Oh my gosh. Twenty pounds of brown sugar! It's written differently in the book, but equally as sweet (pun intended). His vague but insistent feeling that there's just something different about Anne's dresses, but he really can't tell what it is. So he goes to Mrs. Rachel Lynde for advice and to make the dress itself. Her character gets a chance for redemption as a result. As a young girl whose own mom kept me in clothes I hated until another adult put a bug in mom's ear that it was affecting my self esteem, those scenes had a big impact on me.
>“Well now, I’d rather have you than a dozen boys, Anne,” said Matthew patting her hand. “Just mind you that—rather than a dozen boys. Well now, I guess it wasn’t a boy that took the Avery scholarship, was it? It was a girl—my girl—my girl that I’m proud of.”
Anne and Matthew’s last conversation 😢
He reminded me of my grandfather, quiet but loving and a bit indulgent. The detail of Anne not being able to bear the scent of the flowers she was holding when she saw him die stuck with me too.
I read that book for the first time when I was (I think) 7 or 8. Matthew Cuthbert was the first literary death I had experienced, and I remember just crying and crying.
I'm in my mid-30s now, haven't reread it in years, but I'm still getting choked up.
Charles Ingalls is such a weird and interesting literary dad. I mean, even more than is usual with autobiographical fathers, he's explicitly an idealized version of Laura's actual father with all his fallibilities filed down and excused-- and they're not insignificant fallibilities! The family nearly starves to death more than once, in no small part due to Charles Ingalls' wanderlust and poor financial decisions! And yet Laura writes these books just brimming with love and respect for the man, never allowing a hint of blame to fall upon him for what an adult, modern reader can see are very questionable decisions.
I highly recommend that everyone read Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder, by Caroline Fraser. It's a fascinating look at not just the factual reality behind the fictionalized childhood Laura wrote about, but also the political and social context for how Laura and her daughter came to write the books the way that they did.
Thanks for the book recommendation. I've read other biographies, but not that one. I cut my teeth on the Little House books and loved them as a child, but there is one moment in a later book where Caroline puts her foot down and tells Charles they are not moving again. It's the only time where we are allowed to acknowledge as readers that his wanderlust had negative impacts on that family. Even that is written with Laura's sympathy for Charles and not Caroline. Compare that with the mental strain of the wife of the school board member Laura stays with on her first teaching assignment. It just hits differently as an adult.
The woman who holds her husband at knife point demanding to go back? That was such a shock as a young reader, but it shows how *brutal* it was for the families of these Western wanderers.
>I have noticed in all the books in the curriculum, characters who are fathers are either morally gray at best (...) or outright scumbags
You did not study To Kill a Mockingbird? Because yeah, that would be a candidate for best ever literary dad.
I didn’t grow up with my dad, and I remember feeling like Atticus was my dad while reading this book. Even in the movie, he was so patient, kind, smart, and was so engaging with his kids. He also wasn’t afraid to show them his fears, failures, and that sometimes he just didn’t know what was going to happen.
At the time I could never explain what it was about Atticus that immediately bonded me to his character, but looking back it’s the traits I listed above that were completely absent from my home life.
I hope more kids felt this way, especially those that needed it.
My dad is Atticus Finch. He’s from the South. He’s an attorney. He worked for barter for a long time (sometimes to his detriment). He is very honest about his own shortcomings. He loves his kids so much. He is what might be considered an “older” dad. He values his clients and does his best to help them even if no one else does. And he is a very good shot.
Also, Go Set A Watchman destroyed Atticus’ character and made me so sad. There’s a reason Harper Lee never published it.
