Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

25 reviews

sarah_zaffiro's review

slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No

2.5

Okay, I usually love Jane Austen, but she must have been GOING THROUGH IT when she wrote this one because it is soooo slow at the beginning & then kind of wrapped up in a rush? Also…how was marrying your first cousin considered okay? even in 1814? It’s also just lowkey grooming because he has known her since she was TEN YEARS OLD & he was 16. like, ew. Austen’s “heroine” is also shy and anxiety-ridden to a truly painful degree. I’m honestly baffled by this book. v disappointed tbh. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Alcoholism and Child death

sam_fielder_137's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I have a hard time saying anything against Jane Austen, but I feel I must. First however, I did really enjoy this. It made me laugh, cry, stress. I felt very connected to the main character (as much as I could feel connected to a girl of the early 19th century.) However, the ending came on so suddenly and so emotionless that I'm left feeling wholly unsatisfied. Austen inserts herself into the book within the last 25 pages as a present narrator and it completely threw me off guard. There were no declarations of love, nor long speeches, merely a presentation of facts, and I completely resent that especially after such a moving first 90%.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Classism, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Incest

heresyourletter's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Classism, and Bullying

Moderate: Infidelity, Colonisation, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcoholism, Slavery, Cursing, and Child death

The main character comes from a lower-class background and after being sent to live with her rich aunt and uncle, is denigrated for her manners. As an adult, she in turn looks down on the manners of her parents when she returns home to visit them. One of the main characters owns a plantation in Antigua. It is implied that he is a slave owner. The slave trade is also briefly mentioned. One minor character is an alcoholic who curses mildly throughout his chapters and is said to make crude jokes at his daughter’s expense. The main character is romantically pursued by a man to whom she repeatedly tells that she’s not interested and is constantly pressured by her family to marry. Brief mention of the death of the main character’s sister, who was a child at the time.

Main character is a Cinderella-type figure who is mistreated throughout the book. Lots of conservative Christian morality throughout, but tempered slightly by your typical Austen satiric wit.

bessadams's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Infidelity, Slavery, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Child death

saliwali's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship

anjasshelf's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Classism, Infidelity, Incest, and Sexism

Moderate: Death, Slavery, Child death, Colonisation, Medical content, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

findleydunn's review

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Moderate: Incest and Infidelity

Minor: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship

_maia3_'s review

dark lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This is my least favourite of Austen's books and I'm only giving it such a high score because I think it's genuinely very interesting to have an Austen book where almost everyone sucks. I find Fanny a rather insipid heroine, and whilst I understand that she is very much a victim of abuse, I don't find her explored to a satisfactory level. The hero, Edmund, is Austen's most unlikeable hero by far. The villians are the most entertaining part of the book, as they (in particular Mary Crawford) give voice to interesting contemporary opinions surrounding religion especially. Even if this was not likely Austen's weird little religious moment as some scholars have said, it really does come off that way sometimes. 
Please don't skip out on this book however- it is worth the read if you want more Austen, it was just a personal miss. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Infidelity, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child abuse and Emotional abuse

Minor: Slavery

cleotheo's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, Classism, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, and Child abuse

Minor: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Misogyny

calamityin's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Bullying, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Colonisation, Infidelity, and Incest

Minor: Confinement