You do make very good points, particularly about Edmund being a second son and therefore having to make his own way in the world. I would actually compare him with Edward Ferrars in S&S, who does more or less the same thing, don't you think? In having to choose between Lucy and Elinor -- although we don't really get his point of view.
Plus, there is the fact that Edmund is presumably quite a bit younger than definitely Knightley and Darcy, and possibly Edward as well. It's difficult to say for certain. And he seems to be more or less stuck in his brother's shadow, which must be difficult.
I wish I liked Mansfield Park more; it's not that I dislike it at all, but if I'm planning to read Austen, I tend to go with something else as a rule.
Oh, yes, Edmund and Edward are in very similar quandaries, I think. And both want to be clergymen. I think there is a slight difference in that Edward Ferrars is engaged to Lucy and is forced to keep the engagement for honor's sake (but would choose Elinor in a heartbeat if he could), while Edmund is still in the process of trying to make a choice. But they're both a lot more...liminal, I guess, than Darcy and Mr. Knightley.
I could totally see Edmund as stuck in his brother's shadow--and having to take on a role, as the steady member of the family, that Tom has completely failed to take on.
It was only on my third read of Mansfield Park that I really started to love it.
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Plus, there is the fact that Edmund is presumably quite a bit younger than definitely Knightley and Darcy, and possibly Edward as well. It's difficult to say for certain. And he seems to be more or less stuck in his brother's shadow, which must be difficult.
I wish I liked Mansfield Park more; it's not that I dislike it at all, but if I'm planning to read Austen, I tend to go with something else as a rule.
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I could totally see Edmund as stuck in his brother's shadow--and having to take on a role, as the steady member of the family, that Tom has completely failed to take on.
It was only on my third read of Mansfield Park that I really started to love it.
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