Phatic talk is, roughly, small talk. It isn't about communicating tremendously important stuff. Apparently women bear th
-
dbentley666 — 6 years ago(March 13, 2020 05:58 PM)
When I taught P and P I always emphasized that Austen is fairly critical of Mr B. He's a failure as a father and as a husband, however charming (that word again!) and witty he might be. I taught Austen as a Stern Moralist!
-
dbentley666 — 6 years ago(March 13, 2020 06:07 PM)
True. Least embarrassing. But he's always undermining his wife and daughters in public. I think Austen wants us to realize that under his charm he's really not a very ethical person. The only characters who undergo genuine change are Elizabeth and Darcy. Mr B, like all the others, stays exactly the same.
-
Bee — 6 years ago(March 13, 2020 06:11 PM)
They point that out though, I thought those flaws were supposed to be obvious. He's a little too cynical and doesn't take society seriously even though they have no sons and would benefit from networking. So he does fail his family in that way but I still find him charming and I think you're supposed to -after all he saves Lizzy from Collins!
But maybe I just want to like him because I suck at networking