In life, Jane Austen enjoyed a close relationship with her father. After his death, Austen wrote these words to her brother Francis: “His tenderness as a father, who can do justice to?” (Austen-Leigh 18). She refers to him as “an excellent Father” and writes of “the sweet, benevolent smile which always distinguished him” (144). But what of the fathers in Austen’s novels? Some show exemplary characteristics, while others leave much to be desired. In Persuasion, Austen describes Sir Walter Elliot as “a…
