"All the world's a stage/And all the men and women just actors."Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay - As You Like It II.vii.139Much of the plot of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park (Austen, 1814) describes the young gentlemen and ladies of the estate preparing a performance of the play Lovers' Vows (Inchbald, 1798). A play full of controversial topics, it presents ideas about love, illegitimacy, a woman in disgrace, class differences and imprisonment. When Sir Thomas Bertram, the patriarch of Mansfield Park, returns from the West Indies to find his children and their friends putting such controversial ideas into practice, he immediately puts a stop to their antics, seeing "all the impropriety of such a project among such a party, and at such a time” (Austen 204). Although throughout Mansfield Park the participation of young characters in the theater is portrayed as taboo, excessively sexual, and inappropriate, Jane Austen does not condemn the theater or the wishes of the lover. Rather, Austen uses theater as a forum through which she makes critiques of society. Similar to her younger characters, Austen is able to tackle taboo subjects under the guise of drama. Mansfield Park examines the important topics of imprisonment, slavery, and sexual misconduct, but does so in a light and theatrical way, thus preserving Austen's property. Fanny appears as the most boring of heroines: sweet, calm, decent and afraid. It's a surprising choice for Austen, who tends to favor more aggressive, outspoken female protagonists like Emma Woodhouse, Elizabeth Bennett, and Marianne Dashwood. What Fanny lacks in reader interest, however, is more than made up for by the characters of Miss Crawford and Miss Bertrams. Mary Crawford is the anti-heroine; she is equal to Fanny in terms of perception, intelligence and physical beauty (once Fanny is fully developed), but the opposite in terms of behavior. The Mary-Fanny dichotomy is illustrated in Edmund's outlook on both of them. He finds them equally attractive, even though their personalities run in very opposite directions. Where Fanny is shy and submissive, Mary is blunt and manipulative. Mary is sexually overt and obsessed with money and position. Although Mary is the more interesting of the two characters, Fanny is presented as the central figure who contributes to Austen's careful critique of society and the aforementioned controversial topics. She represents Fanny as the voice of decorum, modesty and respectability in the face of constant irregularities; she is the only one to be innocent in the execution of the Lover's Wishes. Austen exonerates herself from the suggested impropriety of the book by having such a sterile character as the main character. While Mansfield Park focuses on Fanny, Lovers' Vows depicts a more realistic version of who is a heroine and who is an understudy. Fanny waits in the wings and serves the other actors, a bit like her true place in life. The other characters are stars acting with unfailing enthusiasm. Fanny and Edmund are the only sincere main characters in Mansfield Park, and this is reflected in their reluctance to perform. Maria Bertram, Julia Bertram, Henry Crawford and Mary Crawford, however, all have hidden agendas involving marriage and wealth which are revealed towards the end of the novel. Since they are constantly performing in life, the transition to the stage is virtually seamless. The book parallels the plot of the play; Maria becomes a fallen woman and isrejected by her family and society (like her character Agatha) when she runs away with Henry Crawford. Edmund, faithful to his role as Anhalt in The Lover's Wishes, falls in love and ends up marrying his student Fanny. Additionally, the class barrier that Anhalt fears will prevent him from marrying Amelia is indeed what prevents the actors in these roles, Edmund and Mary, from marrying. Apart from this, the play is used by actors as a clumsy form of sexual indulgence. Maria Bertram and Mr. Crawford's physical attraction is displayed in front of everyone, including her fiancé, who is camouflaged in rehearsal. Mary Crawford and Edmund are also satisfied, although their actions are less evil. Nonetheless, Fanny has to witness their mutual attraction and finds herself sandwiched between their flirting when they both ask her to help rehearse. By practicing Lover's Vows, the boundaries between real life and theater are blurred until they become virtually indistinguishable. Austen further emphasizes this point with the structure and style of Mansfield Park. The book often takes on the tone of a play script. Austen injects what appear to be stage directions into the dialogue, as when Crawford speaks while playing cards (note the parentheses), "You think with me, I hope - (turning in a softened voice to Fanny). Have you Have you ever seen the place?" (Austenes 255). Additionally, the characters take speeches that are essentially monologues. Crawford's exciting speech in chapter 34 is a performed speech, complete with stage directions. Earlier in this chapter he reads a speech by Shakespeare, and his words as he leaves the room are Austen's farce of a Shakespearean monologue. Crawford imagines Romeo saying: “Yes, dearest and sweetest Fanny Nay - (seeing her retreating displeased) forgive me. Maybe I don't have the right yet - but what other name can I call you by? (Austen 348) Not exactly "a rose by any other name", but it suits Crawford's ego and grandiose manner (Romeo and Juliet II.ii.45). Shakespeare often removes his characters from society and places them in an isolated setting in order to emphasize individual human relationships and allow chaos to ensue. For example, in Othello (Shakespeare, 1604), the plot moves from Venice to the island of Corsica, and in The Tempest (Shakespeare, 1611), the characters are removed from society and washed up on the shore of an island. In both cases, the drama takes place in these remote locations. Likewise, Austen's use of Sotherton. provides an isolated setting in which illicit behavior becomes excusable The scene in Sotherton's garden is filled with sexual innuendo and bad behavior on the part of all the young characters, except Fanny Marie describes a "serpentine run." ”, an expression that alludes to the Garden of Eden and sexual temptation (Austen 120). Edmund and Mary disappear behind the trees, promising Fanny "to return in a few minutes", but do not emerge for almost an hour (Austen 120). Miss Bertram and Mr. Crawford spend the whole day flirting in front of Miss Bertram's fiancé, Mr. Rushworth. Crawford, facetiously referring to Miss Bertram's engagement, proclaims in a theatrical reference: "You have before you a very smiling scene" (123). When the three arrive at the locked iron door, Miss Bertram wants so badly to get through to the other side that Mr. Rushworth reluctantly returns to the house to retrieve the key (a rather phallic reference). Once he leaves, Miss Bertram wiggles over the side of the door as per Mr. Crawford's suggestion. The two flee into the woods, leaving Fanny once again sitting in the heat of the sun and the latent heat of the, 2002.