Life is a play at Mansfield

I'd like to continue what Madison was talking about in regards to the play and why it was such a big deal. First of all yes, the play is extremely inappropriate with lots of scandalous stuff going on... not so unlike what is happening inside Mansfield Park. Then there's the question of who is acting and who is not? When are they acting and when are they not? The lines have been greatly blurred. I think it's important that the choice of stage for the play is turning the house into the theater, which is a nice trick Austen is using to draw attention to the influence that acting has on these people's lives. Everyone is acting, all the time whether it is to keep up appearances or to convince someone else (or oneself) of affection.  Also, it allows the women to take on sexually aggressive roles, which normally would be waaay out of line for proper behavior, and allows them to act as inappropriate as they'd probably like to act in real life but can't. And Fanny gets to be the confidant for everyone! We hear all the qualms and gossip because she distinguishes herself as the person who will not participate. There's just so much going on here.