Wednesday, February 4, 2015
The Parenting Styles of Mr. & Mrs. Bennet
It's quite easy to see that the parenting styles of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet differ greatly. Where Mrs. Bennet constantly has her nose in her children's business, trying to marry them off, Mr. Bennet's nose is almost completely absent! We can definitely see Mrs. Bennet cares for her children greatly. She wants to ensure that all her daughters find nice husbands and a stable life. She is concerned for their futures and their well-being. It seems like Mr. Bennet tries to stay out of his children's future and only goes to meet with Mr. Bingley after much prodding from his wife. So far we have only really seen his affection for Elizabeth and we've seen him reffer to the other girls as silly... Could he be trying to raise independent women who think for themselves and who "don't need no man"? Or could he just blatently not care? Does Mrs. Bennet's constant interference create issues in the lives of the girls? I'm interested to hear everyone's opinions on both Mrs. Bennet's parenting style and Mr. Bennet's parenting style!!
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Morgan, it seems most likely to me that Mr. Bennet is raising his daughters to be more independent. As you mentioned, so far we've only seen his affection towards Elizabeth, who is most independent out of the sisters. I believe Mr. Bennet wants to give his daughters a chance to live freely for as long as they can before they need to be married off. Maybe he doesn't think his daughters will have a difficult time finding husbands and do not need to rush into a marriage...
ReplyDeleteRachel, I really like what you said and I agree. I think Mr. Bennet's love for Elizabeth is one of the reasons why she is able to be so independent. Mr. Bennet has had confidence in Elizabeth, so she was able to find confidence in herself. I'm curious to know how you interpret Mrs. Bennet's actions thus far and how they may have effected the girls?
ReplyDeleteWe may all agree that Mrs. B is over the top with her actions, but we have to remember the time in which all this occurs. Like we said in class, if women didn't marry off, they would be completely out of luck; however, Mrs. B's interference is bothersome. I couldn't imagine how I would feel if my own mother acted that way, and I'm sure the daughters are not too fond of how Mrs. B acts either. When it comes to Mr. B, I think he's just being a man. How many of us can honestly say that our fathers have shown any interest in our love lives? They may show some, but it is really the mothers who always show the most interest and support, and maybe that's why Mrs. B thinks it is her place to act in such a way.
ReplyDeletePaige, I love your comment so I wanted to jump in and say that my dad actually showed an interest in my love life and my sister's, but not until later in life. My sister is MUCH younger than I am, so when I was married the first time, dad wasn't really watching to closely- lesson learned! Now, later in life, he has really been active in all aspects of our lives and VERY in tune with us and our spouses. Perhaps it's an experience thing...none of the girls have married yet or even presented a contender so he hasn't had to be involved. He seems to me to be the kind of dad that would say no if they guy wasn't a good one, but not until he has too. Mrs. B is so loud and pesty, I wonder if he isn't just trying to stay out of her way and keep her out of his hair until he has to step in?
ReplyDeleteLadies, I love hearing your comments about Mr. and Mrs. B! After continuing to read and finishing what is due for today in class, I'm personally beginning to like Mrs. B less and less and Mr. B more! I was shocked that Mrs. B told Elizabeth that she would no longer see her if she didn't marry Mr. Collins! Also, the way she treats Miss Lucas is rather unpleasant.... Mr. B, on the other hand, has begun to pique my interest even more! I loved his response to Mrs. Bennet's request that Elizabeth be forced to marry Mr. Collins: "Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do." Mr. B is clever and actually interested in what Elizabeth wants, not just what he thinks might be best for her. I actually think Mr. B might be my favorite character up to this point. I love how he interacts with Lizzy and I love how he acted at the Netherfield Ball!
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