Several characters in the book have had more or less thought ill of Fanny for not accepting Henry's proposal, because then he wouldn't have eloped with Maria.

For some reason, this thought never sat right with me. Would he really not have run off with Maria or some other woman only because of an engagement to Fanny?

Many in the group read have said that they thought he really did love Fanny. I wasn't so sure about that, so maybe that makes me biased.

But assuming he did love Fanny. I still believe that after a certain amount of time, the love he felt would have turned more into obligation. Maybe I'm wrong, but I wouldn't trust the guy. My gut feeling says that at some point he would have to go hunting again.

But something else bothers me about this whole idea. Why does Fanny have to do something special in order to save Henry's integrity? He's an adult too, why can't he take responsibility for his own actions? For me, this is like saying that Henry is infallible, and if he does happen to make a mistake, it was someone else's fault.