Fathers in Jane Austen The role of fathers and father figures in Jane Austen's novels, showing how the destiny of the daughter is dependent upon the father's character and foibles. Fathers in Jane Austen puts forward the view that fathers hold the key to the novels and the destinies of the daughters Austen portrays. Mr Bennet is completely detached (Pride and Prejudice); Mr Woodhouse is self-obsessed (Emma); Sir Walter Elliott is vain and profligate (Persuasion); Sir Thomas Bertram is emotionally anorexic (Mansfield) - these and other fathers leave their daughters exposed to destitution, seduction, financial ruin and unhappiness. IP Duckfield shows that the heroines of Austen's novels are caught in a trap made by their fathers' failure to observe their parental duties, and argues that the fathers' weaknesses lie at the heart of Austen's novels.