30 day book meme: Day 15

[regshoe]

15. Favourite fictional father.

There were several possibilities for this one—I could have gone with 'best dad in fiction', which would obviously have been Fëanor, but instead I've chosen one who's narratively interesting even if not always the best parent: Mr Gibson from Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell.

Gaskell is very good at complex father characters, but I think Mr Gibson is the best (as are all the other common features of her work in this book, actually, it's just a really good book). He's a well-intentioned person placed in a difficult situation by the chances of his own life and the strictures of society, and Gaskell portrays with beautiful detail his not always terribly wise choices in dealing with that situation. I love his relationship with Molly, his daughter—the simple love they have for each other through everything, and the painful little details of how that love gets more difficult as things come between them. His relationship with his step-daughter Cynthia is also great—unlike him and Molly, they're very different, and yet they're clearly very good for each other and come to care about each other a great deal, and after everything Cynthia went through earlier in life it's really heartwarming.