The Redeeming Characteristics of Edwin Dodd

[ailbhe]

I have only managed to think of two.

Now, I freely admit that The Ready-Made Family disturbs me for good and personal reasons. Nonetheless, I find the character of Edwin Dodd almost entirely without redeeming social importance...

with the possible exception of these:

(1) He volunteers to help Nicky when her query directly relates to his personal area of expertise and interest.

(2) He shows up just in time to rescue his daughter from a paedophile, when she was only in danger in the first place because she was running away from him.

Other than this, he seems cold to the point of cruelty, has a ridiculously short temper, doesn't appear capable of apologising in a reasonable way, and seems to hate his children while wanting to own them as precious property.

However, I have not read Cricket Term.

Edit: the day before the wedding, Chas is thrilled to see him and climbs out a window and runs towards him. So there must be some positive in there somewhere, though I note neither girl is that excited...

Comments

[bookwormsarah.livejournal.com]

Have to say that he went up in my estimation when he whacked Peter - I'd wanted to do that every time he starts on the mummerset. Of course it was extremely violent and unacceptable, but I did have a modicum of sympathy.

[mrs-redboots.livejournal.com]

Peter himself admits afterwards that he had rather asked for it!

I, too, like Edwin, and really feel a bit sorry for him, faced with Nicola and Peter.... no wonder the poor man went gruff on them! I liked the fact that he "badly wanted to laugh" at Charles, along with the rest of the family.

[rosathome.livejournal.com]

Yes, I agree. I see Edwin as a strong Myers-Briggs type I who would loathe suddenly being uprooted into a house as full and noisy as Trennels with all the family at home. Not to mention having to work out unusual relationships with teenagers who he can't quite dismiss as children because of their relationship to his wife. Not to mention the huge stress of separation - wife dying - rushed into second marriage - new job - new area...

I always feel that he
(a) started from the difficult position of being wildly prejudged by the younger Marlows
(b) and the even more difficult position of being caught up in Rowan's disapproval of Karen
(c) added to this with some tactical errors at the start due possibly to shyness, unfamiliarity with large-Marlow-type-family life, and general difficulty of the situation
(d) never had a way/found a way/tried to find a way of improving these relationships, not being a relationship type of person.

I don't think I'd have done too well faced with all that either.

But I do think that the children's relationship with him seems to me to indicate that in better circumstances he wasn't a bad father or husband. And the interaction with Nicola indicates something of this too. I always like his honesty about the children's pantomime and the touches of dry humour he lets slip from time to time.

I've forgotten - what does Giles make of him?

[rosathome.livejournal.com]

Tracking through previous discussions on this topic I notice that someone pointed out the class issues here too. If Edwin is lower-middle (which the evidence suggests) and the Marlows are decidedly upper-middle, that's another reason for him to feel insecure and that might manifest itself in the kind of behaviour we see in RMF - leading to the explosion with Peter. Not an excuse, nor even a mitigating circumstance, but a possible explanation.

[colne-dsr.livejournal.com]

Giles went to meet him in "Run Away Home", and came back saying he "ran a very tight ship" and would be fine as a brother officer, but as a brother-in-law, he was a bit much.