I believe in the importance of Jane not giving Crawford a redemption arc. It comes to show that some people are unredeemable, that they will manipulate and perform to get what they want. Crawford is presented, first and foremost, as a performer. He enjoys performing. This is shown to us from the beginning, and is contrasted with Edmund's frank, even blunt manner.
Whilst Crawford performs, Edmund is honest.
He is not the most appealing of Austen heroes: he is not witty, he is not particularly charming. He lacks the grandiose acts of Darcy and Knightley, the poetry of Wentworth's words, and the witticisms of Tilney. He is not, in short, a charismatic character. What he is, however, from the beginning, is someone with an undeniable desire to be good, which stems not from performance (as happens with his sisters) but from character.
I believe Jane was trying to show precisely that appearances are deceiving. Crawford charms through performance, and then he fails when showing his truth. Edmund fails to appeal, but he recognises the path of good and evil, and comes to see Mary Crawford for who she is in the end of his journey.
Perhaps what us readers cannot easily forgive is that he would fall for Mary first and Fanny second.
To this I say, nothing more natural. In the very beginning of Mansfield Park, you have Mrs Norris speaking of the importance of bringing Fanny to Mansfield Park, so that she and her cousins may grow as siblings and never have tendencies for romantic affection in adulthood. Edmund was taught by mother, father and Aunt to look at Fanny through the eyes of family, and cannot conceive of her as a partner.
What may be lacking in this book (if it may even audaciously be called so, considering its length) is the explanation of how Edmund falls for Fanny, which seems to us less believable after his interlude with Mary. Nevertheless, just as Fanny grows, so does Edmund. We learn the story through Fanny, rather than Edmund; yet even then we can tell, at times, through Fanny's biased mind, that Edmund is not entirely at ease with Mary, that he questions her attitudes and morals. As any youth in love, Edmund tries to justify her - but he is not blind to her flaws. During the year of their acquaintance, many a time he must have questioned himself in silence.
In the end, he comes to regret it. How many of us have lived a youthful passion, falling for the light and failing to see how wide a shadow it casts? Such is Edmund. In the end, as he advanced into adulthood (and as happens to many of us), he understands himself better - and then, too, he understands what he seeks in love better. This conjunction, together with Maria and Julia's fall from grace and Fanny's elevation in the family nucleus (for even his father now acknowledges her as a most beloved daughter) allows him to see her as a woman, to begin to understand their similarities.
There is, too, a factor to consider that is historical and sociological. During Jane Austen's time, the fundamental aspect of marriage was that of a social contract. Affection was not heeded as essential, though it was growing in importance. When Edmund rethinks his relationship with Fanny, I believe he does so not only through the light of affection, but also as to her suitability in becoming the wife of a man who ascribed his life to religious purposes. He understands that Fanny will accompany him in this function in a most successful way, and that, together, they shall be capable of forming an excellent, strong understanding.
Perhaps Edmund and Fanny aren't Austen's most romantic pair. Nevertheless, romantic love isn't her chief purpose. Austen writes portrayals of customs, through which romantic love, as we know it today, is only beginning to peep through.
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