Pride and Prejudice - Mr. Bennett

A detailed Summary of Pride and Prejudice - Mr. Bennett

Any man who tries to argue Jane Austen's ability to draw characters would be undoubtedly a fool, for the author's talent in that area of prose is hard to match. However even the most ardent fans of Austen will have to agree with the fact that the personages she creates are not appealing to every man. An exception to that trend in this reader's opinion would be the character of Mr. Bennet, who by his sharp wit and stark realism alone redeems Pride and Prejudice for any audience who under other circumstances would take no joy in reading any novel by Austen, this one included. In many ways Mr. Bennet stands as a literary monument to the writer's amazing storytelling ability. While his personality sticks out among others in the novel like a sore thumb, his place in the plot has monumental importance not only to the task of saving an unappreciative reader from boredom but also to the movement and the development of the work as a whole.

One of his most meaningful contributions to the plot is the influence he exerts on Elizabeth. She is obviously his favorite, and probably the only one in his family that he feels real fatherly love for. This is seen from the fact that even though he is often very reserved and distant, the one time he sh

to Brighton, thereby destroying the whole eloping scheme at the root. Truly, had he been a better father most of the unfortunate predicaments faced by his family could have been prevented, an inference which reveals the true depth of his importance in Pride and Prejudice. Put quite simply, without a character of Mr. Bennet the irresponsible father, Austen would have no plot.

begins to wonder if he would not react similarly had he been placed in a similar situation as Mr. Bennet, and in some ways to understand the reason for his failings as a father.

ufficiently affected by him and yet have room to develop and grow as a person on her own accord. This of course is crucial to the plot, as Elizabeth would not have been able to fall in love with Darcy had it not been for her change as a person.

While if judged purely by his actions the character may be seen as somewhat of a submissive coward, his words show him to be a man of great ability placed in a losing position. Austen has a purpose behind this set up, which goes hand in hand with this character's importance as discussed earlier. The purpose is such that in order for Elizabeth to possess the personality that she has in the novel there had to be an influence on her that's counteractive to the society in which she is raised. This influence had to come from someone who is sufficiently close to her to make a difference, and at the same time old enough to have experience to draw on. The person also had to be positive and strong and at the same time flawed enough as to not be domineering. All these requirements are fulfilled in Mr. Bennet - he's an intelligent man, disillusioned with the world he lives in and his marriage and driven into retreat by the sheer absurdity of the same. Thus Austen allows Elizabeth to be s!

Although all throughout this scene Mr. Bennet shows very few chinks in his armor, his admission is very profound. Not only does he display the guilt he feels for being an irresponsible and distant father but also assumes a part of the blame for the way his family has become. This is the most evident display of this character's importance to the plot by far. All through the novel the Bennet family is in an unfavorable way, the mother and the three insensible daughters making continuous fools of themselves. This behavior is generally blamed on the mother being a poor example for her offspring, but with Mr. Bennet's acknowledgment of poor fathering the condition takes on a new light. Perhaps if he has shown more love and more guidance to his three youngest children they would not be so infected with their mother's character traits and act more

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Approximate Word count = 1771
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English