Posted by Kathy F. on June 08, 1997 at 00:46:29:
In reply to Re:settling for Fanny? posted by Cassie M. on June 02, 1997 at 16:48:23
] ]] But although Edmund and Fanny are a good match, I still feel that he did nothing to earn her hand. I felt that he was again undervaluing her by assuming that she would marry him just because he asked.
] Cassie M.
________
I was bitterly disappointed the first time I read MP because I thought that JA was truly reforming the Crawfords, and I set myself up for Fanny Crawford and Mary Bertram to be the "happily ever after." I fell hard, I admit. On a second reading (just a few days ago), it was still hard to think that Henry was all that bad, after it seemed like he had reformed. Yet, that is all that we are shown, throughout the whole book. Little tidbits about Fanny's being in love with Edmund, and great deals about Edmund's, Mary's, Henry's, and Maria's loves. I guess that fits Fanny--she never said much, so JA never said much about her...considering that she's the main character, of course. The whole last half of the book, just about, deals with Henry's failed attempts, and JA says very little about Edmund's successful attempts. That is a completely new novel, imho. We are told so little about an adult Edmund, except as relates to MC, that the ending gets a little rushed, almost. I suppose we have to look to her other novels for the "completion" of the story. Of course, what else could be said about the two that was not already said, or could not be shown in the few pages JA gives us? Are we to be given detailed descriptions of their pre-engagement talks? JA's novels deal minutely with how the women fall in love, and give very little detail as to the men--a general narrative usually suffices. So I guess we'll just have to continue to consider her work as near to perfection, as concerns her characters, as always.
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