A Character analysis of the Bennet parents in Jane Austen’s novel “Pride and Prejudice” and how they respond to their responsibilities

                In Jane Austen’s time, family was an important social issue. A good background and a healthy financial situation were essential attributes for a woman to acquire a good marriage. Good qualities, such as intelligence, well-bred manners, nobility of heart, alone were considered an insufficient dowry. Elizabeth, the protagonist of Jane Austen’s novel, is certainly a gifted woman, attractive and unique, however, because of her relatively low social standing and her family’s improper behaviour, she will have to fight against heavy prejudices to enter, through a marriage, into a higher class which continuously tries to reject her. Wealth and position surely do not represent her aim, in fact, when she falls in love with Darcy she does so having first felt respect towards him. However, she is offended by that snobbish attitude. She knows she is not perfect just as her family. Though, she also knows that she is a ‘lady’ as accomplished and genteel, as any other girl from a richer family.

            Elizabeth’s parents are the first people we meet in the novel and right from the beginning it is clear that they are not a well suited couple. They have nothing in common. In a few words, their marriage seems a complete failure. As the story progresses, we also discover that they are lacking and disagreeable parents, absent or incompetent.

            In the first description of them, Jane Austen summarises what we learn of Mrs. And Mr. Bennet throughout the book:

“Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three and twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character. Her mind was less difficult to develop. She was a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper.” (Ch. 1)

The stupidity of Mrs. Bennet as well as her lack of moral values are immediately obvious. Her only concern is to marry off her five daughters. However, for her, marriage is only a business contract, a money matter, where feelings such as love and mutual respect, have relatively little importance.

“Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; for or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!” (Ch. 1)

            Her moral insensibility and selfishness manifest themselves when she calls Elizabeth ‘undutiful child’, because she refuses to marry Mr. Collins. Mrs. Bennet’s only concern, in fact, is the financial side of marriage, to keep Longbourn Estate in the family, for her a sufficient reason to have her daughter married to anyone, even to the petulant and ostentatious Mr. Collins.

“Lizzy shall be brought to reason. I will speak to her about it myself directly. She is a very headstrong foolish girl, and does not know her own interest; but I will make her know it.” (Ch. 20)

Furthermore, when she hears that Lydia is married, she immediately forgets the nightmares of the previous weeks and the disgrace she has brought on the family, she is happy, content and satisfied at the thought of a married daughter to show off to her neighbours.

“I will go to Meryton as soon as I am dressed, and tell the good, good news to my sister Phillips. And as I come back, I can call on Lady Lucas and Mrs. Long.” (Ch. 49)

She is too ignorant to see what a kind of disgraceful union the marriage between Lydia and Wickham is;

“It is a delightful thing to be sure, to have a daughter well married.” (Ch. 53)

She also fails to see the embarrassment of Elizabeth when she asks Bingley if he had seen the announcement of the marriage in the newspaper, as well as the pain caused by her rudeness when she insults Darcy, who saved the respectability and honour of the family, in contrast with her too polite and obsequious behaviour towards Bingley.

“Thank Heaven’ he has some friends, though perhaps not so many as he deserves.” (Ch. 53)

“When you have killed all your own birds, Mr. Bingley, I beg you will come here and shoot as many as you please, on Mr. Bennet’s manor.” (Ch. 53)

            However, her stupidity and her continuous chatting and lamentations are very comic and humorous, though, she seems not to realise. She always wishes to have her own way. When things go wrong or her schemes are not realised, she becomes irritable and complains of her nerves. However, although she says much, she thinks and means very little.

“Not that I have much pleasure indeed in talking to anybody. People who suffer as I do from nervous complaints can have no great inclination for talking. Nobody can tell what I suffer! – but it is always so. Those who do not complain are never pitied.” (Ch. 20)

            As a mother, she is responsible for the superficial and frivolous character of the two younger children, who she supports in their capriciousness.

“Elizabeth had frequently united with Jane in an endeavour to check the imprudence of Catherine and Lydia; but while they were supported by their mother’s indulgence, what chance could there be of improvement?” (Ch. 37)

            Mrs. Bennet is convinced that her daughters should be grateful for having her as a mother. However, due to her selfishness and ignorance, she has seriously damaged her daughters. She has passed her limitations and silliness onto her younger empty-headed daughters, and in addition to this, she is a cause of pain and embarrassment for Jane and Elizabeth.

            She is really an incompetent and poor mother and it is not too difficult to understand all of Darcy’s perplexities when contemplating the prospect of having her as a mother-in-law.

            On the other hand, Mr. Bennet is also somewhat of a failure as a father. He is certainly a likeable character, witty and intelligent, but he is also a poor family man. In my opinion his faults are even greater than those of his wife because since he is a smart man, with a wide knowledge, he could do something about the attitude of the wife in order to change things, rather than making fun of her in front of their daughters, which is humiliating for the woman and wrong for the children who lose the respect for their mother.

            Mr. Bennet made an unwise marriage.

