I wholeheartedly agree with your statement regarding the unreasonableness of trying to make a loved one change professions, unless there are health or legal/moral ethical reasons involved. Like many of us, Edmund *must* earn his living, and he must do it in a way that will allow him to earn enough to support a family in some degree of comfort. Unlike us, his choices of "acceptable" careers for his social class are quite limited. He has already prepared for a career that meets those criteria. It's preposterous to expect him to do otherwise than what he is doing.