MANSFIELD PARK is+nros+co+no\rnsi.i of allJaneAustensnovels, mainly because readers are unable to agree in their assessment of thenovelsheroine,FannyPrice.Inadaptingthenoveltothescreen,PatriciaRozema adopts two positions that plunge her into the midst of this debate.First, as Alison Shea points out in the essay to which I am responding, shecreates a heroine intended to correct the supposed inadequacies of Austensoriginal, whom she judges to be annoying, not fully drawn, and too slightand retiring and internal (Herlevi). Second, she proposes that Manseld Parkis a novel about slavery, lesbianism, and incest. Not surprisingly, then, her lmversionof ManseldPark hasgeneratedmoreheateddiscussionthananyotheradaptationof anAustennovel.Atoneextreme,ClaudiaJohnsondescribes the lm as an audacious and perceptive cinematic evocation of JaneAustens distinctively sharp yet forgiving vision (10), while at the other JohnWiltshirearguesthatwhatthelmrepresentsisthemarketingof anewJane Austen to a post-feminist audience now receptive to its reinvention ofthe novel (135).It would be very dicult, in my view, to defend Rozemas rather eccen-tric interpretation of Manseld Park against the extremely eective critiqueoered by Ms. Shea. Some readers are undoubtedly much less sympathetic toFannyPricethanMs.Sheabutfewwouldseeherasinadequatelydrawn. Similarly, while a number of critics, beginning with Edward Said, have arguedfor the centrality of slavery to a reading of Manseld Park, no one has seriously59 DAVI DMONAGHAN In Defense of Patricia Rozemas Manseld Park:LtiDAVI DMONAGHANDavid Monaghan is Professor of English at Mount SaintVincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is theauthor of Jane Austen: Structure and Social Vision andeditor of two books of essays on Austen. His otherbooks deal with John le Carr and the literature of the Falklands War.In Defense of PatriciaRozemas Manseld Park60 PERSUASI ONS No.28suggestedthatthenovelisaboutlesbianismorincest.Nevertheless,Idointend to champion the lm version of Manseld Park. I will do so, however,by approaching it as an independent work of art rather than as an adaptationof Austens novel. My concern is not so much with what the lm fails to dowhenviewedfromthevantagepointaordedbythenovelaswithwhatitactually achieves when taken on its own terms. While this approach may beanathema to committed Austen readers, I am of course simply putting myselfin the situation of the average lmgoer who has at best only the vaguest mem-ory of Manseld Park.The analysis that follows breaks into two separate but closely connectedparts. First, I will try to demonstrate that, judged as an independent creationrather than as a failed experiment in cloning Austens prototype, RozemasFanny Price is a satisfying character of sucient complexity to carry the bur-den of the lms major themes. Second, I will argue that Manseld Park suc-ceeds brilliantly when judged by standards appropriate to a work of art madeaccording to the conventions of the lm medium.For many of the lms reviewers and critics, Rozemas Fanny Price ismost notable for her enlightened attitudes towards issues of gender, class andrace. Presumably, Rozema attributes what are in eect late twentieth-centuryliberal humanist values to her early nineteenth-century heroine because shebelieves that these qualities will make her more acceptable to a modern audi-ence than a character who fails to display any obvious disapproval of an unclewho is a sexist, a snob and a slave owner. However, there are problems withviewingFannyentirelythroughthelensof politicalcorrectness.First,thetypeof anachronismpracticedbyRozemahasbecomeacommonplaceamongst feminist lmmakers. In The Piano, for example, Jane Campions maincharacter, Ada McGrath, develops into a scourge of Victorian patriarchy, sex-ual repression and racism. Second, the strategy of viewing the past entirelythrough a lens provided by modern values has the eect of attening out thenuancesbothof thesocietyunderobservationandthecharacterwhocon-ducts the examination. In order to save Fanny Price from one-dimensional clich, and thus topreserve the credibility of my argument for the characters complexity, it isnecessarytograsphowRozemaintegratesherheroinesliberalhumanisminto a broader portrayal of a young womans struggle against the stultifyinginuence of a society that rst devalues her because of her humble origins andthen tries to force her to conform to a patriarchal denition of the female role.The Fanny that I am proposing is far more than a mouthpiece for what wouldtoday be considered a set of quite unremarkable views. First, she is an artistwho uses her satirical writing to establish a vantage point for herself outsideof or, perhaps more accurately, above the various social groups that seek tocontrol her. Second, she is a woman who learns that the very sexuality thatusually guarantees a womans subjugation or dishonor