Poor Edith Crawley. For six seasons of the hit period drama Downton Abbey, she suffered humiliation after humiliation. She received no support whatsoever from her parents, who showered all their attention on her sisters. Not only that, but she was luckless in love. All the men she took an interest in were either pursuing her older sister Mary or otherwise unavailable -- all except for Bertie Pelham, who finally gave her the life and love she wanted.
We're glad that things worked out for Edith, but she wasn't always blameless in her troubles. Below are ten times Edith was annoying as heck and probably brought some of that misfortune on herself.
Body-Shaming Sybil
Edith began the show as the awkward middle sister and the black sheep of the family. She resented her sisters for having more success in the marriage market. It often led her to make snippy comments towards them. For instance, while getting ready for dinner, Sybil complained about her tight corset and asked Anna to help her loosen it. Edith unhelpfully suggested that it was "the start of the slippery slope" -- in other words, that Sybil found her corset tight because she had gained weight.
Calling Mary Names
Mary and Edith got into so many vicious fights during the show's run. Neither of them was at their best in an argument, and this was especially true of Edith on two occasions. After learning about Mary's night with Kemal Pamuk, Edith called her sister a sl*t when they crossed paths in the hallway. And in their big blowout fight towards the end of the show, she called Mary a b*tch. Granted, Mary was the instigator of at least one of these fights, but those are still harsh words that Mary never used even at her meanest.
Telling Mary About Matthew's Engagement
Edith was the most inquisitive of the Crawley girls. She was always asking questions and chiming in with her observations, often to annoy Mary. After learning about Matthew's engagement to Lavinia Swire, Cora wanted to break the news gently to her oldest daughter. But Edith had other ideas.
When Mary mentioned returning to Downton a day later, Edith noted that she would have missed Matthew. This caught Mary's attention. Cora began to explain, only for Edith to cut to the chase: Matthew is engaged. "Edith! I don't know how helpful you're being," Cora correctly observed.
Caring More About Her Dress Than Carson
Edith did not have as close a bond with Mr. Carson as Mary did. When Carson suffered what looked like a heart attack and collapsed during dinner service, all the Crawleys were very concerned and jumped up from their seats. Cora asked Edith to go with Branson and fetch Dr. Clarkson. Edith's response? "But my dress!" She was more concerned with the gravy Carson spilled on her skirt than the well-being of someone she'd known since childhood who was possibly dying.
Kissing A Married Man
With most young men fighting in the war, there was a shortage of farmhands on the estate. The Drake family, in particular, was having trouble finding someone to drive their tractor. Having learned to drive, Edith volunteered for the job. At first, both husband and wife were delighted, but it soon became apparent that there was a spark between Edith and Mr. Drake. When Mrs. Drake caught them kissing after a day's work, she promptly released Edith from her duties. What else did Edith expect?
Inheriting Everything From Gregson
After getting jilted at her wedding, Edith began a writing career that eventually led to a regular column with The Sketch. She also began dating her editor, Michael Gregson. Consistent with Edith's bad luck, Mr. Gregson turned out to be married -- but his wife had been institutionalized.
Gregson met an untimely end on his way to secure a divorce so that he and Edith could marry, leaving his London apartment and publishing company to Edith. The whole arrangement sounded very rushed, but Edith didn't question any of it, not even to wonder about Gregson's widow.
Being Uncomfortable With Jack Ross
For Lord Grantham's birthday, Rose invited Jack Ross and his band at the Lotus Nightclub to perform at Downton. Both the downstairs staff and upstairs family were surprised to see a black man singing in the great house.
Of the Crawleys, only Edith put her discomfort into words. She asked if it wasn't strange for Jack to be performing at Downton, and wondered if his presence was appropriate. Not her best moment.
Changing Her Mind About Marigold
Around the same time as Gregson's disappearance, Edith found out that she was pregnant with his child. At first, she decided to give the baby up for adoption in Switzerland to protect her reputation. It did not sit well with her, and so she reclaimed her daughter, named Marigold, and left her with a tenant family near Downton.
She then decided that she wanted to raise her daughter, so she asked the adoptive family to return the girl. The family had already bonded with Marigold, and losing her was a painful experience that could have been avoided if Edith had figured out what role she wanted to play in Marigold's life sooner.
Leaving Marigold At Downton
Edith had a vibrant life in London by the 1920s. She was a cosmopolitan woman who lived alone and had a high-powered job as a magazine editor. She spent more and more time in London to hide from Mary, who was now running Downton. However, she did not take Marigold with her on these trips. It was frustrating to see Edith leave her daughter at Downton after taking the girl from two different families, one of which suffered greatly for helping her hide Marigold's true identity.
Writing The Letter To The Turkish Embassy
In addition to calling Mary a sl*t in the hall, Edith took the additional step of writing a letter to the Turkish Embassy to relay the circumstances of Kemal Pamuk's death. In doing so, she ruined Mary's reputation and risked creating a massive scandal for her family. It would take years for Mary to recover from Edith's betrayal, which significantly affected her marriage and life prospects.
And then the storyline disappeared entirely and was never spoken of again. Not even Edith seemed to remember what happened. That might be the most annoying thing of all.