『오만과 편견』속 남성성에 관하여: 아버지 베넷을 중심으로

Mr. Bennet’s Failed Fatherhood in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice

Although previous criticisms have barely explored Mr. Bennet in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, he is a crucial male figure that showcases a failed fatherhood threatened by the new type of man, Mr. Gardiner in the novel. This essay focuses on Mr. Bennet’s failure of teaching morality to his children as well as his poor management of economy, and compares his shortcomings with Mr. Gardiner’s capabilities. Such comparison between the two different male characters is more importantly contextualized within the transitional period from the pre-industrial age to the industrial age. Tracing Mr. Bennet’s invisibility throughout the story, this essay argues that the landed-gentry Mr. Bennet’s diminishing masculinity is not only threatened, but also outstripped, by the newly ascending middle-class masculinity during the nineteenth-century industrialization. This study further contributes to enriching current scholarship of masculinity in Austen’s oeuvre.