What novels that Jane Austen wrote contained weak father figures?

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2026-02-27 21:45

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All of Jane Austen's published novels had weak fathers who were important in their plots. In four of them, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion, the heroine's own father was weak.

In Northanger Abbey, Mr. Tilney is greedy and completely inconsiderate of other peoples' feelings. (Mr. Moreland, the Catherine's father, is not really developed much.)

In Sense and Sensibility, one father figure was Sir John Middleton, who basically ignores his family to go hunting and pursue other sports. The Dashwood girls' brother, Mr. Dashwood, is dominated by his wife, and so could not be a good father for his son.

(Mr. Dashwood, the girls' father, is not developed, as he died soon at the beginning of the novel.)

In Pride and Prejudice, Mr Bennet has failed both to educate his daughters and to provide dowries for them.

In Mansfield Park, Lt. Price is a drunk. Sir Thomas Bertram, who is much more important as a father figure, is unable to raise his children with any sense of moral values. His second son, Edmund, seems to have acquired them on his own. The other children clearly lack direction.

In Emma, Mr. Woodhouse is almost entirely concerned with avoiding things dangerous to health and avoiding being separated from Emma.

In Persuasion, Sir Walter Elliot, is a thoroughly self-centered fop.

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