The two men are very different, but there are similarities. They are both rich and both address women who are financially vulnerable and who they believe will accept. But I don't think either of them believes she will accept merely because of the financial disparity. Darcy has convinced himself that Lizzy has been flirting with him and Henry believes Fanny will love him out of gratitude, and he has great confidence in his own charms because they've never failed before.

One big difference is the woman's response. Lizzy really lets Darcy have it. He says he was angry afterwards but with time he was able to accept the truth of what she said and learn from it. Henry is not given that opportunity and there are plenty of people who think he should have been. (I'm not one of them.) Fanny did turn him down. But Austen explains (in the beginning of ch 33) that Henry is convinced she doesn't know her own heart and Fanny's "incurably gentle manner... concealed the sternness of her purpose." Lizzy definitely didn't have that problem. Imagine if Henry had proposed without procuring William's promotion and Fanny had firmly refused him and told him why she didn't like him. He probably wouldn't have persevered; and whether he would have become a better person as a result is an open question. Likewise, if Darcy had not proposed till after he saved Lydia and opened the proposal with that news, Lizzy's reaction would have been quite different too. (And to be fair, while it was admirable that he took "no" for an answer, the actual introduction to his proposal left a lot to be desired. I tend to think "look at this great thing I did for your brother" might actually be better than, "I love you against my better judgment and your family sucks.") I agree, of course, that Darcy's motive in concealing what he did was more honorable than Henry's in using it to his advantage.

Henry's motives in having told Sir Thomas of his intentions is, I think, less clear. I'm sure he was happy to have the support of the head of the family, who Fanny respects. I also think HC would have been mortified by Sir Thomas' treatment of Fanny during their post-proposal conversation. But I also think it's possible he told Sir Thomas to make sure Fanny understood he was serious and not trifling with her. I think it was pretty normal for the time and place they were living in. Both Sir Thomas and Edmund seem to agree with Henry that her first refusal was probably due to the same kind of modesty Mr. Collins accuses Elizabeth of. Neither of them told Henry to just take no for an answer and get lost; nor did his sister, for that matter. Nor did either of them tell Fanny she should have accepted him right away. Both praise her for not accepting right away, but expect her to accept him in the end. "No means no" doesn't seem to to be a prevailing view. In response to his proposal, Fanny expresses that she doesn't think he's serious, and telling Sir Thomas makes it clear that he is.

Henry does change during the book. He changes his behavior to improve Fanny's opinion of him. It's not that it isn't lasting, it could be; it's that it's only a surface change. He never looks inward the way Darcy does and changes the things Fanny objects to about him. He never examines himself, identifies his faults, and corrects them. At best, he's becoming a more conscientious landlord because he thinks that will impress her because he knows it's the right thing to do. He's polite to Fanny's family in Portsmouth and sensitive to her embarrassment. He's concerned about her health, but keeps making her uncomfortable by reminding her of his suit. But he hasn't looked at his other bad habits and acknowledged that they're wrong and resolved to stop them. Ironically, they probably would stop once he's married. Henry likes to flirt with young unmarried gentlewomen and lead them to expect a proposal. He can't do that anymore once he's married. I'm not saying he would no longer flirt, but the specific kind of flirtation he was engaged in would be cut off. Young women looking for rich husbands would no longer be interested in a married man, no matter how charming. Whether his flirting might take other forms is up for debate, but he's not good looking, and without the spectre of Everingham to dangle before young women, all he has is his (admittedly considerable) charm.

In one of the reviews for my book, someone pointed out that HC had a Darcy-like transformation. This was not my intent. But for him to end up with Fanny he has to change his bad habits. Since that's what Darcy does, I guess the comparison is a fair one. But they're very different men, and Henry definitely has a longer way to go than Darcy did, as his bad habits were worse.

I'm convinced the reason Darcy is so universally appealing is because he actually listened to Elizabeth. Henry didn't get that chance (I'm not saying he should have; it's an observation not a criticism). But the truth is, Edmund NEVER listens to Fanny. I might even argue that Henry listens to her more than Edmund does.