Suspense and Austen

It is interesting that of all Jane Austen’s books (sans Northanger Abbey) Pride and Prejudice is the most easily guessable—and yet the least guessed by readers.

Darcy and Lizzy are fated to be together by all conventions of the novel form that Austen chose. Mr. Wickham is not well enough drawn, nor given enough screen time, to be a final match for Elizabeth, neither is Colonel Fitzwilliam: Darcy is the only male given enough space for that. Which is strange in her most praised book, for Jane Austen is very good with suspense elsewhere.

In Emma, Mr. Knightley is there from the beginning, but such mystique and charm surrounds Frank Churchill that he might very well be seen as a match for Emma. In Sense and Sensibility, Willoughby is so well portrayed as Marianne’s soul mate, and Colonel Brandon portrayed as the unfortunate tragic suitor, that it seems more likely that Marianne will remain single after Willoughby’s betrayal. In Persuasion, it seems unlikely that Captain Wentworth still cares for Anne, but as there is no other suitor for Anne, there is not as much suspense.

And in Mansfield Park, the suspense element is at its best. Fanny’s two possible mates, Henry Crawford and Edmund Bertram are both inaccessible at the start. Edmund treats her like a sister, and Henry ignores her. Henry grows to love her, but Edmund’s feelings go off in an entirely different direction. Henry seems bad on the outside, but there is a precedent for misunderstandings of people’s character in Austen, so readers are likely to believe in the change that he effects for Fanny. Till almost the end of the book, Henry Crawford seems the most likely choice. Not only is he trying to change for Fanny, but her affections, placed with Edmund, are both unrequited and could almost be termed a girlish crush.

Another thing in Henry’s favor is his character. Austen loves the combination of two people of different temperaments in her matches. Lizzy and Darcy, Emma and Knightley, Catherine and Tilney, Anne and Wentworth, Marianne and Brandon. Even among her minor characters, the best marriages are of different temperaments: Jane and Bingley, Jane Fairfax and Frank, Harriet and Robert Martin, Louisa and Captain Benwick. Of all the marriages, Elinor and Edward Ferrars are the most similar. Henry Crawford has the advantage of being the complement to Fanny’s character: she is solemn, he is light; she is prone to depression; he is too optimistic; she feels deeply and hurts deeply, he get over things more quickly; she is reserved, he is outgoing. It would be a match very much like Henry Tilney and Catherine Morland’s, only that Henry Crawford has character flaws.

So all the way through Mansfield Park, neither Edmund nor Henry takes the most prominent position as Obvious Future Mate, and the suspense is high.

In Pride and Prejudice, though, Lizzy’s choices are to remain single or marry Darcy. Since there is so much mystique about him, and also because the book would be rather pointless if Lizzy did not marry (Fanny could remain single and Mansfield Park would not be a disappointment), Darcy is destined for Lizzy. Pride and Prejudice is close to perfection as far as plots go; the only thing it needs is a stronger rival for Lizzy’s affection.

When thinking again on Fanny and Edmund and Henry of Mansfield Park, I wonder if Henry was Austen’s choice for Fanny’s husband at one time. More on this in Part 2 of this post.