Yes! He's one of the most loving fathers that comes to mind. Another, who was also an adoptive father, would be Silas Marner, who was exilded and rejected but discovered joy and devotion through loving a child.
In terms of bad fathers it's difficult to be much worse than Fyodor Karamazov. Neglectful, cruel, self- centered, and goads one son to almost kill him and his other - bastard - to actually do it.
On the good, I think Arthur Weasley is almost Fyodor's opposite: loving, gentle, courageous. One gets the sense everything he does is for his children.
This raises an interesting problem. Fyodor is a much more interesting character than Arthur Weasley, no? What does it say about us that unalloyed goodness is basically boring?
Interesting question 🤔 One notably good father that comes to mind is Reverend Boughton in Home by Marilynne Robinson. My heart ached as I read that book. His relentless love and hope for the redemption of his son Jack, his joy at being home with his children, and his stubborn faith in Christ. Not a perfect father, but a faithful one.
Jeremiah Land of Peace Like a River by Leif Enger is a wonderful, if imperfect, father. His unconditional and sacrificial love for his children quietly moves the story to its climax. His faithfulness through great suffering is a beautiful example to his young children.
We had a great discussion of this at our book club. Some of the ladies felt that he was a hideously negligent father in that his absence and inattention allowed for the violence directed at his daughter, which forced her brother to act as her protector, a sequence of events that ruined his life. The first duty of a father is to reliably protect. Or is it? Interesting thing to consider.
Interesting conclusions from some of the ladies in your book club! This book sure does lend itself to deep discussion. I have to disagree with their conclusion, though. I was certainly frustrated with Jeremiah’s inaction, at times, but that in no way absolves Davy of his own guilt.
Davy did not simply act to protect his sister and family. He refused to trust his father. Davy was not forced to act; he drew Finch and Basca into a trap and committed double murder.
Jeremiah, like the prophets of old, wrestled with God over how he should handle the situation first with Finch and Basca and then with Davy, but he chose to submit and obey. So we are left to wrestle with Jeremiah and his seeming inaction. In the end, for me, because of his fierce, sacrificial love and faithfulness, he is a good father and a beautiful example of unflinching faith to his children.
Doctor Thorne in Anthony Trollope's Doctor Thorne - an adoptive father and when his adopted daughter is shunned for her illegitimate origin, he refuses to be accepted as a guest where she is not welcome.
Mr. Septimus Harding in Trollope's The Warden, Barchester Towers, and the Last Chronicle of Barset - the best depiction of a biological father that I can think of.
Jean Valjean in Les Miserables - another adoptive father
Best Austen father - Mr. Morland barely appears fully in Northanger Abbey, but his down to earth manner and good sense still make themselves felt.
Bad fathers:
Trom, King of Glome in Till We Have Faces - entirely believable, it's a relief when he dies.
Worst Austen father - Sir Walter Elliot in Persuasion is an utter narcissist.
Dickens note: Our Mutual Friend has four prominent sets of fathers and daughters.
-Jenny Wren's father is bad due to his addiction.
-Rokesmith is a bad father because he a bad man.
-Gaffer Hexam tries to be a good father but due to his own bitterness is a controlling one.
-Reginald Wilfer is a good man who provides for his family but seriously henpecked, so he only gets to be a good father to the one child who seeks him out.
OK, and I love that book, and I love the father—but! It’s his own overprotectiveness that almost prevents the boy from his salvation at the end. The father says good people are all hiding from each other, and even though he knows that’s a problem, he can’t overcome it! What’s great about that is the father presents a truly complicated case.
In no particular order: Robert March (Little Women), Friedrich Bhaer (Little Men, Jo's Boys), Martin Penderwick, Robert Boughton, Esben Wingfeather, Matthew Cuthbert (Anne of Green Gables), Caleb Garth (Middlemarch), Charles Ingalls
Definitely Fyodor Karamazov for bad fathers. I’m not sure about good fathers. I think of Atticus Finch but he’s a bit distant at times. I like Paul’s suggestion of Arthur Weasley.
Lavrans (in Kristin Lavransdatter) is, I think, a very admirable father despite his flaws. Erlend in the same book is a complicated father, but I don’t think we can come down on him as bad.
If we’re talking Jane Austen, I loved the dad in Emma! That’s a matter of personal taste, and I will say he’s definitely not the best father, but he loves his only daughter very dearly and Emma feels very loved in return. And not to spoil the ending, but I think what Emma (and another character) ends up doing for her father is very sweet.
