Mr. Bennet can be best described as an absentee father. Having married a woman he can no longer respect, as noted by Elizabeth, he has largely withdrawn from family life. He has no qualms referring to his younger daughters as foolish and ridiculous yet takes no steps to curb Lydia and Kitty's increasingly poor behavior. In a time when a woman's only prospect is securing a good marriage any shame brought on the family through the younger children actions could damage all his daughters futures.
The Bennet's are landed gentry, living in Longbourn House and receiving a modest annual sum, not requiring Mr. Bennet to work. With the property in entail to the Bennet's cousin and no savings for his daughters Mr. Bennet ignores his responsibility to provide for his children should be die. With no respectable means of income outside of marriage his daughters would be destitute. The bulk of Mr. Bennet's time is spend in the family library, a room he is noted as preferring to have to himself. Described as containing a writing desk where Mr. Bennet pens letters, several chairs, and many books the room could be a place of business. However, at the end of the book when Elizabeth is called into the library to discuss her potential marriage Mr. Bennet states he is 'at his leisure' begging the question as to what he does all day rather than earn additional income for future living expenses and dowries.
This is not to say that he is intentionally a poor father figure. There are several occasions where Mr. Bennet demonstrates sincere concern for his children's well being. His visit to Netherfield Park at the request of his wife, however begrudgingly done, allows Jane to meet and eventually marry Mr. Bingly. Perhaps most touchingly, he informs Elizabeth she will have his support should she refuse Mr. Darcy's proposal. As with any character, Mr. Bennet is balanced. In his absence he is not an actively bad father however he endangers his family through inactivity.
Mr. Bennet is a father who cares greatly for his family, especially his daughter Elizabeth. He does, however, point out foolishness at any and every chance because he understands the consequences of making poor decisions. He lives with the daily struggle of marrying a girl because she attractive and flirtatious. In addition to five beautiful daughters, he is also tasked with the constant embarrassment his silly wife causes him. Rather than turning to a vice, Mr. Bennet becomes outspoken on the vices of others, specifically, his family. Staying true to her foolishness, Mrs. Bennet rarely grasps the jokes that her husband makes at her expense.
Mr. Bennet is a good father who only wants the best for his daughters and their respective marriages. He worries that, since his daughters will not inherit his fortune, they must all marry well and quickly to ensure their place in society. He, therefore, uses his jokes as reminders when their behavior does not meet social expectations. These jokes and sarcastic comments are a personal admonition for his decision to marry a woman out of adolescent lust rather than careful consideration as well as a warning for his daughters to not make the same mistakes of his youth. Overall, the jokes and sarcasm are intended for the benefit of his family, even if they come out harsh at some times.
On the whole, one could make the case that Mr. Bennet is a good father to his daughters. Having made a foolish decision to marry an equally foolish woman, he's been atoning ever since by ensuring that his daughters are properly brought up and ready to take their place in society. Despite his best efforts, however, Mr. Bennet isn't always successful in raising his daughters, as Lydia's elopement with Mr. Wickham testifies.
Nonetheless, he doggedly does his level best to prepare his daughters for the big old world outside, a world whose manifest absurdities he knows all too well. Although Mr. Bennet doesn't appear to have much time for the age-old customs of the so-called marriage market, he's still very much a man of his time and class. This means that whatever his own personal feelings on the matter, he needs to ensure that his daughters are married off to wealthy, eligible bachelors at the earliest opportunity. His own grave error in choosing such an unsuitable wife determines, to a large extent, his anxiety to make sure that his daughters won't make the same mistake.
No comments:
Post a Comment