allanhunter.net Blog

I’m relieved the blog is back. Let’s hope it stays back as the alterations to the site are set in motion.

My disappointment in Mansfield Park may seem like some sort of writerly nit-picking, and the last thing I wish is to scorn a piece of film-making that was, certainly, respectful, if rather dull.  So I re-read the book and recalled why it is such an extraordinary piece of work, and why it would be so hard to render as film. Part of the achievement of the book is how Austen takes us inside characters in the unearthly way that only she can: to read Edmund as he discusses with Fanny the various shortcomings of Mary Crawford, a series of converstaions that draw them very close, and then watch as he starts to find excuses for the bewitching Mary - these are things that don’t always translate into film. For Austen it’s not just about being able to know what is right, it’s about being able to stay true and act on what’s right.

Manners, for Austen, are not the same as morals - but they are indicators of the underlying morality of the person concerned.  And in such things people do not really get away with disguising themselves.