You Know What This Means (-:
Posted by Ken on February 13, 1998 at 13:49:54:
In response to Jane Austen's use of Symbolism, written by Mark on February 12, 1998 at 17:28:47
] Are there any deliberate uses of symbolism in any of her works? I can't think of any. It has always seemed to me that any symbolism that occurs arises simply from the story and is not placed there deliberately.
Mansfield Park. It's shot through and through with symbolism--simply lousy with it. The symbolism of place, both geographically & socially, carries the novel from start to finish, IMHO. You can see it in broad strokes, you can see it in tiny details. (My favorite is Fanny's warning to Maria that she will tear her dress if she passes through the gate past the haha into the wilder field beyond, although putting on Lover's Vows in the heart of Sir Williams's sanctum sanctorum comes a cloes second.) It's one reason why I like this one so: there's an enormous amount of meat in and around the bones of the story that rewards thorough mastication (-;
YHOS,
Snarkhunter
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