I am so of two minds about Edmund that I wrote both a defense and an attack, you can make your own decisions…
Edmund Bertram... I’m sorry fans, I can’t do it. Edmund Bertram is the absolute worst and I’m going to prove it. He can pay for a real publicist, his family is rich enough. Edmund’s best moment, making sure Fanny has a horse, is completely contradicted by his later actions. “Fanny must have a horse” (Ch 4) he declares and then trades one of his own! So heroic! Then Mary Crawford shows up and all of this Fanny needing to ride for her health goes right out the window. Mary likes to ride and she borrows “Fanny’s” horse for a whole week, resulting in Fanny becoming very ill. Edmund admits: “His own forgetfulness of her was worse than anything which they had done.” (Ch 7).
Edmund should be fully aware that Fanny doesn’t have a fire in her bedroom in the winter, but he does nothing about it. When Mary visits the East Room to practice Act III of Lovers Vows (Ch 18), she notices the empty grate and Edmund comes in soon afterwards. He also goes to Fanny’s room to deliver the gold chain. Neither time does he notice or seem to care that Fanny, his sickly cousin, is being left in the freezing cold. This irks me because when Sir Thomas comes in, he notices right away, demands an explanation, and then fixes it (Ch 32). Fanny could have been warm earlier if Edmund just paid attention! And he says he’s concerned about her health.
Edmund does not listen to Fanny or have any respect for her judgement, even though he “formed her mind” (Ch 7) He tries to force Fanny to sanction his participating in the play against her better (and correct) judgement “I am more sorry to see you drawn in to do what you had resolved against, and what you are known to think will be disagreeable to my uncle. It will be such a triumph to the others!” said Fanny, prophetically (Ch 16) but he disregards her (not only is she right about Sir Thomas, Maria and Tom do delight in their triumph over Edmund). Sounds a lot like Mr. Collins ignoring Elizabeth’s sound advice about Mr. Darcy. He also ignores her and thinks up a ridiculous excuse when Fanny tries to warn him about Henry and Maria during the play (Ch 12). In a more distasteful example, when Fanny tells Edmund the truth about how she feels about Crawford he says, “This is not like yourself, your rational self.” (Ch 35) How downright dismissive of her feelings! Can Elizabeth Bennet please appear and yell, “[she is a] rational creature, speaking the truth from her heart!!!” at him a few times? Please?!?
Edmund forces attention on Fanny that makes her uncomfortable, just like Henry Crawford, the male antagonist. Edmund says this awful paragraph, “the truth is, that your uncle never did admire you till now—and now he does. Your complexion is so improved!—and you have gained so much countenance!—and your figure—nay, Fanny, do not turn away about it—it is but an uncle. If you cannot bear an uncle’s admiration, what is to become of you? You must really begin to harden yourself to the idea of being worth looking at. You must try not to mind growing up into a pretty woman.” (Ch 21) Let me translate, “Fanny, you happen to be pretty, get used to men staring at you.” I just can’t even with you right now, Edmund! (I know I’m reading this in the 21st century, but really, just yuck). He also sits back and facilitates Henry harassing Fanny by pretending to read a newspaper (Ch 34)
Edmund is selfish. When he tries to talk to Fanny about Henry Crawford, he actually talks about himself and Mary (Ch 35). When he writes to Fanny finally in Portsmouth, he doesn’t even ask how she is and then wants her to come back for his own benefit (Ch 44). He wants Fanny to accept Henry so he has a better chance with Mary. When he picks up Fanny from Portsmouth, and she’s literally starving and looks sick, he says, “Fanny, think of me!” (emphasis author’s, Ch 46). And unlike other faulty Austen men, he never gets better, he forces Fanny to listen to him whining about Mary for months! (Ch 48)
Edmund doesn’t listen to women, he doesn’t change his behaviour over the course of the book, he doesn’t learn from his mistakes, and he doesn’t respect the heroine. He’s not a hero, he’s a villain. Mansfield Park only has a heroine, no hero. (Unless you count the heroic William Price) Edmund Bertram: His only redeemable trait is being less awful than his family, which is why, “she was of course only too good for him” (Ch 48). #FreeFanny #downwithEdmund
Edmund Bertram, the actual defence. The Bertram family has paid an undisclosed amount of money for this public service announcement. Edmund Bertram is not as bad as I said! He might even half deserve Fanny.
Edmund has all the responsibility of an eldest son but none of the fun. He takes over management of the estate when his father and Tom leave for Antigua. When Tom returns, he almost instantly leaves again and Edmund dutifully remains, caring for something he will probably never inherit. He really wants to go to London to propose to Mary, but chooses to stay with his parents instead “he could not leave his father and mother just when everybody else of most importance to their comfort was leaving them” (Ch 38). Familial duty was far more important in this era and Edmund is the only Bertram sibling who displays any.
Edmund doesn’t seem to hate or resent Tom, even though he must at least suspect that Tom lost him half his inheritance gambling. They don’t seem to have a great relationship, when Edmund tries to disagree with the play Tom basically shuts him down by saying that he is the heir, but Edmund is the first to see sick Tom and his primary nurse for his illness. Pretty selfless given that Tom’s death would be the best thing ever for Edmund.Unlike the rest of his family (or like every other character in the book, except Sir Thomas), Edmund is willing to give up immediate pleasure for someone else’s comfort. Knowing that Fanny wants to go to Southerton, Edmund offers to stay with his mother so his cousin can go. Julia is so unwilling to give up this trip that she leaves the room so no one will suggest that she should volunteer as well. Now does Edmund totally forget that Fanny wanted to see the avenue, yes, but at least she got to go! He also gives up one of his own horses for Fanny’s comfort, while his sisters are completely unwilling to share theirs.
Despite his profession being chosen for him, Edmund actually wants to be a good clergyman. He continues in this conviction even though Mary, the lady he totally has the hots for, doesn’t want him to be “useful in his parish” (Ch 9). Mary hints that she could accept him if he took the money and hired a curate, but he won’t do it. This is despite the fact that Mary (regardless of her amorality) is a CATCH, the kind of girl any second son would only dream of.
Lady Bertram would like me to note, for your appreciation, that Edmund is a very fine man (she can say so, even as his mother). She notes that we have objective evidence of this in a letter from Mary, “Mrs. Fraser (no bad judge) declares she knows but three men in town who have so good a person, height, and air.” (Ch 43) He has been horribly miscast in the past adaptions. #hotBertrams
Sir Thomas would like to include that Edmund is the only good child he managed to raise (pre-life changing illness). Perhaps this is because Edmund is the only child who has to work for anything in his family. Mary fell in love with Edmund because of, “his sincerity, his steadiness, his integrity” (Ch 6) and Fanny loved him for his kindness.
Also, the scene where Sir Thomas and Edmund separately conspire to get the rest of the family away so William and Fanny can spend the first moment of his visit together is so darn cute.Edmund Bertram: I guess you’re okay… maybe.