In the world of pulp novels… right now I’m spelunking through some of the Michael Connelly novels, whose main leads (Bosch and Haller) are pretty lousy dads, but they do want to be better. Each having a daughter softens them up… by having a child, they now see their own life and their own actions in a completely new light. In a way I enjoy that, it shows how important children are on one’s purpose in life, takes one out of the “it’s just me against the world” to realize how deeply connected we are with those around us. But don’t look up to them as dads! LOL
I know you’re reading the gospels at the moment, can I give a shout out to St. Joseph? The man who stepped up, who taught Jesus to work with his hands and how to be a man in the world. Tons of books written about him- I have a huge devotion to St. Joseph 😀
Having a daughter ought to fix whatever’s broken in just about any man. Two of my five kids are girls and they’re the song in my heart. Yes, re St. Joseph. Highly under-appreciated. I’m Orthodox and he doesn’t get the press in the East that he gets in the West; that’s a shame.
The good fathers are rare. I especially love Arthur Weasley, Jean Valjean, Pa Ingalls, and Bob Cratchit. How about Hans Huberman in The Book Thief, Matthew Cuthbert in Anne of Green Gables, and Otto Frank in Diary of Anne Frank?
Have enjoyed reading this post and comments. As a daughter of a beautiful man, the wife of another beautiful man, and the step-mother of another beautiful man, I'm just going to use the "complicated" card. What makes a real or fictional father good or bad? Is it their treatment of a child, or the ultimate impact on that child's development as a person (which includes adapting to the bits of parenting that we may have wished were present but weren't) that makes a father good or bad? How much is culturally and generationally determined? I think often father's in literature are used as the launch pad for the protagonist forging their own identity, and that the percieved "lack" within the father is an integral part of the protagonist becoming a worthy man. So "good" / "bad"? "Wisdom shall be justified by her children".
As others have mentioned Sir Walter Elliot in Persuasion. He has no redeeming quality, he's not abusive or wrathful, but his ego is what makes him march and gets in his way of any relationship with his daughters. (And there is plenty of evidence of the result of his poor parenting throughout the book. Although, he didn't parent alone.)
And I loved the mention of Joseph that one reader made. Indeed, he was an unusual and very good father .
He’s interesting too because he doesn’t even seem to love or admire Anne at all. The other less-than-perfect Fathers in Austen at least love their daughters.
Several bad father examples came to mind instantly.
Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamozov: Fyodor
Austen's Persuasion: Sir Walter Elliott
Stegner's The Big Rock Candy Mountain: Bo Mason
Sadly, names of great fathers came a little slower, but I don't think that is for lack of great fathers. I just think that there are a lot of complicated father figures that dominate literature and thus take up a lot of space in my memory. The only obvious examples that come to mind quickly are from Michael O'Brien novels. I might also say Rhett Butler in Mitchell's Gone with the Wind. I noticed someone in the comments shared Matthew Cuthbert (Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables) and I agree wholeheartedly.
I vote for Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol and Leto Atreides in Dune.
Paul Atreides of Dune is a terrible father, as are probably most of the men in that book.
Jean ValJean in Les Miserables.
The husband in The Frozen River
Most of the fathers in Lisa Genova's books are pretty good. Her More or Less Maddy discusses a teen who becomes bipolar and how her family tries to support her.
I guess I would say that books aren't very interesting when there is good parenting. So maybe the question isn't going to give many good results? Consistent, loving parenting is kind of boring.
I think Harry Potter, The Giver, Wizard of Earthsea, Enders Game, The Lord of The Rings, West With Giraffes, The Guncle, Plainsong all have good mentors, but maybe bad fathers.
Yes! I think that’s right: There’s an inverse relationship between the quality of the parenting and the quality of the story—the worse the parenting, the better the story.
Matthew Cuthbert was a father who quickly saw and loved Anne, who had never known the love of a parent.
Yes! He's one of the most loving fathers that comes to mind. Another, who was also an adoptive father, would be Silas Marner, who was exilded and rejected but discovered joy and devotion through loving a child.
Silas Marner is such a good father figure and not mentioned enough!
I’m so ignorant. I’ve never read any of the Anne novels, nor Silas Marner.
In terms of bad fathers it's difficult to be much worse than Fyodor Karamazov. Neglectful, cruel, self- centered, and goads one son to almost kill him and his other - bastard - to actually do it.
On the good, I think Arthur Weasley is almost Fyodor's opposite: loving, gentle, courageous. One gets the sense everything he does is for his children.
Agreed on both counts.
This raises an interesting problem. Fyodor is a much more interesting character than Arthur Weasley, no? What does it say about us that unalloyed goodness is basically boring?
