I originally asked this question on the P&P board. It was suggested that this topic was more appropriate for this board. Any additional perspective on this?

Why are Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam co-guardians of Georgianna?

Wouldn't it be logical just to have Darcy as the guardian? Why throw Colonel Fitzwilliam in the mix? I have seen some discussion in the archives that talks about why Colonel Fitzwilliam couldn't be the only guardian.

But why couldn't Darcy be the only guardian? My guess is that Darcy was 23 and his cousin 25 at the time of Darcy's father's death. Darcy was young, healthy, probably committed to the Pemberley estate and the Darcy name.

I could argue that having Darcy as the sole guardian could be risky. He could marry someone who didn't want to deal with her husband's younger sister. But, to counteract this, why pick someone in the military, during Napoleanic times? Why not Colonel Fitwilliam's older brother or his father?

Was JA suggesting something else about the different qualities that Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam could offer to Georgianna? If so, what were those differences?