I found this article very interesting, but, from what little I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen of the BBC Mansfield Park, I think she trumps up a lot of what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s there. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think the film could possibly live up to the expectations this article raised. Also, for an article that claims to discuss the different ways and style of adaptation the two films use, Fergus examines only one version. Also, her definitions of purist and neo-purist play little direct part in the article. However, Fergus raises an interesting idea when she speculates that another Mansfield Park adaptation would best be presented as a modernized version, especially after reading somewhat mixed reviews of the idea and success of updating an Austen novel in a manner similar to that used in Clueless.<\/p>\n
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Fergus briefly discusses the way Rozema handles voice, but her focus is clearly on the Giles adaptation. For Fergus, the 1999 Mansfield Park is a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153postmodern pastiche\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6[employing] the postmodern view of adaptation as intervention\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (70). Surprisingly, Fergus has no objections to Rozema\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s decision to allow Fanny to directly address the camera; in fact, he finds it similar to Austen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s use of narrators. He does, however, criticize the film for its Gothic elements, particularly in the portrayal of Sir Thomas Bertram, as well as the stronger character the film gives Fanny. As a result, a central part of the story, Edmund and Fanny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s relationship is weakened since Fanny hardly needs anyone to shape and teach her.<\/p>\n
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In contrast to Rozema\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s version, Fergus believes the 1983 mini-series uses a voice much more in keeping with Austen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, and establishes it primarily through six different narrative and visual tools. The first is that the film finds \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a visual equivalent for significant words or phrases\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (73). This is seen particularly in the way the film makes clear the characterization of Lady Bertram as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153captivating\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in the novel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s opening lines. Lady Bertram takes a prominent position in the film\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s opening, and is portrayed as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153both beautiful and static\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (73) as the camera zooms in on her as she lounges on her sofa. While Mansfield Park at times seems to revolve around Lady Bertram, her words and opinions are given no real regard. Rather, her \u00e2\u20ac\u0153sofa visually represents not simply her inertia but her lack of agency\u00e2\u20ac\u009d(74-75).<\/p>\n
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Next, Fergus cites Giles\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ability to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153properly\u00e2\u20ac\u009d assign the novel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s narration to other characters. She particularly notices a scene in which Lady Bertram tells Fanny what is considered an acceptable match, Henry Crawford, as apposed to rather poor and degrading match made by Lady Bertram\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sister, Mrs. Price.<\/p>\n
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Fergus also observes the effective use of voice over in the BBC version. As the film opens, the picture show to the viewer of Fanny as she journeys alone and afraid is in stark contrast to Mrs. Norris\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s voice-over as she praises \u00e2\u20ac\u0153her own generosity and her management of Fanny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s destiny\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (76). Fanny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s letters to William are also delivered in voice-overs, allowing Fanny to have a voice of her own. These two uses often place the film\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s visual and oral elements in ironic juxtaposition. The ambiguity of the film\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s closing line and image, however, is even more iron. Here, Fanny states her \u00e2\u20ac\u0153happiness\u00e2\u20ac\u009d at her marriage to Edmund and how they will be under the care and guidance of Mansfield Park, yet the viewer knows the patronage of the Bertram\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s has not given successful marriages to their own children. This statement is made more ironic by the image that accompanies it: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fanny carrying her own pug to a bench outdoors, then sitting with pug at her feed and Edmund by her side\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (77). \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n Fourthly, Fergus discusses Austen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s use of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153character narrative\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in her novels, a technique where the narrator\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s speech dissolves into first person, making it much easier for an adaptor to assign to a speaker.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n Next, Fergus looks at the way Giles\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mini-series visually expresses the narrator\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s irony. Fergus looks in depth at Mansfield\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s impromptu dance, which \u00e2\u20ac\u0153emphasize[s] murky sexuality and people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s selfish blindness to what is before them\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (81). This is particularly evident in the interactions between Tom and Mrs. Norris. Tom, who criticizes Mrs. Norris for asking him to play cards whine he cannot refuse, does the same thing when he asks Fanny if she wants to dance while he begins to read the paper, leaving her no choice but to refuse. Throughout the dance, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mrs. Norris views the visible sexuality\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6in terms of marriages, Tom, in terms of folly and illicit amours. The comedy in the sequence arises largely from their mutual blindness\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (82). Here, Fergus states her claim that the BBC mini-series is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153neo-purist,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d using \u00e2\u20ac\u0153visual equivalents for significant words, phrases, and themes in the novels\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (84).<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n Finally, Fergus reveals the sixth essential element in a successful adaptation and translation of Austen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s narrative voice \u00e2\u20ac\u201c voice effects, or the proper casting of characters. Fergus believes Giles\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s casting is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153nearly perfect,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and defends the actors in their character and stylistic choices (84). Fergus concludes by making it clear that she believes Rozema\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s version has been reduced to a romance between Edmund and Fanny, while Giles\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s adaptation includes romance but focuses overall on character. She closes with an interesting idea, that the best approach to another Mansfield Park adaptation would be to modernize the characters and plot similarly to Amy Heckerling\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Clueless.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n Jan Fergus\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s article \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Two Mansfield Parks: purist and postmodern\u00e2\u20ac\u009d looks at two film adaptations of the novel Mansfield Park: Patricia Rozema\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s version, released in 1999, and the 1983 BBC mini-series, directed by David Giles. While Rozema\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s version was widely accepted by audiences and critics alike, Giles\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s version was never shown in the United States, and even in Brittan, its reception was poor. Despite this, Fergus believes the BBC mini-series presents the most successful adaptation in dealing with \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the central problem of filming Austen: the problem of finding an equivalent for the narrative voice\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (70).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I found this article very interesting, but, from what little I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen of the BBC Mansfield Park, I think she trumps up a lot of what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s there. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think the film could possibly live up to the expectations this article raised. Also, for an article that claims to discuss the different ways and style […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elsweb.org\/janeaustenfilm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elsweb.org\/janeaustenfilm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elsweb.org\/janeaustenfilm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elsweb.org\/janeaustenfilm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elsweb.org\/janeaustenfilm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elsweb.org\/janeaustenfilm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elsweb.org\/janeaustenfilm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elsweb.org\/janeaustenfilm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elsweb.org\/janeaustenfilm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}