An Analysis of Mr. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice

朱瑞清

1. Introduction

Jane Austen （1775-1817） was born in the village of Steventon， Hampshire， in England. She was one of the most distinguished English novelists of the nineteenth century. As a daughter of a country clergyman， Austen acquired her education mainly by reading books， guided by her father and her brothers. Austen spent almost all her forty-two years in the small village and never married during her life time， which decided her limited living circle.

Pride and Prejudice （1813） is Austens second published novel， which is all about the life of an ordinary family in the countryside of England， and all about love， marriage and family. Austen set the story in the country of Hertfordshire， about fifty miles outside London， and the whole story happens at the end of the eighteenth century. The story begins with an interesting dialogue between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet， in which Mrs. Bennet shows her great anxiety to marry her daughters. The whole story is centered around this theme， and has a satisfying ending.

Pride and Prejudice is famous for the depiction of four marriage patterns： Jane and Bingley， Elizabeth and Darcy， Charlotte and Collins， and Lydia and Wickham. In fact， the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet is also a typical marriage pattern in the eighteenth century. At that time， a husband is no doubt the head of a family， but Mr. Bennet is a little different. The head of the family as he is， Mr. Bennet is more like a hidden character behind his wife and daughters in this novel.

The present thesis will focus on the character of Mr. Bennet. By analyzing Mr. Bennets social roles and personalities， it aims to make an in-depth explanation of this character and gain a more comprehensive understanding of the novel.

2. Main Roles of Mr. Bennet

At the very beginning of Pride and Prejudice， there is an interesting conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet， which shows readers an anxious mother and a calm father. After the conversation， Austen wrote， “Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts， sarcastic humor， reserve， and caprice， that the experience of three and twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character” （Austen 3）. That is how Austen positions Mr. Bennet. In Pride and Prejudice， he is just a supporting character. It does not mean this role is not important； on the contrary， Mr. Bennet is an indispensable character in this novel. As the only man in the Bennets family， he plays two different roles， the role as a husband and the role as a father.

2.1 Mr. Bennet as a Husband

Mr. Bennet is a witty and intelligent gentleman. Although his marriage is not that pleasant， he still retains the precious traits without any bad addictions. When Mr. Bennet is young， he chooses his wife merely on the basis of beauty and wealth， without considering the illiberality of her mind. Failing to choose a satisfying mate， Mr. Bennet plays mostly a passive role in their marriage.

Many people think that the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet is a tragedy. Actually， it was not Austens focus to depict such a marriage mode. It was out of the original intention of the novelist， but it is interesting to study their marriage mode. What Austen wrote about resembles what she had experienced in her real life. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet is also a miniature of the society in the eighteenth century. Women， at that time， were regarded as “frail vessels in need of protection”. It was naturally believed in that patriarchal society that women were obedient to their husbands.

2.1.1 A Balance Keeper in the Marriage

Without any marital happiness of emotional and intellectual resonance between the couple， Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are bonded in an unhappy and boring marriage. With the superficial attraction fading away， “respect， esteem， and confidence had vanished forever” （Austen 202）， but life still needs to move on. Mr. Bennet “was not of a disposition to seek comfort for the disappointment which his own imprudence had brought on in any of those pleasures which too often console the unfortunate for their folly or their vice” （Austen 202）. From this aspect， we can see the basic quality of a gentleman who is better than most of the husbands under the same conditions.

Mrs. Bennet is a typical negative character in Pride and Prejudice. As a neurotic mother of five unmarried daughters， her only concern is to marry off all of them. Lacking in education and guidance， she can never give her daughters any real help. During the many years of marriage， the gap between the couple has been more and more obvious. It needs wisdom and tolerance to sustain their weak marriage. Faced up with his wifes uncertain nerves and nonstop chattering， he has a special response. First， Mr. Bennet has an ironic and cynical sense of humor. He often uses it to irritate Mrs. Bennet. Most of the time， he is unwilling to talk to or discuss with her， but he also likes to keep his wife guessing； it is a useful strategy to arouse her curiosity. Secondly， it is wise for Mr. Bennet to cultivate a hobby which would bring him some entertainment in the unpleasant life. Whenever life gets too uncomfortable for him， he will choose his library for some leisure time. Although the marriage is not that happy as Mr. Bennet has expected， there exists a sense of harmony in their marriage. The basic elements of their marriage are weak， but the result is not that bad.

2.1.2 An Irresponsible Head of the Family

Mr. Bennet is the only man in his own family， so he is no doubt the core leading character in different affairs. Actually， Mr. Bennet is an avoider of all the trivial things in the family. His only proper business seems to stay in his library and to enjoy the pleasure of reading. Readers can easily understand his circumstances because he has a very silly and noisy wife. Due to her intellectual weakness and narrow vision， Mr. Bennet has a decent excuse to escape from all the responsibilities. In the end， as the head of a family， especially as the husband and father， Mr. Bennet is not a qualified one.

As a husband， Mr. Bennet has the responsibility to maintain the parental image. Though Mrs. Bennet is far from a good wife and mother， he has the duty to respect his wife at least. Sometimes he exposes Mrs. Bennet to the scorn of their children which brings shame on himself too. Actually， the wiser way to deal with this problem is to educate her and to mould her rather than to blame or to mock her.

As a husband， it is a little cowardly for him to take refuge in the library. In order not to be bothered by his wife and family affairs， he chooses to hide but not to change. It can also be called laziness. It is his indulgence and uncommunicativeness that have made his wife have her full swings in educating their younger daughters. As the head of his family， he does not act effectively in the education of his younger daughters. In fact， Mr. Bennet has the insight， the intelligence and the ability to set a good example for all his daughters and it is not a difficult job for him to cultivate another three Elizabeths， but he has not done so. Lydias elopement with Wickham is a direct result of his irresponsible behavior.