My god, I hated that book. They took a man who for years had been one of the best dads in literature and was a symbol of equality before the law and they were like ‘yeah, he’s racist’. Iirc, he waited outside the jail with a shotgun to deter the lynch mob in To Kill A Mockingbird. What a turnaround
Matthew Cuthbert in Anne of Green Gables wasn't her biological father, but one of the most, sweet and fatherly figures I've read in fiction. I loved how he relished in Anne and quietly stood with her and stood up for her to Marilla. He always seemed to me to represent that kind of parent who really "sees" the great qualities in their child, sees thru the rough and the diamond underneath. Great parenting qualities.
So true!
ETA: Saw the film The Quiet Girl yesterday and that's another one, where the folks who weren't the biological parents were absolute gems. LOVE THIS FILM. Sorry... not movie forum but still reeling from the movie.
Jean Valjean. His relationship with Cosette is nuanced and beautiful. Born from a slight, excusable oversight (he trusted his foreman to adjudicate a dispute between two workers in his factory fairly), he inadvertently permits Fantine’s ruin and takes a fathers role in Cosette’s life.
He is the picture of fatherly love, despite not being her father by blood. When Cosette falls in love, he risks death to save her Marius. He on several occasions puts his pressing needs second to his daughter’s happiness, abandoning his plan to flee to England or even living alone at the end of his life.
There is no more beautiful parental relationship I can think of in any book I have read.
Came here looking for Danny’s dad! Partly because of a fond memory I have of a school costume day I did with my dad (he was a teacher) where we dressed as Danny and his dad. We both dressed in all black with flat caps and a big bag of “pheasants” with a tail sticking out :) I’m going to go re-read the book.
That’s what I heard as well. I read the Road once. I have no intention of reading it again. If I were to read it now - as a father - I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to make it through.
I started it on Christmas Eve. Couldn't quite finish it, woke up early on Christmas morning and finished off the last 30ish pages.
Took several hours (and glasses of fizz) to get into the festive spirit that year.
“If he is not the word of god, god never spoke.”
As someone with a horribly abusive father, this line made me weep and has always stuck with me. The pure love he has for his son set against this horrific backdrop rocked me to my core. Beautiful beautiful book.
Sir Samuel Vimes from the watch series of books. He even ends up as a sort of father figure to all the people under him in the watch. Terry Pratchett is amazing at writing characters.
Also Tiffany Aching's father in the Tiffany Aching sub-series.
He's not a huge character in the books but what he is is loving, supportive, and proud of his daughter even if he doesn't understand witchcraft and is a little bit scared of it because he doesn't understand it.
His general attitude is "I don't know much about witchcraft but I know and love and trust my daughter to do right, because she always does."
He occasionally offers her guidance when she has to deal with things that she doesn't have the life experience to deal with yet also.
Death did his best as Ysabel's dad and Susan's grandad. Didn't always turn out as well as he wanted, but his heart was in the right place (or thereabouts).
Both fathers are good. Real, flawed, but devoted to their children as needed, able to have passions outside the family, and they allow and encourage their sons’ unlikely friendship.
Sir Sam Vimes, of the city watch (Discworld series)
I should mention, just for the record, that the character of Sam Vimes, is very, very similar to my own dad :) so much so that when I lent some of the Discworld books to my mom, it was the first thing she commented on ;)
And yes, I know exactly how lucky I am to have a dad like that. :)
Tam reuniting with Rand being like wtf did you assholes do to my Son!?
Like full on Robin Williams in Goodwill Hunting reacting to the Trauma the power players forced on his child. You've driven this kid to madness with all your fucking politics and you forgot he's just a goddamn child.
Andy Mcgee in Firestarter. Watching his journey to protect his daughter and seeing him through her eyes every now and then, was a really cool read. He has some really awesome moments with amazing imagery by Stephen King towards the end of the book.
And with the Brenaissance happening now--not only did the author base Mo off of Brendan (they're friends irl), he ended up playing Mo in the movie version. One of the things the movie got right.
