I finished Mansfield Park this past weekend. I'm excited- that was my last Austen to read! Now I have read all 6 books and feel I can sufficiently rank them (cue fanfare):
Emma's Personally Ranked Austen Favorites:
1. Pride and Prejudice- Just barely eked out a win based on Elizabeth and Darcy (of course), coupled with Jane and Bingley, the horrid awkwardness of Mr. Collins, and the best pacing of her larger novels (lots of action! never boring)
2. Persuasion- The letter ALONE could have induced me to a pile of jelly at Captain Wentworth's feet, but Jane has one of the best structures to this novel- plus, its shorter than others so it flows very well.
3. Sense and Sensibility- Good story, I like Elinor and Marianne's whole family (mother and Margaret), Edward is lovely, but Jane screwed up poor Marianne's story. She had so much going for and then Jane gives her... Colonel Bradon??!!? Uh, weird. Plus, the novel seemed to drag, especially in some parts. I feel there were cuts that could have been made.
4. Emma- Its been a while since I read this, but I have excellent memories of laughing with my mother at Jane's lovely novel. I had it originally ranked above S&S, but then I remembered: Emma with Mr. Knightley? Really? A little creepy. More creepy than Edmund and Fanny. He held her when she was a baby!
5. Northanger Abbey- I liked the set up of making fun of gothic novels (not that I don't like them myself). Reminds me of people making fun of the Harlequin Romance novels of today. But I don't remember feeling as compelled to make everyone read it, which, to me, is a mark of a good book.
6. Mansfield Park- explanation below
Just because I ranked MP last does NOT mean that I hated it. In fact, it would rank higher than many books I've read. I adore Jane's wit and sardonic humor in all of her novels, and there were quite a few moments in MP where I found myself chuckling or smiling to myself because I understood what Jane meant to do with what she had written a character to say or do. But I felt like it was work to get through it some times.
Some of Jane's worst annoying characters occur in MP- Mrs. Norris first and foremost, cousin Maria, Henry Crawford. Some would even argue that Fanny herself is an annoying character- I'm not so convinced this is true. I started to warm toward her as the novel continued (and continued and continued). At least I was glad to see she had SOME human feelings, such as rejoicing internally when things wouldn't work out for Edmund and Mary Crawford, and wishing that unpleasant things would happen so that Edmund wouldn't see Mary anymore. Finally, I thought, she's human. There was quite a bit of good-two-shoes-ness to her. But I also saw a lot of my own tendencies to keep my feelings to myself in her. And I couldn't hate her for that.
Emma's Personally Ranked Austen Heroines: Emma's Ranked Austen Male Romantic Leads:
1. Elizabeth Bennet 1. Captain Wentworth
2. Anne Elliot 2. Fitzwilliam Darcy
3. Elinor Dashwood 3. Edward Ferrars
4. Fanny Price 4. Henry Tilney
5. Emma Woodhouse 5. Edmund Bertram
6. Marianne Dashwood (tie) 6. Mr. Knightley
6. Catherine Morland (tie)
Catherine is at the bottom only because she was so young and naive and gullible, she was a bit annoying. And I remember being annoyed at Emma for quite some time, especially since she shares my name and ALL Emmas must live up to the name, I believe, but she was able to redeem herself at the end of the novel; plus, she really did mean well, she just made mistakes (as we all do). I wasn't as annoyed with Fanny as I thought I might be.
I added Marianne to my list because, though I feel Elinor's was the true main storyline to S&S, Marianne's was right up there with hers the whole time. I feel so terrible about what her marriage ended up being, though... There must have been a better match for poor Marianne! I feel justly slighted on her behalf...
As for my Romantic Male Leads, Mr. Knightley has to be at the bottom, I feel I've made that clear already. And Henry beat Edmund Bertram because Edmund spent most of the novel in love with Mary Crawford, the hussy, and only in the last 10 pages of the book realizes that Fanny is the One. Loser. Plus, they're first cousins- a little incestuous, Jane.
I think I have sufficiently proven that I really am a Janeite now, even if I kinda was before but never truly acknowledged it. I think she is a fantastic author, whom I hope to share with others and revisit again and again in the future, though I'm not sure I'll read all 6 again too soon.
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