Austen Wednesdays: Paula Byrne

[@Linda_Fineman]

An outstanding conversation; I learned so much! Thanks so much to Paula and Sophie.

[@jamesonstalanthasyu]

Sophie Reynolds is a very good interviewer, really had a great dialogue with Paula Byrne.

[@wendyparry437]

Paula was my A Level Eng Lit Tutor at a College in Wallasey about 28 yrs ago!. I still remember studying Austen and Mansfield Park . When Paula mentions "Theatricals" here, this can tie in with the chapter on" the Play " in Mansfield Park. My favourite Austen book.. Paula still shows her passion for this Author in the dialogue . Good to see you again Paula and thanks for this edition.

[@howardresnick1830]

These two learned ladies made many excellent points, and only made one big mistake near the end. They start insisting that Fannie should have married Henry Crawford. This totally misses the point. Henry would NOT have been faithful. In fact, he did something heinous soon after leaving Plymouth. Fannie knew he could not keep his vows. She did not absolutely refuse him, and Jane says that had he been more patient, and more virtuous, he might have won her hand. We have to take seriously Jane's very reliable moral compass, and not indulge in unfounded fantasies about Henry Crawford's moral potential.

[@tymanung6382]

1 website says that some researcher found that she used structure of her favorite symphony, whose composer was German, that was part of her music collection, in her pianoforte seat ? (bench ?)

[@solquei]

Performing plays at home must have been fascinating! I imagine the rehearsals and the costume preparation must have been great fun too. People were much more creative before.

[@nibbleniks2320]

Is there a place online where we can read Eliza's letters?

[@margo3367]

Hello. I thought the scene in Mansfield Park where "the play is the thing" wasn't so much about the play; it was about any play at all - certainly when the Master of the House is away. Turning his library into a theatre would/did infuriate Lord Bertram when he returned unexpectedly.

[@pamarmbruster9059]

About Henry Crawford in Mansfield Park...he's pulling out all the stops to charm Fanny even to the point of visiting her at her family's place and being the super nice guy. He wants her to think that because of her, he has become a better person...he is reformed. But I think Fanny knows better. Can we really change someone? Has Henry really changed? Obviously not, because after her marriage refusal, he turns around and has an affair with Maria whose husband subsequently divorces her. So...once a charmer, flirt & womanizer always a charmer, flirt & womanizer. So I think Jane Austen was right in not having Fanny go with Henry because, yes, while there are exceptions that with hard work, some people can change...generally speaking, a "leopard cannot change its spots."