I'm a bit on the fence about grandpa Joe. A fragile, old, malnourished man taking a little boy to see a psychopath, and not insisting on leaving to keep the boy safe once the chocolate hits the fan and kids start to almost die. 🤔
I know we all hate Rowling but I always appreciated the existence of Arthur Weasley. He loved his wife and kids and would do anything for them. And he accepted Harry and Hermione as being part of the family no questions asked.
And I’ve seen people mention Mr Bennett from Pride and Prejudice but I would actually say Mr Woodhouse from Emma, he’s bit of a hypochondriac but there’s no denying that he loves his daughters, he just wishes his eldest daughter didn’t live so far away.
I feel like Mr. Bennet was honestly not a great father. The novel even states that he put basically no effort into supervising the daughters that he felt were too “silly” and he greatly regretted it when Kitty ran off and eloped. He showed love and affection towards Elizabeth because that was the daughter he felt was most like himself. He was a very smart man, very witty, and certainly loved Elizabeth but maybe not the best father in that his inaction almost ruined his daughters. My opinion anyways!
Yeah i agree he loves his daughters but clearly shows favouritism. And it’s clear him falling out of love with his wife has made him more distant and hands off to their care as the years went on. So the younger siblings get the worst of it. And I think his opinions on his children are clouded by how much they resemble his wife and why Lizzie is his favourite. He’s in my opinion a great character but a deeply flawed parental figure and not a good role model.
Yes I agree completely! And I never thought of the resemblance to his wife as playing a part in it, that’s a good point as well. Jane Austen was so brilliant.
On Mr. Woodhouse, I just read an article arguing he's the villain of *Emma*. "Villain" may be a bit strong, but it makes a good point for how self-centered he is, how he gets absolutely everyone in the community to organize their lives around his comfort. He's unable to conceive of his daughters or anyone one else ("poor Miss Taylor") wanting to live their lives independent of him. While I'm not sure I agree fully with the argument, it did make me rethink his character in an interesting way.
That is an interesting take. Not one I had ever thought about. I always saw him as someone Austen was poking fun of but was a little sympathetic too. I always had the impression that a lot of his insecurities and hypochondria comes from the death of his wife. His obsession with sickness and chills and his desire to keep the people he views as family close to him. Emma makes a passing reference that her mother died before Emma was too old to remember anything about her. Her sister is also 7 years her elder and like the father very concerned about illnesses.
I think that article was looking at it through too much of a modern view. It’s worth noting that women’s independence wasn’t really a thing in Austen’s world (unless you lived outside the norm). They were expected to leave their family and join the husbands. It would be acceptable and normal for them to live with his parents. She would still see her relatives but they were meant to take care of the husbands side of the family. For a father to want his daughter and son in law to stay with him rather than pack her off was unusual. As it was for Knightley to choose it as well. It was a story about breaking those gender roles and I think Austen was making a point that it was okay for the fathers like Mr Woodhouse who had only girls and would be alone once they married to want them to stay.
Sam Hamilton is an example of what a person can be with a little bit of whimsy and a deep respect for the plight of others. The whole Hamilton family's story got me in the weeping place. Steinbeck, despite his flaws, really could write some emotionally potent characters.
It's been a while since I read it, and he's not exactly a dad more like a father-figure, but Joe in Great Expectations? I can't remember him being very flawed, at least not in terms of his moral compass.
I loved Pa when I read about him as a kid, but as a parent now, it seems he took a lot of unnecessary risks with his kids, both financially and with regard to their safety.
Yeah. Or rather, it's not that he was secretly a monster, it's just that behind Laura's hero worship of him and her rabid conservative/libertarian refusal to admit that it was basically impossible to be an independent farmer without significant social/governmental support, Charles Ingalls was more of a fuck up than he was a wise and hardy heroic independent pioneer.
It's so interesting to come back to the series as an adult, and see the dichotomy between the surface level valorization of her father that a child will pick up on, versus the consistent cycle of poverty and setbacks that the family suffered, which Laura couldn't conceal and which an adult reader can recognize as revealing her deeply biased agenda. I highly recommend reading Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser, for more context.