can in fact be a sourceof power. WhileadmittingthatRozemaerrsinallowingherheroinetobestillwriting Austens juvenilia at the age of 21, it is nevertheless my contentionthatFannyscareerasanartistplaysanintegralroleinherdevelopmenttowards a position of personal autonomy. As a young girl she uses her writ-ingasameansof atleastmentallyescapingtheoppressivesituationswithwhich she is faced rst in Portsmouth and then at Manseld Park. The cre-ation of stories that out parental authority and mock romantic love furtherassist Fanny in establishing a critical distance from the oppressive power ofher guardian, Sir Thomas Bertram, and her putative lover, Henry Crawford.Most important of all, the more mature creative act that we witness duringthe last few minutes of the lmin which Fanny, once again taking on herintermittent role as narrator, transforms the Bertrams into characters whowillpopulateherrstworkof adultction,presumablyentitledManseldParkallows the once powerless relative to nally assume a position of dom-inance over her adoptive family. Thus, I would argue, Rozemas decision tostay close to the outlines of Austens plot, and particularly her ending, is notperverse, as Alison Shea and others claim, because she makes them functionverydierently.Farfromsuddenlyandimplausiblyacceptingagroupofpeople she has always despised, Rozemas Fanny is nally able to tolerate her formertormentors,aboutwhomshecontinuestospeaksardonically,onlybecause she has found a way of making them serve her artistic ends. Fannysdevelopmentasasexualbeingisevenmoreimportantinadvancingherpursuitof personalfreedomandpowerthanherroleasanartist. In the England depicted by Rozema (and indeed by Austen), a womanwas made extremely vulnerable by her sexuality. Women who conformed tothe standards of their society simply yielded autonomous libidinal impulsesto the uncertain workings of the marriage market while those who chose toact on their sexual desires risked disgrace and social ostracism. Fanny, how-ever, not only avoids both of these fatesby refusing either to marry HenryCrawford or to allow him into her bed, as Maria doesbut gradually learnsthat,properlymanaged,femalesexualitycanbeasourceof considerablepower. Her teacher is, ironically enough, the wicked Mary Crawford. EdmundshasteinabandoninghistomboyishcousinforMaryCraw-ford constitutes Fannys rst lesson in the power and control a woman can61 DAVI DMONAGHAN In Defense of Patricia Rozemas Manseld Park62 PERSUASI ONS No.28derive from a irtatious style and judicious displays of cleavage and slim bodycontour. Although they are deeply disturbing to a young girl unversed in thepolymorphous possibilities inherent within human sexual relations, the twooccasionsuponwhichMaryCrawfordtakesadvantageof opportunitiestoengage Fanny in erotic interaction make a signicant contribution to her edu-cation in seductive technique. TheManseldballprovidesclearevidenceof MarysinuenceonFanny. Dressed in a low-cut and close-tting gown, Fanny for the rst timemakes a voluntary sexual display of her body and is more than happy to par-ticipateinwhatClaudiaJohnsoncallsthecirculationof eroticinterestbetweenandamongthetwoprinciplecouples (8)ratherthanconneherattentions to her serious love object, Edmund. Inspired by her success at theball,FannyrespondsverydierentlywheninterceptedbyHenryassheclimbs the stairs to her room than she did during their earlier encounter inthe library. On that occasion, Henry exercised almost complete control overa stunned Fanny. Now, though, Fanny seizes the initiative, verbally rejectinghis declaration of love as nonsense (Rozema 84) but maintaining his inter-est with a display of cleavage and an openly irtatious manner. As a result, thelocus of power shifts from the man to the woman.Keepingcontrolof asexuallychargedrelationshipwiththefarmoreexperiencedHenryCrawfordwhosesincerityIdoubtmuchmorethan Alison Shea doesis no easy matter for Fanny. The sight of Maria, naked andexposed to shame and ridicule, is all the evidence Fanny needs of what couldwell have been her own fate had she let herself fall prey to Henrys undoubtedcharms. However, her reward for the risks that she takes is nally the love ofEdmundBertram.Beginningwiththeball,andcontinuingonthecarriageride home from Portsmouth, when he lays his head on her exposed bosom inagestureof unconsciouseroticsurrender,thenewlysensualFannydrawsEdmunds attention away from Mary and towards herself. The lingering kissthat follows Edmunds eventual proposal is, therefore, not merely a sop to theromantic expectations of the lm audience, as is the case with kisses betweenthelargelyasexualheroesandheroinesinotherAustenadaptations,buta testament to the role played by Fannys burgeoning erotic powers in bringingtheir relationship to fruition.By weaving together Fannys political consciousness with her develop-ment as an artist and a sexually powerful woman, Rozema thus succeeds