#Edward: when Frank Churchill does it he's a lovable rascal but when I | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thatscarletflycatcher · 18 days

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Why do people tend to hate more on Edward Ferrars than Frank Churchill?

Both have secret engagements. Both are dependent on a rich mother figure. But

We know for certain that Mrs Ferrars is strict, unfeeling, petty and vindictive. We don't really know what Mrs Churchill is like; all the information we get on her comes through Frank, who is not a reliable source. We don't know how much his fears are founded or unfounded.

Edward has been engaged for four years, has fallen out of love with Lucy, but feels bound in honor to her, and never complains or hints anything against her until the very end when she has married Robert.

Frank has been engaged for less than a year, to a woman we are to believe he loves madly and who is madly in love with him. He makes mean comments about her to Emma for "cover", sends her a dangerous gift, and then because he's exasperated that the marriage business is taking so long and feels ill-used by life, makes the scene he made at Box Hill, down to asking Emma to find a wife for him.

While both raise expectations of marrying another woman while being secretly engaged, Frank does it so by positively flirting with Emma to use her as a cover, whereas Edward is drawn to spend time with Elinor because he loves her and with her family because he's happy with them.

Even if both delude themselves with the idea that nothing will come out of it because of disinterest in the other side, in Frank this is sourced in the unwarranted assumption that Emma somehow has guessed his secret; in Edward it is basically about low self esteem (and while Frank positively flirts with Emma, Edward's interest is only shown in spending time with Elinor and her family).

Edward suffers the consequences of his actions -he loses his inheritance, besides the prospect of having to see Elinor frequently while married to Lucy-, Frank doesn't.

#Jane Austen #Sense and Sensibility #Emma #Frank Churchill #Edward Ferrars #Edward: when Frank Churchill does it he's a lovable rascal but when I

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