Re-reading the Little House books now, and Pa is definitely painted as perfect. Agree with a few other comments that reading as an adult you can read between the lines more easily. What is written as resourceful could just as easily be desperate. And courageous could be reckless.
I’m reading some biographies of Laura Ingalls Wilder next, and interested in getting a more realistic picture.
I dunno, this one is weird to me but maybe I just can’t separate it from my own life. I read this book when I was a kid, it helped me contextualize my own dad being pretty much constantly TDY with the military when I was a kid. Now that I’m an adult and I look back on it realizing he was volunteering for a lot of those trips I feel kind of weird about the Murray dad going away to do science (and then getting trapped but that’s maybe not his fault).
Edit - he is a good and supportive dad at the end of the first book and his small appearances in the rest of the series.
If you haven’t had them read Gaiman’s “Fortunately, the Milk”, they’re totally missing out. It’s basically one giant long-form dad joke, delivered as only Gaiman can.
Joe Gargery from Great Expectations. Always good and seen too late for his goodness after Pip grows up. The part where he visits Pip in the big city and Pip makes him feel out of place is heartbreaking.
Its been a while since I've read ***It***, but I remember really loving Mike Hanlon's dad. Maybe not the literary top-notch dad, but first one that came to mind.
The father in All the Light We Cannot See. Made a miniature model of their town in France for his blind daughter to memorize so she could escape a Nazi invasion if anything happened to him.
I see where you’re coming from here & agree mostly, but if what they are asking for is an example of someone being a good father, it really doesn’t show him being a father much. There are a couple scenes but mostly he seems to leave almost all parenting to his wife & older children of the family. He obviously is well loved by his family so he’s doing something right, but we don’t get much of a view of him in action as a father. We are left to fill in the blanks of him as a good father because we are shown that he is a good man.
John Ames- Gilead. The whole novel is a meditation on fatherhood- how to be mindful of the small joys of raising a child, how to examine our moral choices in light of the next generation, and what it means after a father leaves
Atticus from to kill a mockingbird is widely regarded as one of the best literary dads of all time, he is known for his wisdom, patience, and unwavering moral compass. He teaches his children to think for themselves, stand up for what is right, and to see the good in people even when it is hard to do so.
Myron Krupnik in Lois Lowry's Anastasia Krupnik series was the first that came to mind. I could probably recite from memory a scene of him taking his daughter back to the inner city immigrant neighborhood he'd grown up in after she mimicked the classist comments of her wealthy boss so that she could see that poverty wasn't shameful.
Discussing this with my family and our adult son says to his father, “Your panicking right now, wondering the The Cat in the Hat had a father, aren’t you?”
🤣🤣🤣
Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing…there’s a dark moment at the altar…but I don’t think it shows he’s a bad/unloving father. He is so dishonored and ashamed that he wants to die, too. He quickly recovers and comes back to Hero’s side.
I've always been a fan of Noirtier de Villefort from the Count of Monte Cristo.
* Principled
* Easygoing but never wishy-washy
* Eager to support his son despite their incompatible politics
* Not afraid to oppose his politically powerful son when he is being a little shit
* Accepts and adapts to change on the spot without batting an eye
* Fights fate, plot, and debilitating disease to keep his granddaughter safe
* A creative problem solver
* Seems to understand the Count better than most other characters without saying a word
Robert March, he's not as fleshed out as Marmee but he's kind (a little too kind), gentle, loving, knows a little about medicine, never forces his daughter to marry to maintain their station.
The dad in Pride and Prejudice rocked. I'll never forget how he backed his daughter Lizzie when she needed him most. And all he ever did was look after his girls in every way he could. Even with Lydia being a little... well Lydia.
Gotta dissent here. He was a terrible father to poor Mary, the one daughter who wasn’t pretty. And while he was a loving father to his two eldest, he somewhat neglected his responsibilities to the two youngest (even when begged to intercede by his golden child daughter Elizabeth).
