Have you ever wondered what Mr Bennett did in his room all day?

[CurlewKate]

Obviously he was hiding from his wife and daughters-but what did he actually do all day? He read-but I wonder how many books he would have owned. He had a farm to run-but presumably he had a manager to do most of that. Household accounts? Letters to his brothers in law? Chaucer fanfic?

Nothing to do with intellect. I asked what any of them did and so did some other posters. We are allowed to bring in other related questions.

"Where Mrs B says her daughters have nothing to do in the kitchen."

She only said that to try to impress Mr Collins. Which backfired because it was a mark against Elisabeth in Collins's mental ledger!

@weirdoboelady "I despair of the intellect of MNers. The question is about Mr Bennett. More than half the attempted answers are about the girls."

It's my thread. I give full permission for any Janean diversion anyone fancies.

I digress again 
Never heard of Cassandra Mortmain @MercyChant66 but just ordered I capture the castle on that basis.

The reviews sound wonderful, thank you.

Is there anything else in the text to support that? I thought the girls relative domestic uselessness was supposed to indicate this is a family who are spending more on help instead of making sensible financial decisions. And to ladle on how fucked they were going to be if Mr B died without them being suitably married off.

I imagine Mr B was adding to his cabinet of curiosities, playing chess against himself and going down academic rabbitholes like Reverend Casaubon in Middlemarch.

I always presumed he had quite a bit of business to sort out. But I do like the idea of him just sitting down to read the papers without all the girls around.

I think the fact that Lydia and Kitty spent so much time ripping up and remaking perfectly good bonnets might show that they were bored.

@Stayathomegardener I'm hugely impressed you lived in Nicholas Culpepper's old home as I'm fascinated by him and his work. I own a copy from 1650s ;). I presume you lived in a rambling old vicarage?

Apologies for going off track ...

Pornhub.

🤣

It was sold in 2021 when my DM had to go into care.

I hadn't lived there full time since still 1990 but still dream about it.

N. C's grandfather was the rector of the village so you are correct.

If you DM me I'll send you the historical details and try to send you a video my daughter made just before sale although wifi here is dire.

I too have a very battered 1650 herbal

Perhaps he was working on his own non-fiction magnum opus, "Being Quite at Leisure: How to Raise Two Children So Sensible They Make Up For All The Rest".

Read his books, had a snooze, poured over his accounts trying to make them balance with all the ribbons and dresses and smelling salts he was shelling out for for the girls and Mrs Bennett.

I really don't think people had more boring evenings before technology than we do now! They seem to have socialised a lot more, playing cards, reading aloud, playing music and singing together, going to the theatre. A lot of it sounds more fun than an evening spent in front of the TV/phone/computer.

I guess people didn't think so, as if they had they wouldn't have started watching TV instead!

@TrashedSofa "Is there anything else in the text to support that? "

Well, it was certainly the pattern for most middle class/upper middle class women of the time.

t is one of the (many) things that annoyed me about the Keira Knightley film version, it shows the girls and Mrs B in the kitchen preparing food whereas this is explicitly a "no, no" in the book.

Yes, indeed. Mrs Bennet is most offended when Mr Collins asks which of the girls cooked his dinner!

”Have you ever wondered what Mr Bennett did in his room all day?”

Netflix and chill.

It's always irritated me that that P&P went to stupid, unnecessary, and textually-contradicted lengths to "show" the social gulf between Darcy and Elizabeth, instead of trusting the viewer to understand it from the context and the characters like the Beeb version.

Oh I'm so happy - you're in for an absolute treat! 😊

I think sewing alone took up a lot of women’s time. I imagine they might take it in turns to read aloud/play and sing for the others, as well as talking.

I would imagine he often poured over and sighed over the accounts! All those bonnets and dresses to buy!!

she sounds wonderful @stayathomegardener

@QueenOfThorns I had forgotten that!! Good point.

My dd saved I Capture the Castle to read the day after she finished her A levels. I was so nervous because I recommended it! I needn't have worried.