4 of 6

I finished Mansfield Park, Jane Austen book four of six. I'm nearing the end. And am still really enjoying it. Though every time I read this book, I wonder what had happened to Austen or what made her think she had to make Crawford such the cad she made him. Or perhaps it's just that I get suckered into his charm (not easily, not quickly; I take the cautious approach like Fanny) every time, even though I know what he's going to do. Austen has written him so well as to guide the reader to think that it's quite possible, indeed, it's likely that Henry Crawford is changing, that he's endeavoring to become worthy of Fanny Price, that her patience and steadiness and deep feelings are more than just playthings to him and he is determined to show that he is what she wants. He goes so far as to visit Fanny in Portsmouth, to offer her a means to return to Mansfield, to show he cares enough about her to seek her, to be the gentleman with her. You think, through his attentions, that he truly is changing.
And then he sleeps with Maria Rushworth.
It always seems to me a shoddy thing, that it had to happen last minute to get Crawford out of the way, but as I read I think that perhaps Austen wanted Fanny to be with Crawford, but something about her great desire to pair her with Edmund causes her to make Crawford do the most horrendous thing he could have done to lose Fanny. Perhaps Austen believed we couldn't change; we are who we are born and there is nothing we can do to change that. Crawford was born a cad (though she makes enough remarks about education and the influence of others, so I can't satisfy myself that that's the case) and he was to remain a cad. Part of me is always just a tiny bit disappointed that this happens, but I'm usually pleased that Fanny ends up with Edmund. Not someone I would like to end up with. Edmund doesn't assume that Fanny will always agree with him and be submissive to him, but he did form her tastes and education and so the likelihood that they would disagree is not very high.
Trying to read a short book (Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things) between now and my vacation (with the goal of vacation to be reading Stephenie Meyer's Twilight) and am very excited by the sequel to Quantum Prophecy: The Awakening by Michael Carroll (fabulous teen book about the disappearance of superheros and their reappeance years later); the new one is Quantum Prophecy: The Gathering. Psyched to read it.
If I don't finish anything before vacation, keep reading.
I remain, the Savage Librarian.