Mr. Bennet isn't a bad person, but he _is_ a bad father. He treats everything _too_ lightly, and that characteristic leads him to a) allow his wife to prattle on embarrassingly at social functions where her behavior reflects his daughters; b) ignore all the warning signs about Kitty and let her go with the soldiers to Brighton; and c) be outwardly rude to his family (like telling Mary to stop playing the piano badly) in a way that, again, hurts his daughters' prospects.
He's not a role model for Victorian fatherhood, that's all.
Re: Mary, she's bookish, but she's not smart. She's much like Mr. Collins: prone to cliche and elaborate, but empty language. She has no emotion, no passion behind her rote memorization and desperate desire to show off that ability to retain information.
Re: "Trust," that's not the right word, and TV's explanation is better. The trait you're talking about is more about accurately assessing other people. Lizzy, though she prides herself on it, is actually terrible at it. She expresses shock when Charlotte announces her engagement to Mr. Collins, but just the handful of interactions the reader sees prior to that announcement you know that she's ruthlessly pragmatic. She woefully misjudges Wickham because he flatters her ego that she has correctly judged the character of Darcy, and she even misjudges Mr. Bingley. She's not as bad as Jane, though, who can't possibly accept that anyone could be a bad person.
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Date: 2010-04-16 10:50 pm (UTC)He's not a role model for Victorian fatherhood, that's all.
Re: Mary, she's bookish, but she's not smart. She's much like Mr. Collins: prone to cliche and elaborate, but empty language. She has no emotion, no passion behind her rote memorization and desperate desire to show off that ability to retain information.
Re: "Trust," that's not the right word, and TV's explanation is better. The trait you're talking about is more about accurately assessing other people. Lizzy, though she prides herself on it, is actually terrible at it. She expresses shock when Charlotte announces her engagement to Mr. Collins, but just the handful of interactions the reader sees prior to that announcement you know that she's ruthlessly pragmatic. She woefully misjudges Wickham because he flatters her ego that she has correctly judged the character of Darcy, and she even misjudges Mr. Bingley. She's not as bad as Jane, though, who can't possibly accept that anyone could be a bad person.
Did I mention this is one of my favorite books?