While Edmund is initially shown to be compassionate and morally grounded as a character, he also shows that these qualities, as well as his own perceptions, can be corrupted, primarily due to his romantic attachment to Miss Crawford despite her questionable moral foundations; these distortions of both Edmund's values ​​and his social awareness lead Edmund to ignore Fanny's affection towards him and make him indifferent to Fanny's well-being: Edmund's lack of respect for Fanny makes him largely responsible for the physical and mental decline. health he experiences throughout the novel. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Fanny's first encounters with Edmund during the transition to life in Mansfield Park show something contrary to the detachment that Edmund displays later in the novel. In these encounters, the reader learns a lot about Edmund's good character in just a few pages. Edmund demonstrates his kind nature towards the reader by helping Fanny write a letter to her much-missed brother: “He continued with her all the time she wrote, to assist her with her penknife or her spelling, as they were necessary; and she added to these attentions, which she felt very much, a kindness towards her brother, which cheered her more than anything else. (17). Edmund had no need to console Fanny, much less help her write a letter to her brother, yet he did so graciously anyway. The reader also learns of Edmund's "strong common sense and uprightness of mind" (21) from Sir Thomas's point of view, confirming the idea that Edmund is a morally upright young man by nature. Finally, the narrator enumerates that "his [Edmund's] attentions were otherwise of the utmost importance in assisting the improvement of his mind and extending his pleasures." (22). The narrator also openly tells the reader that Edmund remains vitally important to Fanny's mental health and learning potential, which leaves Edmund with much responsibility towards his cousin. Edmund makes his continued devotion to Fanny's care evident as well as his first major misstep with such responsibility in the way he handles Fanny's new horse. Edmund's provision of a new horse for Fanny further demonstrates his goodwill, especially that he exchanged one of his own horses for it: "this third [horse] he resolved to exchange for one which his cousin might ride... the whole matter was soon completed." (36). This is a great moment in their relationship, but this same horse soon turns into a problem after the story introduces Mary Crawford. The only reason Edmund bought the horse was so that Fanny could exercise and stay in good physical condition instead of wasting away at home, but Edmund seems to lose sight of this when Miss Crawford enters the scene. He mentions to Fanny that "Miss Crawford would be happy to have her for a longer period", even though he knew of Fanny's failing health. Even if Edmund did not intentionally make Fanny ill, especially without knowing the torturous jobs her aunts would assign her if she were left without the ability to ride, Edmund still cannot escape some responsibility for the lack of consideration he gave had. for his cousin in this case. His ignorance of Fanny's behavior has great consequences for Fanny. Continuing this trend, the lover's vows fiasco sheds light on an even greater failure of Edmund's moral sensitivity and commitment to Fanny's well-being. In justifying his role in the play, Edmund attempts toreason that by taking the part in the play he is really doing Sir Thomas a favor by not allowing strangers into the house, but this decision that Edmund makes undoubtedly has ulterior motives, namely that Mary agreed to act in the play and Edmund “... he was forced to recognize that the charm of acting could successfully fascinate the mind of genius; and with the ingenuity of love…” (120). Edmund's justification of the work for this reason can only demonstrate that his moral foundation has the capacity to be tampered with, especially if the person he is tampering with is a glamorous young woman. It seems that Edmund is so infatuated with Mary Crawford that he not only knowingly goes against what his father would have wanted, but also blatantly ignores Fanny's discomfort with the evidence on the line between him and Miss Crawford. Fanny had already shown her irritation at the idea of ​​a show, so Edmund knew better than to ask her opinion on rehearsed jokes with Mary, and even worse is the fact that both Edmund and Mary mistook Fanny's anxiety and discomfort for exhaustion. This can also be explained by Edmund's intoxication with Mary; perhaps if he had been more soberly devoted to Miss Crawford's affections, he might have understood how Fanny was suffering. Fanny's suffering is only exacerbated by Henry's declarations of love for her. Perhaps the worst failure of Edmund's clouded vision of judgment manifests itself in his haste to condone and even support his cousin Fanny's affair and possible marriage to Henry Crawford. It is clear that his motives are not simply to wish Fanny well, but rather to question himself: "'A gentle and continuous reaction, is the best safeguard of good manners and conduct.' Fanny could well guess where his thoughts were now. Miss Crawford's power was returning." (323-324). At a time when Edmund should be giving Fanny good advice about her choices, he has instead decided to reflect on his relationship with Mary Crawford! Even worse is Edmund's approval of Sir Thomas's plan to send Fanny back to Portsmouth to make Henry pale. The reader knows that Edmund is aware of Fanny's poor medical condition, but he still looked at the plan, "...considered it every way, and saw nothing but what was right." (341). Not only is he supporting the manipulation of his cousin into marrying someone she doesn't love, but he is also threatening her physical health by sending her to an overburdened, impoverished family with a neglectful mother and an alcoholic father. In fact, he would be willing to condemn her to adverse conditions and unstable emotional environments in order to quell the tension between her and Mary, the two people dearest to him. This is the most damning evidence of Mary's perversion of Edmund's kindness and morality which would cause Fanny direct physical and mental distress. Fanny recognizes very early on the blinding effects Mary has on Edmund's good judgement, but because of her quiet nature, she feels helpless in the face of the situation and forces herself to agree with Edmund about “How well he walks! And how easily he adapts to the inclinations of others!” (105). At first glance, this could simply be chalked up to silent jealousy and dismissed as insignificant, but this is a theme that recurs often throughout the novel. This theme finally reaches its climax when the author portrays Fanny as resigned to Edmund's satisfaction with Miss Crawford's unscrupulous nature and even with the inevitability of their marriage: ... the more she remembered and observed, the more deeply she was convinced that every what was now in a sense a fairer train for Miss Crawford's marriage to Edmund than it was.