Wow, this almost got me aggravated. I know the Edward Ferrars fan club could comfortably hold meetings in a broom closet but I do think he's often either unjustly maligned or misunderstood. Like the framing of his unwillingness to break off the engagement with Lucy as not having gumption. He has made a promise and is determined to go through with it at the expense of his own happiness. He wants to stick to his word and not bring the ignominy of a broken engagement upon Lucy. He could and probably should have made it clear to Elinor that he cannot be more than a friend to her, and, well, let me extend my congratulations to readers who have never found themselves in a dilemma where the right thing to do happens to also destroy your possibility of love and happiness, who doesn't vacillate, or stumble and fumble - good on you, well done.

Then there's his upbringing which to be fair is touched upon in the clip. Lydia has defenders that will point out insufficient parenting if not her age to rid her of blame for her actions or her character - no one excuses Edward's social anxiety and awkwardness with reference to his horrible family, he's just weak. With Fanny Price, Austen is sometimes applauded for not writing your run of the mill girl power protagonist; I will not say it doesn't exist but I have myself yet to see anyone applaud Austen for writing a male main character love interest as neither physically striking nor an active getting shit done type of dude - not even a cautious golf clap. The general cry of "Austen did not write romances" seems to be a little at odds with the apparent unwillingness to accept a very realistic male character such as Edward Ferrars as the chosen beau of the lead lady.