Mansfield Park

While Jane Austen's Mansfield Park contains all the elements for which she has become beloved - namely her biting wit at the expense of early 19th century societal mores - this novel, which was written squarely in the middle of her career and shows her continued maturation, is nonetheless her most dark and, at times, challenging. Yet while its moralizing heroine, Fanny Price, the poor girl come to live among her wealthy relatives, lacks some of the charisma of an Elizabeth Bennet or an Emma Woodhouse, a close reading of the novel reveals an admirable strength of character within Mansfield's oppressive patriarchy.