James Tyler Independent Scholar Failures of the Father: Mr. Bennet’s Vital Role in Establishing the New Mistress of Pemberley

In her discussion of film adaptations of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Barbara Seeler argues that recent movie versions “significantly recast the Bennet family, in particular its patriarch, presenting Mr. Bennet as a sensitive and kind father whose role in the family’s misfortunes is continually downplayed.” Seeler notes that the movies “all revise Mr. Bennet’s financial mismanagement; all downplay his parental shortcomings; and all three foreground a loving bond between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet.” In Austen’s novel, however, Mr. Bennet is far from an ideal father and husband. He is often depicted as secretive, sarcastic and short-sighted. This is not to say he is a bad person, but as the patriarch of his family, he often fails to live up to his duties. But it is precisely because he does frequently fail as the patriarch that his daughter Elizabeth, with whom he has the closest relationship, actually overcomes the circumstances of her family’s situation, wins the heart of Mr. Darcy and eventually becomes the new mistress of Pemberley. As head of his family, Mr. Bennet would have certain duties and expectations in providing for his family and the upbringing of his daughters. As H.R. Dhatwalia, notes in Familial Relationships in Jane Austen’s Novels about family relationships in eighteenth-century English society, “In this age, issues like the proper upbringing and education of children, the role of love and money in marriage, the choice of profession, and the observance of a proper moral code permeated the fabric of family relationships” and Evangelical and Romantic traditions were divergent “thought-forces motivating” the relationships between parents and children. Dhatwalia contends that Austen sought a “harmonious synthesis of the good qualities of both the Evangelical and Romantic ideologies.” Mr. Bennet fails to meet Austen’s paternal ideal in various ways, and these failings have a significant impact on situations that arise in the novel that directly affect the Elizabeth/Darcy relationship. If Mr. Bennet had been a better father and spouse, the circumstances in which Elizabeth and Darcy’s romance develops would have been unlikely to ever occur. In short, Mr. Bennet’s failures lead to Elizabeth’s success.