Contents

Sketch the character of Mrs. Bennet.

Mrs. Bennet is a stupid, marriage-mongering and single-minded lady. Her estimation as a lady of mean understanding’ is perhaps her best introduction, because even in her first appearance in the novel, she looks abnormal. Her creator the novelist Jane Austen describes her as-

“Her mind was less developed. She was a woman of mean understanding, little information and uncertain temper. When she was discontented, she fancied herself nervous. The business of her life was to get her daughters married, its solace was visiting and news.”

These few lines describe Mrs. Bennet in totality and whatever we read in the novel about her is either an illustration or confirmation of what has been described above. Mrs. Bennet has five daughtes and all are young and marriageable. She is always, day and night on a look out for suitable matches for her young daughters. There is no other thought in her mind. She wants to get her daughters marry by any hook or crook, without a thought of right and wrong, or moral and immoral. She is blissfully ignorant about all such consideration and every now and again Mrs. Bennet makes fool of herself she is so engrossed with the idea of marring her daughters that he does not even think of suitability or compatibility of marriage partners. Perhaps her own unhappiness in marriage had made herself insensible to the happiness in marriage even of her own daughters.

Mrs. Bennet can go to any foolish extent to entangle a suitable match. In order to get Bingley for her eldest daughter, Jane, she asks her to go to Netherfield Park in rain on horse back so that she may get an opportunity to stay overnight at Netherfield because Bingley is to return at nightball. The foolish mother puts the moral propriety of a young girl staying at somebody, else’s place in night to minds and also endangers her own daugther’s life by compelling her to travel in rain and wind. This expresses her extreme foolishness and stupidity.

Nobody can have any doubt that it is Mrs. Bennet who is responsible for the frivolous and flirtatious conduct of her two youngest daughters, Catherine and Lydia. She encourages them and defies her husband when he refuses to accept her proposal to go on Brington when the regiment moves there from Meryton. Mr. Bennet, in the mistaken belief of preserving deserving peace, permitted Lydia to go to Brington. And when Wickham elopes with Lydia, she blames her husband for not allowing them all to go to Brighton and thus, bringing about his social scandal.

The vulgarity of her taste and lack of proper up-bringing are patently visible and discernible in whatever she does, says or thinks. She does not feel grateful to her own brother when he helps the family after Lydia’s elopement. She does not consider the Lydia-Wickham, affair as immoral, the moment, she learns that Wickham may be persuaded to marry and starts to talk of the marriage clothes for Lydia. Her earlier conduct at Netherfield on two occasions once when she visits Jane who was lying undisposed and later at the ball when she foolishly talks about the possibility of Jane-Bingley alliance in the hearing of Darcy, are enough to show her foolishness and stupidity. Such incidents may be multiplied.

Summing up, it may be said that unlike Mr. Bennet, she has a great significance in the development of the action of the novel. Besides, providing mirth and delight, she contributes significantly. The Elizabeth-Darcy and the Jane-Bingley affair owe their complication to her. The Lydia-Wickham affair is also largely the result of her foolishness and indiscretion. The discussion clearly shows that Mrs. Bennet is a foolish and stupid character despite of being very significant for the development of the plot of the novel.