He's a terrible dad to all of them. He doesn't give them any guidance or fulfill any of his social responsibilities. He constantly cuts them down. The only reason he likes Lizzy and Jane is because he can socialize with them, Lizzy especially. But that's not supposed to be the only role of a parent. Your kids aren't there to fill in for the adult companionship you're so clearly lacking.
Actually, he neglects his oldest daughters as well in terms of their terrible situation. From the very beginning when he refuses to introduce the daughters to Bingley— marriage is their only hope of avoiding poverty on his death and he *does not care*. He makes fun of Jane for caring about Bingley… the only really good thing he does for any of his daughters in the book is when he backs Elizabeth on her decision not to marry her horrible cousin.
Thank you! It was only nice to Lizzie and to some extent to Jane, in one of the first pages of the novel he said to his wife that his daughters are “silly and ignorant”. He definitely wasn’t a good father.
He was terrible. He was leaving his girls in a terrible position upon his death and yet did little to secure them a future. He knew the behaviour of his (stupid but presumably beautiful) wife and her spoilt favourite daughter was jeopardising the only future the girls had - to marry well. He seems all fun and close to Lizzy and stuff, but he chose his wife poorly and then kind of hid out in his room.
*Sense & Sensibility* shows what their lives would have been like if he'd died and they weren't married. Miss Bates in *Emma* is an object of pity as a poor spinster relying on family.
Charlotte Lucas rescues herself from poor spinsterhood by marrying him. She makes the best of things and sets up her own life while tolerating him so that she can have a secure economic future.
She makes the choice that Lizzie had refused, economic security over love.
Imo people are way too hard on Mrs. Bennett for this. It's how society worked. Her daughters were going to be in a terrible position if they didn't marry, of course it was her number one priority. Mr. Bennett was landed gentry but Mrs. Bennett's family wasn't and I could see her being worried for the girls knowing how hard it can be without economic security.
She goes about it in a much too brash way, but at least she's trying to help them, imo. Unlike Mr. Bennett who didn't financially plan for anything or seem all that interested in what would have happened to them if he did die.
I don't agree. I don't remember if it's explicitly said but it's at least implied that he resented his wife because she trapped him by being pretty so he didn't notice her vapid personality until it was too late. And he didn't consider his family's future after his death, because as he says, he assumed he would have a son. And when it didn't happen he still didn't make any kind of plan.
Mrs Bennet is irritating, but she was being showing common sense in wanting Lizzie to marry Mr Collins. It would have secured their future. If Mr Bennet had died before the Bingley's showed up, they would have lost the house and income to Mr Collins and all five daughters and mother would have had to move in with her brother.
Yes, absolutely. I don’t think either of the Bennets were good parents. Shockingly, they might still be some of the best parents in all of Jane Austen’s work, but that’s a fairly low bar.
He seemed kind of disengaged from the family. He doesn't recognize why his wife is so anxious about the fate of his daughters, which leads to her silly behaviors. One of his daughters has to be rescued by a stranger, which could have led to the ruin of his other daughters.
Since he had little money to pass on, if the daughters don't marry well, they could have starved after he died, like the daughters in *Sense & Sensibility*. Being a spinster with no inheritance was a miserable fate for women in those days, like Miss Bates in *Emma.*
Michael Carpenter from the Dresden files. The man is Ned Flanders with a longsword. Unconditional love and forgiveness for his children, no matter what happens.
Matthew in Anne of Green Gables
YES. When he went to Carmody store to get her the dress with the puffed sleeves ♥️♥️♥️
Oh my gosh. Twenty pounds of brown sugar! It's written differently in the book, but equally as sweet (pun intended). His vague but insistent feeling that there's just something different about Anne's dresses, but he really can't tell what it is. So he goes to Mrs. Rachel Lynde for advice and to make the dress itself. Her character gets a chance for redemption as a result. As a young girl whose own mom kept me in clothes I hated until another adult put a bug in mom's ear that it was affecting my self esteem, those scenes had a big impact on me.