“Her father, captivated by youth and beauty, and that appearance of good humour which youth and beauty generally give, had married a woman whose weak understanding and illiberal mind, had very early in their marriage put an end to all real affection for her. Respect, esteem, and confidence had vanished forever…” (Ch. 42)

When his love for the wife disappeared, he shut himself into his library, amongst his books, along with the countryside his only enjoyment. In short, he washed his hands of any responsibility towards his family, leaving all the burden of the education of his daughters on his ignorant and silly wife.

            He let his children down, especially his younger daughters. He calls them ‘silly’ and ‘ignorant’, but does nothing to correct their behaviour.

“From all that I can collect by your manner of talking, you must be two of the silliest girls in the country. I have suspected it some time, but I am now convinced.” (Ch. 7)

 Such behaviour is partly a result of his carelessness, yet Mr. Bennet seems able only to laugh at Kitty’s and Lydia’s attitude, rather than controlling them.

“Her father contented with laughing at them, would never exert himself to restrain the wild giddiness of his youngest daughters;” (Ch. 37)

His weakness as a father is seen also when he let Lydia go to Brighton, despite Elizabeth’s warnings.

“If you were aware of the very great disadvantage to us all, which must arise from the public notice of Lydia’s unguarded and imprudent manner; nay, which has already arisen from it, I’m sure you would judge differently in the affair.” (Ch. 41)

            All of these episodes reveal his indifference for the life of his family and his failure as a father.

            Furthermore, Mr. Bennet has no financial sense. He is the owner of a house in Longbourn and an estate with a good income of two thousand pounds a year. But unfortunately for his daughters, after his death, all his property must pass through the male line, and since he has no sons, his home and estate will go to a distant cousin, Mr. Collins. Mrs. Bennet’s father was a lawyer and only left his daughter a small amount of money. This is a great concern for Mrs. Bennet, however, Mr. Bennet does seem to be at all troubled about it.

            He spends all his income without thinking about the future of his wife and daughters, apart from regretting this unwise behaviour of not saving any money, when he realised he wouldn’t be able to give Lydia even a small dowry. Only the disaster of Lydia’s elopement forces him for a moment to face the truth of his failures as a father.

“Mr. Bennet had very often wished, before this period of his life that, instead of spending his whole income, he had laid by an annual sum, for the better provision of his children, and of his wife, if she survived him. He now wished it more than ever.” (Ch. 50)

It takes the foolish behaviour of his younger daughter to get him to leave his beloved library and go to London, a city which he strongly detests, in search of her.

            Elizabeth is the only daughter to whom he is close. She is clearly his favourite and is the only one with whom he can have any meaningful conversation;

“I must throw in a good word for my little Lizzy… Lizzy has something more of quickness than her sisters.” (Ch. 1)

In fact, when she went to Kent he wrote her a letter to hurry her return and when she finally came back, he shows her his affection and happiness.

“Mr. Bennet say voluntarily to Elizabeth, ‘I’m glad you are come back Lizzy.’” (Ch. 39)

His love and concern for his daughter is clearly demonstrated when, after the talk with Darcy and his request for Elizabeth’s hand in marriage, he worries about Lizzy’s future and happiness. He gives him his consent, but he warns his daughter against a marriage, like his own, ‘unequal’ and ending in disgrace and misery. It is ironic that he gives her such advice before her marriage to her ‘perfect match’.

“Let me advise you to think better of it. I know your disposition, Lizzy. I know that you could be neither happy nor respectable, unless you truly esteemed your husband; unless you looked up to him as a superior. Your lively talents would place you in the greatest danger in an unequal marriage…” (Ch. 59)

He doesn’t want his favourite daughter to make the mistake that he once did. However, when Lizzy told him about Darcy’s generosity to Lydia, he is delighted and sardonically comments, as he usually does, that now he does not need to repay him. His irresponsibility and seriousness do not leave him.

“…So much the better. It will save me a world of trouble and economy… I shall offer to pay him tomorrow; he will rant and storm about his love for you, and there will be an end of the matter.” (Ch. 59)

            Despite being her father’s favourite child, Elizabeth understands all of his faults. She loves her father and she thinks that, “though with some peculiarities, he has abilities… and respectability” (Pg. 154). She also is aware that her parent’s marriage is an unhappy one and Mr. Bennet is a failure as a husband and a father.

“Elizabeth, however, has never been blind to the impropriety of her father’s behaviour as a husband. She had always seen it with pain…” (Ch. 42)

            In fact, Mr. Bennet has good qualities, but he does not take anything seriously. He is as guilty as his wife, for the suffering of his older daughters and silliness of his younger children. The parents do not change by the end of the novel. They do not learn from their mistakes: the superficial Mrs. Bennet continues chatting and complaining of nonsense and Mr. Bennet remains closed in his study amongst his books.

            Luckily, despite such parental figures, Elizabeth, on the contrary, is strong enough to grow up and see clearly her initial wrong judgements. At the end of the novel, she is finally able to make correct choices, recognising her mistakes caused by prejudices. Darcy and Elizabeth’s marriage is the triumph of love over pride and prejudice.

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