose Sophia, for good or bad. Elle’s choice to keep her opinions to herself, when that definitely wasn’t in her nature, wasn’t a passive thing. It was very much an active thing. Despite her love for Nate, she had to accept her friend's mistake. Nate gave Elle the chance to tell him what she thinks of Sophia, but it made little difference in the end. Nate was too enamored to notice Sophia's flaws. Elle realized this, as did Fanny when it came to Edmund.
And that changed my perspective on how Fanny dealt with Edmund. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink. You can offer your opinion, yet the choice to listen is theirs. You can try to help someone you love see they’re making a terrible choice, but you can’t make them see it if they don’t want to. It made Fanny’s choices look less passive to me, and a lot more frustrating for her.
More than a Woman
Writing Mansfield 2nd Ward also changed my opinion on the way Henry and Fanny interacted. When I was fleshing out Tucker’s personality, I had to think about what made Elle so attractive to him. Obviously, a player loves the chase. But that will only keep him interested for a while and Elle makes him work for her attention. Yet he never gives up. It’s very much like Henry with Fanny. Once Henry notices Fanny–like really notices her–there seems to be this obsessive fascination with her. I don’t entirely understand the reasons Henry became so enamored of Fanny Price in the book, but I had to justify it for Tucker and Elle.
What it all came down to was the benefit each received by being together. They saw reflections of themselves they wished to be.
For Tucker, Elle was a catalyst, or an agent of change. He saw things about himself because of her he’d never considered before. Would I feel better about myself if I attended church every Sunday, committed to my priesthood, and was loyal to one woman?
For Elle, he allowed her to discover her power as a woman. He admired her in a way she hadn't experienced before. Something Nate didn't provide. Nate tended to treat her like a dad. Tucker showed Elle she didn’t have to fear being desired by the opposite sex and feeling desired was a boost of confidence she’d never experienced before. It fundamentally changed the way she viewed Nate and made her understand how he totally overlooked her once he got home from his mission.
It’s another aspect of the Fanny and Edmund relationship I had failed to notice. Once noticed, though, it was definitely an important one. Fanny comprehended desire is part of marriage as love, respect and friendship.
Henry's pursuit of Fanny made Edmund face his emotions. They were emotions he’d likely under-estimated or tried to ignore.
Writing my book made me understand Fanny Price a little better than I had. She still drives me bonkers and I like Elle’s spunky, if somewhat bossy, personality more. Jane believed that the good girl deserves the good boy with enough strength to show her true self. And I achieved that with Elle and Nate in Mansfield 2nd Ward the way I had wanted.
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Who is your least favorite Jane Austen heroine and why?
Tag me in your social media to let me know your answer!
** This is an edited version of a previously released blog post on wsdeming.com (no longer active). **
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