Posted by Kathy F. on June 08, 1997 at 01:14:24:
In reply to A thump on the head to... posted by Barbara on May 26, 1997 at 17:47:55
] The thing that strikes me about MP is that there are so many characters who seem in great need of a thump on the head! (as in the previous thread In Need of Wake Up Calls) Edmund is an obvious one, but what about his sister Maria? Obviously she is only planning to marry Mr. Rushworth for the money, but how can she possibly imagine she will be happy with him, even for a moment. I don't think she even likes him. It reminds me of those young girls going after their well-to-do titled husbands in The Buccaneers . Surely the attraction she feels to Henry Crawford should alert her to her true feelings! It is hard to be sympathetic in any way to someone who so foolishly rushes headlong into a HUGE mistake.
________
Maria decides to marry Rushworth before HC makes himself so agreeable. She doesn't take break the engagement at her father's questioning because she's upset at HC--a common female failing, I'm afraid, though not limited to our sex. Perhaps she believes that if she gets married, then all of her feelings for HC will go flying out the window never to be seen again. Or maybe she was counting on never seeing him again, much less to be solicited by him. Perhaps she was counting on society to save her from herself.
Posting followups to old messages is disabled; instead go to the main index and post a new message which mentions this one.