On Fanny Price

Confession: I LOVE Jane Austen! I mean, I own all of the books and have about 5 biographies on her. A good chunk of my movies have been based off of her books. My DREAM is to one day go to her home in England and attend one of the balls they put on..... and if they decide to let me live in her house, I would be much obliged. Yes, it's true... I am a little obsessed. I realize that most marriages were not as happily obtained as in the books, but I can't help but think that if I had lived during her time, I myself would have caught a Mr. Darcy or an Edmund. Although, Jane never got married.... which is quite tragic considering she sure did know how to dream those men up.

So, I just finished reading Mansfield Park and I LOVED it. I know a lot of people are not a fan of Fanny Price, but I honestly think she is way misunderstood. I get Fanny. She is me. Yes, I want to be an Elizabeth Bennet and I do see parts of me in her, but Fanny is my girl. Quite, overlooked, and under appreciated..... that is how I felt the first half of my life was spent. Ok, I am not as big of a pushover as Fanny, but she did hold her ground on the big issues.

So, this is where I see myself in Fanny:

• She was a loner. Fanny really didn't have a lot of friends and she was cool with that, but the ones that were close to her she loved deeply (except for Miss Crawford who kind of shoved herself on Fanny). Yes, I am not a "friend collector" as I like to call it. I don't want a whole bunch of friends just for the sake of having friends. I want a few that I can keep really close to my heart and once they find their way there..... they stay there forever.
• The girl knew what she wanted. Ok, maybe I am projecting myself on her a little, but I believe she did. She for sure knew she didn't want to marry Henery and was not going to be forced into it. Not even by her Uncle, who was a bit intimidating at times.
• If she didn't have anything to say.... she didn't say anything.
• She loved her family, despite their faults.
• She fell in love once and only once and then married him. Best way to go, I would have to say. I fell in love with Andy and that was it..... done deal.
• She gained strength from being alone or with those closest to her.
• Social situations are a nightmare. Amen sister. Ok, I saved this one for last because I have a lot to say and was probably the one I most relate to. There is a part in the book where all her cousins and friends are putting on  play. They have one tiny part left that needs to be filled and they pressure her to do it. THE GIRL DOESN'T WANT TO DO IT OK!!!! Good grief. She knows that she won't enjoy it and that she would be horrible at it anyway.... so why force the issue? Yes, this has happened to me often. People used to try to force me into these type of situations and then would get all pissy if I didn't do it. OR if I DID do it, they would be mad that I didn't do it the way they wanted. BAH! I GET IT, FANNY! The other part I loved was when her uncle threw a ball for her and William and she is forced to be the center of attention. Haha... my wedding. I wasn't nervous at all for the actually marriage part, it was the being the center of attention part that killed me.

So, basically..... if you ever read Mansfield Park,

give Fanny a break. Try not to put your own personality on her. She deserves way more credit then she gets and thankfully Henery (although he was stupid) and Edmund realized it. That girl loved and cared so deeply. She was way more selfless then I could ever dream of being. Is she perfect? No, but who is? I purpose you go curl up by a fire right now and read a good Jane Austen book. It will do your soul good.