%0 Journal Article
%T ¡®Where She Could Not Follow¡¯ ¨C The Lesbian Subplot in Jane Austen¡¯s Mansfield Park
%A Aintzane Legarreta Mentxaka
%J English Language and Literature Studies
%D 2013
%I 
%R 10.5539/ells.v3n1p1
%X Charlotte Bront  complained about Jane Austen¡¯s lack of passion, but the trademark irony in her novels was applied to many risqu¨¦ subjects, in ways that have become increasingly obvious, making the myth of a sexless Austen untenable. In the last half century, a number of commentators have pointed at lesbian inclinations and attachments in Austen¡¯s novels, generally focusing on the protagonist of Emma. Seemingly unnoticed by critics, Mansfield Park includes a lesbian subplot, discreetly but firmly embedded onto the main narrative, facilitating the internal development of the protagonist Fanny Price, contributing to the novel¡¯s debate on ¡®nature versus improvement¡¯, and inspiring some of the most outrageous humour in the book. The present essay traces the lesbian subplot in Mansfield Park, and poses an invitation to marvel anew at a complex novel full of rich subversive moods.
%U http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ells/article/view/23861