Unlike some others I don’t find Fanny mousy or dull, but I wish Austen would have given us more of her voice. She is helpless and tender, but not weak. How great it would be to have a scene with her and Henry that shows why he fell in love with her - as it is it seems wildly out of character. 

Around Fanny swirls  the drama of deception and false values, which she sees through effortlessly- making her more of a spectator than a protagonist. The potentially interesting transformations actually belong to the men, Henry and Edmund, but are not quite successful; their changes of heart are too sudden and we’re not privy to their inner lives.  Still, I’m impressed by what Austen was trying to do, even if it didn’t quite work.