increatingatrulycomplexcharacterwhomodelstheaspirationsof modernwomen as eectively as Austens Fanny Price does the very dierent ideals ofwomen in the Regency period.63 DAVI DMONAGHAN In Defense of Patricia Rozemas Manseld ParkWhileanunderstandingof thecomplexityof FannyPriceandof thethematic threads developed through her goes some way towards explainingthe success of the lm Manseld Park, Rozema must ultimately be judged onher ability to create a cinematic language adequate to the requirements of hersubjectmatter.InordertoadvancemyargumentthatRozemasucceedsadmirably as a lmmaker, I will consider some scenes of particular relevanceto the preceding character/theme analysis.The rst few minutes of Rozemas Manseld Park provide a particularlygood example of the importance of eective cinematic technique to a lmsthematicdevelopment.Evenasthetitlesroll,Rozemachallengesheraudi-encesperceptionswithalyricalmontageof close-uptrackingshotsthattricks the eye into mistaking candle-lit pages of manuscript for a golden land-scape of ploughed elds. The purpose of this visual sleight of hand is to con-struct a metaphor for the almost magical ability of the written word to createalternative realities, thereby laying the foundations for Rozemas later argu-ment concerning the important contribution Fannys accomplishments withthe pen make to establishing a space for herself outside of and above the alienand often threatening world of Manseld Park. The same baroque-inuencedsoundtrack that provides the rhythmical underpinnings of this opening mon-tage runs through the lms nal scene. Its purpose is to conrm the value ofthe mature artistic endeavor upon which Fanny is launching herself by sug-gestingthatitwillbecharacterizedbyabeauty,renedstructureandexpansivevisionsimilartothatof Rozemasbrief,tour-de-force,introduc-tory shot sequence. The only direct visual representation of Manseld Parks concern withAntiguan slavery is provided by Toms sketchbook with its stark, black-and-white representations of physical and sexual abuse. Less shockingbut per-hapsmoreeectivebecauseof itssubtlety,disseminationthroughoutthelmic text, and ability to broaden the slavery theme to include the situationof womenistherepeatedpresenceof cagedbirdsinthebackgroundofinterior shots involving female characters. The extension of the bird motif toinclude the choreographed ight of trained doves arranged by Henry Craw-ford and shots of a ock of wild starlings that swoop high in the air duringFannys nal voice-over monologue points up the essential dierence betweenthe illusionary escape from the prison of patriarchy promised by HenryIclearlydisagreewithMs.Sheasinterpretationof thissceneandtherealliberation that Fanny achieves by cultivating her artistic and sexual powers.Furtherexamplesof Rozemasskillincinematiccommunicationareprovidedbyacomparisonof thetechniquesusedtocommunicatethevery64 PERSUASI ONS No.28dierent dynamics at work during two encounters between Fanny and Henry.The feelings of entrapment that Fanny experiences when confronted by theexperienced sexual predator Henry Crawford in the library are subtly com-municated by a close up track around the heads of the two characters. Thereversal of erotic power evident throughout their later meeting on the stairsis reected in Rozemas eective use of the height dierential established byFannyssuperiorposition.Thefemaledominationsuggestedbythemiseenscne is reinforced by a sequence of alternating shots in which Henry is con-sistently viewed from a high angle and Fanny from a low angle or eye level.The careful choreography of the encounter is completed when Fanny movesupward and away from Henry, leaving him to descend the stairs in a state ofenchanted befuddlement. Tosumup,myargumentisthatPatriciaRozemaissuccessfulinManseldPark becauseshecentersheractiononacomplexheroinewhoserves as a vehicle for important thematic threads having to do with entrap-ment, liberty and power, and because she is so skillful in the use of cinematicdevices such as editing, mise en scne and soundtrack that her lm possessesthekindof bodyandtexturerequiredtoengagetheaudienceviscerallyaswellasintellectually.WhetherRozemaslmresemblesAustensnovelisirrelevant so far as I am concerned. The two works employ very dierent dis-cursivepracticesandhavequitedistinctintentions.Eachaccomplishesthegoals it sets for itself, and that, in my view, is all that nally matters._____, dir. Manseld Park. Miramax and BBCFilms, 1999.Shea, Alison. I am a wild beast: PatriciaRozemas Forward Fanny. Persuasions 28(2006): 52-58.Wiltshire, John. Recreating Jane Austen. Cambridge: CUP, 2001.vonisci+rnHerlevi, Patty-Lynne. Manseld Park: AConversation with Patricia Rozema.11 Feb. 2000 Johnson, Claudia. Introduction. Jane AustensManseld Park: A Screenplay. By PatriciaRozema. New York: Talk Miramax, 2000.1-10.Rozema, Patricia. Jane Austens Manseld Park:A Screenplay. New York: Talk Miramax,2000.