Interesting question 🤔 One notably good father that comes to mind is Reverend Boughton in Home by Marilynne Robinson. My heart ached as I read that book. His relentless love and hope for the redemption of his son Jack, his joy at being home with his children, and his stubborn faith in Christ. Not a perfect father, but a faithful one.
Argh. I’ve never read anything but Robinson’s essays (which I don’t like). I need to read her fiction.
Do it!! Home ( and Gilead) both strongly focus on Fathers/ Fatherhood. They are slow paced and contemplative but worth the effort.
I agree. Loved Home.
I’ve heard such good things.
Jeremiah Land of Peace Like a River by Leif Enger is a wonderful, if imperfect, father. His unconditional and sacrificial love for his children quietly moves the story to its climax. His faithfulness through great suffering is a beautiful example to his young children.
We had a great discussion of this at our book club. Some of the ladies felt that he was a hideously negligent father in that his absence and inattention allowed for the violence directed at his daughter, which forced her brother to act as her protector, a sequence of events that ruined his life. The first duty of a father is to reliably protect. Or is it? Interesting thing to consider.
SPOILERS:
Interesting conclusions from some of the ladies in your book club! This book sure does lend itself to deep discussion. I have to disagree with their conclusion, though. I was certainly frustrated with Jeremiah’s inaction, at times, but that in no way absolves Davy of his own guilt.
Davy did not simply act to protect his sister and family. He refused to trust his father. Davy was not forced to act; he drew Finch and Basca into a trap and committed double murder.
Jeremiah, like the prophets of old, wrestled with God over how he should handle the situation first with Finch and Basca and then with Davy, but he chose to submit and obey. So we are left to wrestle with Jeremiah and his seeming inaction. In the end, for me, because of his fierce, sacrificial love and faithfulness, he is a good father and a beautiful example of unflinching faith to his children.
On my list! Covering my eyes as I glance down the page to avoid the spoiler :)
Yikes! Glad I marked it as a spoiler!
Worst father in the history of American literature: Pap Finn.
Yikes. Yeah, he’s an SOB.
Good fathers:
Doctor Thorne in Anthony Trollope's Doctor Thorne - an adoptive father and when his adopted daughter is shunned for her illegitimate origin, he refuses to be accepted as a guest where she is not welcome.
Mr. Septimus Harding in Trollope's The Warden, Barchester Towers, and the Last Chronicle of Barset - the best depiction of a biological father that I can think of.
Jean Valjean in Les Miserables - another adoptive father
Best Austen father - Mr. Morland barely appears fully in Northanger Abbey, but his down to earth manner and good sense still make themselves felt.
Bad fathers:
Trom, King of Glome in Till We Have Faces - entirely believable, it's a relief when he dies.
Worst Austen father - Sir Walter Elliot in Persuasion is an utter narcissist.
Dickens note: Our Mutual Friend has four prominent sets of fathers and daughters.
-Jenny Wren's father is bad due to his addiction.
-Rokesmith is a bad father because he a bad man.
-Gaffer Hexam tries to be a good father but due to his own bitterness is a controlling one.
-Reginald Wilfer is a good man who provides for his family but seriously henpecked, so he only gets to be a good father to the one child who seeks him out.
Yes, Trollope is so good with Fathers!
Wonderful list. Thanks!
The father in The Road by Cormac McCarthy is the first admirable father character I always think of.
Exactly my thought! Hard to think of being faithful as a father in more horrific circumstances.
OK, and I love that book, and I love the father—but! It’s his own overprotectiveness that almost prevents the boy from his salvation at the end. The father says good people are all hiding from each other, and even though he knows that’s a problem, he can’t overcome it! What’s great about that is the father presents a truly complicated case.
In no particular order: Robert March (Little Women), Friedrich Bhaer (Little Men, Jo's Boys), Martin Penderwick, Robert Boughton, Esben Wingfeather, Matthew Cuthbert (Anne of Green Gables), Caleb Garth (Middlemarch), Charles Ingalls
Yes, Caleb Garth is a good man. Love that reference. Same with Charles Ingalls. Who doesn’t love Pa?!
Also, I’ve heard several others point to Matthew Cuthbert. I need to read at least the first of those novels.
It’s such a wonderful book! You are in for a treat!
Definitely Fyodor Karamazov for bad fathers. I’m not sure about good fathers. I think of Atticus Finch but he’s a bit distant at times. I like Paul’s suggestion of Arthur Weasley.
I love Atticus Finch but agree on his flaws. I’m unsure about Arthur Weasley. Can a character be so good as to be uninteresting?
