Abbas Shah's Post

“Don’t imagine that nobody in this house can see or judge but yourself.” Tom Bertram to Edmund.

In a tale rife with diverse personalities with varying degrees of complexity, acting and interacting in a world replete with issues like rigid and static hierarchies, Edmund Bertram seems to rise past the moral turpitude and ambiguity by being the standard of “rightness” and consequently serves the function of being a small cog whose size belies the significance of the role it plays in the great game of relationships, marriages, domesticity and dominance. Being a second son in said hierarchal societies where the mantle and the numerous leashes are passed on to the first born entailed a permanent role as a subsidiary member in the family and in the large context of the society which more-or-less solidified his position as a future member of the clergy. His role in the family involves passing judgments on the actions and events, being trusted by his father as being a stable, sound and ethical person. One might not expect such a seemingly “dull” character to catalyze so many events and twists, yet, with his kind attitude and effectively ingrained moral compass, Edmund manages to win the affections of Fanny Price, the unassuming protagonist, as well as attaining the enviable position of being involved in a relationship with Mary Crawford, the latter being a nicely conceptualized “imperfect” character who does not conform to the moral scale of Edmund in the way Fanny does. The points in the novel where Edmund struggles in his bond with Mary are the most insightful ones, as they reveal how contexts of conflict cement or challenge our identities by making us prioritize our imperative and integral components over what we could potentially avail, especially in relationships. The wavering and the vacillation we see in Edmund’s character are surprisingly lacking in Fanny’s (when she rejects Henry Crawford), especially when one considers how Edmund should, based on what one knows of his compatibility, make the “right” decision. Fortunately or unfortunately based on what one expects of the transition or lack thereof of his character, he ends up abiding by his moral constitution and marries the shy girl whose letters he posted in the initial stages of her tumultuous and demoralizing resettlement in the civilized world.