Edith finally gets a change to shine! Edith is the second of Lord Grantham’s three daughters. In this episode, Edith is marrying Anthony Strallan.
Who is Anthony Strallan? Anthony is a wealthy gentleman who owns a home near Downton. He is a kind man, and he adores Edith. But the marriage is certainly a controversial one. Firstly, Anthony is not a young man. In fact, he is similar to Lord Grantham (Edith’s father) in age! Additionally, the first World War did not leave Anthony alone. His right arm can no longer be used. Despite this, Edith does not just profit from the marriage in love. She would be given a position and would live comfortably in his large estate. However, as Violet declares, “Edith is beginning her life as an old man’s drudge.” Edith’s marriage clearly shows that some aspects of marriage have not changed over the last one hundred years. Love, age, wealth, and social position are still taken into account.
Sadly for Edith, the wedding did not continue as planned. Once Edith had walked up the aisle in her white dress, Anthony turns to her and says that he cannot do this. He cannot allow Edith to “throw away your life like this.” Thus, amidst confusion, the wedding comes to an end. Edith is hurried home, where she can privately grieve. There, in an attempt to comfort her, Cora reassured her, “Being tested only makes you stronger.” This time-honored phrase serves as a reminder that, although the world changes around us, our struggles and grief continue to build us up, whether we are in the 10th century or the 21st.
Another representation of our universality as humans occurs downstairs. Daisy, the kitchenmaid, is somewhat surprised at the pity she feels for Edith. She is shocked that she could feel bad for someone who has so much more than herself. But Anna points out that “All God’s creatures have their troubles.” Although each person has a different set of struggles, we all feel the resulting pain.
On another sad note, Mrs. Hughes has found a lump on her breast. Fearing the worst, she gets it tested. Mrs. Patmore (the cook) accompanies her on this emotional journey. However, Mrs. Patmore’s “support” is not that helpful. She tells Mrs. Hughes, “If you must pay money, better to a doctor than an undertaker.” Oh, well. Thankfully, after several months of waiting, Mrs. Hughes learns that the growth is benign. The sad struggle of illness is another battle which seems never to change. Mrs. Hughes anxiously waited for the results of her test, just as many people do today.
I hope you have enjoyed reading about Downton Abbey this semester! I sincerely hope you finish the series. It is available on Amazon Prime, in case you are interested. This episode was season 3, episode 3, so you can start watching from there. But I suggest starting from the beginning. In the comments below, please share your favorite Downton Abbey moment or character. My favorite character is Anna!
I do understand why others would find their wedding or marriage to controversial due to age. Although, I am a strong believer on the fact that age should not matter, as long as they are BOTH on the same page. Also, he sounds like a lovely man that makes her happy and that’s the only thing that should matter. I really sucks that the wedding didn’t go through, and I hate they he wouldn’t let her “throw her life away”, although it was her choice and she took it. I wonder whats going to happen to them now.
I feel for Lady Edith as she has her moment taken away from her. I feel like she is an underrated character in the series as no one around her gives her any respect. Good job on the blogs this semester. Your blog actually inspired me to watch the show. If my comments in the past didn’t seem too detailed it was because I was trying to avoid spoilers.
It seems Downton’s Abbey thematic goal was to emphasize the fact that history really does repeat itself. Each parallel, no matter how crazy the drama got, always seemed to connect with some present issue, and I think the audience of the show has been able to identify with that in such a personal way. It has to be why the show has been as successful as it is! Thank you for breaking the show down to a level that was very understandable to non-watchers through this blog. I might have to pull it up on Amazon Prime throughout the rest of the quarantine!
I felt so bad for Edith during this episode! On top of having to deal with being dumped and losing all the hopes for her future life, she had to deal with being left at the altar, which makes it all so much worse! It was so interesting to watch how people dealt with health problems in this time period, since the technology differs so much from what we have access to today, but Mrs. Patmore trying to bring some comic relief to a dire situation was unsurprisingly not super helpful. I loved reading your blogs and I might have to re-binge this show once the semester ends because they make me super nostalgic! I really like Violet’s one-liners, but Anna is definitely the nicest person on the show.
It’s interesting that as much as we believe there have been large changes in systems such as marriage in the past millennium, but in all actuality, the things we have always considered just took a different form. I feel bad for Edith, it’s an awful thing to have one you love (who also loves you) to do that to you, I hope things get better for her in the future. I have really enjoyed learning about Downton Abbey this past semester! It is certainly now on my list of things I want to watch! Great job!