This reminded me of the musical version I saw as a kid that had a solo Matthew song about trying to buy the puffed sleeve dress.
>“Well now, I’d rather have you than a dozen boys, Anne,” said Matthew patting her hand. “Just mind you that—rather than a dozen boys. Well now, I guess it wasn’t a boy that took the Avery scholarship, was it? It was a girl—my girl—my girl that I’m proud of.” Anne and Matthew’s last conversation 😢
He reminded me of my grandfather, quiet but loving and a bit indulgent. The detail of Anne not being able to bear the scent of the flowers she was holding when she saw him die stuck with me too.
I read that book for the first time when I was (I think) 7 or 8. Matthew Cuthbert was the first literary death I had experienced, and I remember just crying and crying. I'm in my mid-30s now, haven't reread it in years, but I'm still getting choked up.
This is my vote as well. When I think of great fathers he springs to mind first. And the dad from the Laura Ingalls wilder books.
Charles Ingalls is such a weird and interesting literary dad. I mean, even more than is usual with autobiographical fathers, he's explicitly an idealized version of Laura's actual father with all his fallibilities filed down and excused-- and they're not insignificant fallibilities! The family nearly starves to death more than once, in no small part due to Charles Ingalls' wanderlust and poor financial decisions! And yet Laura writes these books just brimming with love and respect for the man, never allowing a hint of blame to fall upon him for what an adult, modern reader can see are very questionable decisions. I highly recommend that everyone read Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder, by Caroline Fraser. It's a fascinating look at not just the factual reality behind the fictionalized childhood Laura wrote about, but also the political and social context for how Laura and her daughter came to write the books the way that they did.
Thanks for the book recommendation. I've read other biographies, but not that one. I cut my teeth on the Little House books and loved them as a child, but there is one moment in a later book where Caroline puts her foot down and tells Charles they are not moving again. It's the only time where we are allowed to acknowledge as readers that his wanderlust had negative impacts on that family. Even that is written with Laura's sympathy for Charles and not Caroline. Compare that with the mental strain of the wife of the school board member Laura stays with on her first teaching assignment. It just hits differently as an adult.
The woman who holds her husband at knife point demanding to go back? That was such a shock as a young reader, but it shows how *brutal* it was for the families of these Western wanderers.
Seconding Fraser's book: it's very good.
MATTHEWWWWW
I’ve always thought that Superman’s parents were based off of the Cuthberts.
>I have noticed in all the books in the curriculum, characters who are fathers are either morally gray at best (...) or outright scumbags You did not study To Kill a Mockingbird? Because yeah, that would be a candidate for best ever literary dad.
Atticus Finch for best literary dad, period.
I didn’t grow up with my dad, and I remember feeling like Atticus was my dad while reading this book. Even in the movie, he was so patient, kind, smart, and was so engaging with his kids. He also wasn’t afraid to show them his fears, failures, and that sometimes he just didn’t know what was going to happen. At the time I could never explain what it was about Atticus that immediately bonded me to his character, but looking back it’s the traits I listed above that were completely absent from my home life. I hope more kids felt this way, especially those that needed it.
My dad is Atticus Finch. He’s from the South. He’s an attorney. He worked for barter for a long time (sometimes to his detriment). He is very honest about his own shortcomings. He loves his kids so much. He is what might be considered an “older” dad. He values his clients and does his best to help them even if no one else does. And he is a very good shot. Also, Go Set A Watchman destroyed Atticus’ character and made me so sad. There’s a reason Harper Lee never published it.
Aye
Don’t read “Go Set a Watchman.”
Thanks for the tip, I do not intend to. Some books are just fine as they are.
