Posted by Inko on May 02, 1997 at 21:58:21:
In reply to Re: But, does everyone else? posted by kathleen (elder) on April 30, 1997 at 10:23:17
] ] So what's the thrust here? Kali says she can't get with Fanny because she doesn't grow. Ann says, "no she doesn't grow but does she have to?"
Let me throw out this question re: growth in MP! I've been thinking about why Fanny seems to be acted on rather than acting--then thought that isn't really correct. She remains steady throughout. It's everybody else around her whose circumstances change--the Crawfords are found to be exactly as she had originally thought them; the Bertram girls are discovered to be as silly and selfish as she had first thought them; the oldest brother, ditto; Aunt Norris gets her final come-uppance; and her Uncle finally comes to appreciate Fanny for the one deserving "daughter" that she has been all along. Even Edmund finally sees her true worth.
So in all this, Fanny is the one steady beacon where everything or everyone is swirling around her; she doesn't need to change--she shouldn't change, because she's correct all the time. It's everyone else in the book (except her brother William) who needs to change and, if they don't, they get theirs!
I'm not sure this makes much sense. It's difficult to explain because I find MP is so very different from JA's other five major novels, and probably the most difficult one to read, with the least humour.
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