Lavrans (in Kristin Lavransdatter) is, I think, a very admirable father despite his flaws. Erlend in the same book is a complicated father, but I don’t think we can come down on him as bad.
Agreed on both fronts. And, my, what a series! Fantastic.
If we’re talking Jane Austen, I loved the dad in Emma! That’s a matter of personal taste, and I will say he’s definitely not the best father, but he loves his only daughter very dearly and Emma feels very loved in return. And not to spoil the ending, but I think what Emma (and another character) ends up doing for her father is very sweet.
In the world of pulp novels… right now I’m spelunking through some of the Michael Connelly novels, whose main leads (Bosch and Haller) are pretty lousy dads, but they do want to be better. Each having a daughter softens them up… by having a child, they now see their own life and their own actions in a completely new light. In a way I enjoy that, it shows how important children are on one’s purpose in life, takes one out of the “it’s just me against the world” to realize how deeply connected we are with those around us. But don’t look up to them as dads! LOL
I know you’re reading the gospels at the moment, can I give a shout out to St. Joseph? The man who stepped up, who taught Jesus to work with his hands and how to be a man in the world. Tons of books written about him- I have a huge devotion to St. Joseph 😀
Having a daughter ought to fix whatever’s broken in just about any man. Two of my five kids are girls and they’re the song in my heart. Yes, re St. Joseph. Highly under-appreciated. I’m Orthodox and he doesn’t get the press in the East that he gets in the West; that’s a shame.
The good fathers are rare. I especially love Arthur Weasley, Jean Valjean, Pa Ingalls, and Bob Cratchit. How about Hans Huberman in The Book Thief, Matthew Cuthbert in Anne of Green Gables, and Otto Frank in Diary of Anne Frank?
Love Hans Huberman, too!
I came to add Bob Cratchit and you beat me to it!
Have enjoyed reading this post and comments. As a daughter of a beautiful man, the wife of another beautiful man, and the step-mother of another beautiful man, I'm just going to use the "complicated" card. What makes a real or fictional father good or bad? Is it their treatment of a child, or the ultimate impact on that child's development as a person (which includes adapting to the bits of parenting that we may have wished were present but weren't) that makes a father good or bad? How much is culturally and generationally determined? I think often father's in literature are used as the launch pad for the protagonist forging their own identity, and that the percieved "lack" within the father is an integral part of the protagonist becoming a worthy man. So "good" / "bad"? "Wisdom shall be justified by her children".
Great set of questions here. And, yes, that’s the ultimate measuring stick, right? (Great reference.)
As others have mentioned Sir Walter Elliot in Persuasion. He has no redeeming quality, he's not abusive or wrathful, but his ego is what makes him march and gets in his way of any relationship with his daughters. (And there is plenty of evidence of the result of his poor parenting throughout the book. Although, he didn't parent alone.)
And I loved the mention of Joseph that one reader made. Indeed, he was an unusual and very good father .
He’s interesting too because he doesn’t even seem to love or admire Anne at all. The other less-than-perfect Fathers in Austen at least love their daughters.
Someone should write a short study on the fathers in Austen novels.
Several bad father examples came to mind instantly.
Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamozov: Fyodor
Austen's Persuasion: Sir Walter Elliott
Stegner's The Big Rock Candy Mountain: Bo Mason
Sadly, names of great fathers came a little slower, but I don't think that is for lack of great fathers. I just think that there are a lot of complicated father figures that dominate literature and thus take up a lot of space in my memory. The only obvious examples that come to mind quickly are from Michael O'Brien novels. I might also say Rhett Butler in Mitchell's Gone with the Wind. I noticed someone in the comments shared Matthew Cuthbert (Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables) and I agree wholeheartedly.
Matthew Cuthbert is rolling in the adulation here!
I vote for Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol and Leto Atreides in Dune.
Paul Atreides of Dune is a terrible father, as are probably most of the men in that book.
Jean ValJean in Les Miserables.
The husband in The Frozen River
Most of the fathers in Lisa Genova's books are pretty good. Her More or Less Maddy discusses a teen who becomes bipolar and how her family tries to support her.
I guess I would say that books aren't very interesting when there is good parenting. So maybe the question isn't going to give many good results? Consistent, loving parenting is kind of boring.
I think Harry Potter, The Giver, Wizard of Earthsea, Enders Game, The Lord of The Rings, West With Giraffes, The Guncle, Plainsong all have good mentors, but maybe bad fathers.
Yes! I think that’s right: There’s an inverse relationship between the quality of the parenting and the quality of the story—the worse the parenting, the better the story.