I like your assessment, Barb. I felt the way Patricia does when I first read MP, and this read I am trying to get a more sympathetic view of all characters. One can only get a POV from trying to put oneself in another's shoes. I myself would completely rebel if I were treated the way she is by everyone but William and most often Edmund. But I also have never been kidnapped almost, as it seemed, from family when I was 10. It is almost as if Fanny has been in shock, with not enough foundation of anything to build herself up, except for the bones others throw at her. The average reader would think 8 years would be long enough for Fanny to figure out the injustice of her situation and rebel, but as Ramya pointed out, what recourse is there? What tools does she have to cope against establishment, and what are Fanny's hopes? We don't know enough about her yet to determine that. But while I can see frustration with Fanny, I am trying to feel for Fanny and take her for as she is - as Austen wrote her.