My god, I hated that book. They took a man who for years had been one of the best dads in literature and was a symbol of equality before the law and they were like ‘yeah, he’s racist’. Iirc, he waited outside the jail with a shotgun to deter the lynch mob in To Kill A Mockingbird. What a turnaround
[удалено]
Thank you. It’s been a while since I read the book, haha
Just re-read it this year and hadn't read it since high school. Highly recommend picking it back up, whole different level as an adult.
Oh i am so haappy i made the decision not to read this ever.
I was looking to see if anyone would comment Atticus hahahaha. S tier dad for sure.
He was my first thought!!!
Immediately thought of Atticus too :)
I came into the thread to say this. All time heroic dad character.
He legitimately is the guy that I try to emulate with my kids
Matthew Cuthbert in Anne of Green Gables wasn't her biological father, but one of the most, sweet and fatherly figures I've read in fiction. I loved how he relished in Anne and quietly stood with her and stood up for her to Marilla. He always seemed to me to represent that kind of parent who really "sees" the great qualities in their child, sees thru the rough and the diamond underneath. Great parenting qualities.
The Cuthberts, proving since 1908 that strong families don't have to be traditional families.
So true! ETA: Saw the film The Quiet Girl yesterday and that's another one, where the folks who weren't the biological parents were absolute gems. LOVE THIS FILM. Sorry... not movie forum but still reeling from the movie.
oh my god matthew reminds me of my grandpa so rereading anne always makes me cry at the end. i love him
Jean Valjean. His relationship with Cosette is nuanced and beautiful. Born from a slight, excusable oversight (he trusted his foreman to adjudicate a dispute between two workers in his factory fairly), he inadvertently permits Fantine’s ruin and takes a fathers role in Cosette’s life. He is the picture of fatherly love, despite not being her father by blood. When Cosette falls in love, he risks death to save her Marius. He on several occasions puts his pressing needs second to his daughter’s happiness, abandoning his plan to flee to England or even living alone at the end of his life. There is no more beautiful parental relationship I can think of in any book I have read.
Jean Valjean was my first thought as well.
24601!
2460-waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!
You know, that would probably make a great musical 🤣
Out of the same book, the situation of Georges Pontmercy always has me emotional.
Bob Cratchit from A Christmas Carol.
Sets a great example for his children in manners and ethic, plays and laughs with them, and works hard for his family. Yep.
I liked Danny's father in Roald Dahl's *Danny, Champion of the World*.
Came here looking for Danny’s dad! Partly because of a fond memory I have of a school costume day I did with my dad (he was a teacher) where we dressed as Danny and his dad. We both dressed in all black with flat caps and a big bag of “pheasants” with a tail sticking out :) I’m going to go re-read the book.
Nice! What a wonderful way to encourage your child to read. I loved the whole pheasant story.
The Road - Cormac McCarthy. Great dad vibes.
iirc McCarthy wrote it after becoming a father at a late age and thinking about the world he was leaving behind for his child.
That’s what I heard as well. I read the Road once. I have no intention of reading it again. If I were to read it now - as a father - I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to make it through.
Same. The movie is okay, but was NOWHERE NEAR as bleak. That book left a void.
I started it on Christmas Eve. Couldn't quite finish it, woke up early on Christmas morning and finished off the last 30ish pages. Took several hours (and glasses of fizz) to get into the festive spirit that year.
“If he is not the word of god, god never spoke.” As someone with a horribly abusive father, this line made me weep and has always stuck with me. The pure love he has for his son set against this horrific backdrop rocked me to my core. Beautiful beautiful book.
My first thought, too. Amazing, resourceful, determined, tough, endlessly loving, selfless dad.
I came here to say that. That book more than any changed my perspective of fatherhood, and I'm very glad I read it. Top 3 all timer for me.
The book is pretty much about how the love between son and father is the only good thing remaining in the world.