2.2 Mr. Bennet as a Father

Father was an important role in Austens time， and most of the families in England were patriarchal. In reality， everyone in the family listened and obeyed to the father， but in Austens novels， fathers were not as formidable as they were in the real world. Take Mr. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice as an example. He is the father of five daughters， but he has a sense of alienation from his family most of the time.

2.2.1 A Warm Protector of Elizabeth and Jane

Mr. Bennet is a father who likes his second daughter Elizabeth best， which can be easily seen from the very beginning of the novel. Why does Mr. Bennet see Elizabeth as his favorite daughter？ The first reason may be that they have a common hobby——reading books. That can explain why Elizabeth is the only person who can entirely understand her father in his family. There is one kind of soul-to-soul connection between Mr. Bennet and Elizabeth， so their communication is conducted more freely， and even an eye contact will help them understand each other. For example， in chapter 18， when Mary is trying to making an exhibition of herself at the ball held in Netherfield， Elizabeth wants to prevent her but in vain， so she asks her father for help with an eye contact. Smart as Mr. Bennet is， he takes the hint and Mary is persuaded not to sing another song at last.

For Elizabeth， Mr. Bennet is definitely a good father who has protected her from a tragic proposal from Mr. Collins. Elizabeth is forced by her mother to say yes to the proposal at that time， and no one can help her out of the dilemma. Mr. Bennet clearly knows that it is indeed a good choice for the family because the rest of the family will not be driven away when he dies if Lizzy accepts the proposal， but it will be a tragedy for her because she deserves a much better man. Considering his own unfortunate marriage， he says to his daughter in a peaceful way， “An unhappy alternative is before you， Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents” （Austen 97）. We can see his usual humor between the lines. “Your mother will never see you if you do marry Mr. Collins， and I will never see you again if you do” （Austen 97）. Reading this sentence， all the readers will smile knowingly for Mr. Bennets wisdom and his warm protection for his favorite daughter.

2.2.2 A Negative Criticizer of Three Younger Daughters

As a father of five unmarried daughters， Mr. Bennet loves all of them. But among them， of course， he loves Elizabeth best. He treats his five daughters in so obviously different ways that it is a little unfair for the rest of his daughters. The more time and energy he puts into Elizabeths affairs， the more love he shows to her. Mr. Bennet is， to some degree， a little prejudicial.

In comparison with his elder daughters， the three younger daughters are not valued by Mr. Bennet. From an objective perspective， they are educated almost by their silly mother who has set a bad example for them， but that is not an excuse for Mr. Bennet to stop teaching them. It is his serious dereliction of duty that results in their stupid behaviors. In chapter 7， when Catherine and Lydia are hungry for discussion of the topic of the officers in Meryton， Mr. Bennet rebukes them to their face， “you must be two of the silliest girls in the country. I have suspected it some time， but I am cooly observed” （Austen 23）. It is clearly mean for a father to say such things to his own daughters. Although Mr. Bennet is used to laughing at the sillier members in his family， the words are too strong for two underage girls.

The most absurd incident of the family in this novel is the elopement of Mr. Bennets youngest daughter Lydia with an officer named Wickham. This scandal strongly shocks Mr. Bennet， for he has never thought things would come to this point. Before Lydia leaves home for Brighton， Mr. Bennet once says， “we can never expect her to do it with so little expense or inconvenience to her family as under the present circumstances” （Austen 197）. As a father， the impropriety of Mr. Bennets behavior directly results in the elopement scandal of the family. Informed of the bad news from Brighton， Mr. Bennet “could not speak a word for full ten minutes” （Austen 248）. Under this circumstance， he begins to swallow his own pain. After this incident， Mr. Bennet makes self-criticism and reflects on his irresponsible behaviors. “Who should suffer but myself？ It has been my own doing， and I ought to fell it” （Austen 255）.

It is not only the failure of his marriage but also the cowardliness in his personality that cause Mr. Bennets avoidance of his responsibilities as a father and a husband. He could have been a better father who knows how to compliment， love， and exercise patience with his daughters without harsh criticism， ridicule and impatience.

Mr. Bennet is the only father character in Pride and Prejudice， and compared with the reality in the eighteenth century， Austen depicted this role in a different way. In the plot of the novel， Mr. Bennet gives up his dominance in his family， and is not a qualified husband or father. Sometimes， he is only a symbol without practical responsibilities and values. By analyzing the different roles he plays in his family， it is easier to better understand his self-contradictory characteristics.

3. Conclusion

Many scholars have discussed the reason why Austen made up the image of such a husband and father. Some scholars think that Mr. Bennet is a representative of the paternity in Austens time， and Austen created this role to express her dissatisfaction with the paternity. In the eighteenth century， father was regarded as the highest authority of one family. However， there are exceptions in Austens works because almost every father depicted in her stories is not that perfect. For example， Mr. Bennet is witty and humorous on the one hand， and negative， irresponsible and cowardly on the other hand. From this aspect， we can see Austens criticism of this character， which reveals the female consciousness of Austen.

Mr. Bennet is a supporting male character in Pride and Prejudice， who is also a victim of the norm of traditional marriages during that period of time. As a female novelist， Austen strongly opposed the inequalities between men and women. She was a smart writer in highlighting the female characters by depicting the supporting male characters. Considering the social background of the novel and the marriage patterns in Austens time， the novel Pride and Prejudice has its own obvious progressive significance.

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