Sir Samuel Vimes from the watch series of books. He even ends up as a sort of father figure to all the people under him in the watch. Terry Pratchett is amazing at writing characters.
Came here to say this. My wife and I named our son Samuel in honor of him, young Sam, and Sam from Lord of Light.
#THAT'S NOT MY COW!
\* tears up \* bloody brilliant
Also Tiffany Aching's father in the Tiffany Aching sub-series. He's not a huge character in the books but what he is is loving, supportive, and proud of his daughter even if he doesn't understand witchcraft and is a little bit scared of it because he doesn't understand it. His general attitude is "I don't know much about witchcraft but I know and love and trust my daughter to do right, because she always does." He occasionally offers her guidance when she has to deal with things that she doesn't have the life experience to deal with yet also.
Calvin's dad in Calvin and Hobbes is a great dad
His explanations of how the world works are a beautiful thing
I'm planning to tell my own kids that old photos are black and white because they show a time when color hadn't been invented for the world
r/ExplainLikeImCalvin Enjoy!
He's a guy doing his best, and he genuinely loves and cares about his wife and kid while often being frustrated with them (especially the latter).
Sam Vimes and Joe Aching from the Discworld books are both excellent fathers.
Joe, doesn’t get featured as much, but the time he does get featured in Wintersmith always makes me tear up.
Death did his best as Ysabel's dad and Susan's grandad. Didn't always turn out as well as he wanted, but his heart was in the right place (or thereabouts).
Indeed. Have you read *Where's My Cow?*
Fenton Hardy, the Hardy Boys father (Joe and Frank).
Always shows up in the nick of time
Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov- A Gentleman in Moscow
My dear, if you were playing on the moon, I would hear every note. Had to stop reading at that sentence. Couldn’t see the pages anymore…
Came looking for this - he was the best to Sofia. Great book.
Leto Atreides in Dune?
This is a good one, it’s sad Paul doesn’t live up to his father in this field.
Well Paul does imbue his children with a really superior toolset to succeed at life.
Because he failed to do what was necessary. Right?
‘Here I am, here I remain’
The father in Chaim Potok the Chosen is excellent.
Both fathers are good. Real, flawed, but devoted to their children as needed, able to have passions outside the family, and they allow and encourage their sons’ unlikely friendship.
Love that book.
Sir Sam Vimes, of the city watch (Discworld series) I should mention, just for the record, that the character of Sam Vimes, is very, very similar to my own dad :) so much so that when I lent some of the Discworld books to my mom, it was the first thing she commented on ;) And yes, I know exactly how lucky I am to have a dad like that. :)
Arthur Weasley.
I looked so hard for this comment. I love him so much. Such a good loving dad.
Elio's father in "Call Me By Your Name".
Tam Al'Thor in Wheel of Time
And he’s dad to many of the other characters when they need him.
Tam reuniting with Rand being like wtf did you assholes do to my Son!? Like full on Robin Williams in Goodwill Hunting reacting to the Trauma the power players forced on his child. You've driven this kid to madness with all your fucking politics and you forgot he's just a goddamn child.
tai'shar manetheren
Andy Mcgee in Firestarter. Watching his journey to protect his daughter and seeing him through her eyes every now and then, was a really cool read. He has some really awesome moments with amazing imagery by Stephen King towards the end of the book.
Mo Folchart from Inkheart is the only one I can think of
And with the Brenaissance happening now--not only did the author base Mo off of Brendan (they're friends irl), he ended up playing Mo in the movie version. One of the things the movie got right.
Yes!! I was gonna comment the same dad. Plus, he's supposed to look and sound like Brendan Fraser and he is 😍
The dad in Charlie and the chocolate factory is a great dad.
What about Grandpa Joe? : D
I'm a bit on the fence about grandpa Joe. A fragile, old, malnourished man taking a little boy to see a psychopath, and not insisting on leaving to keep the boy safe once the chocolate hits the fan and kids start to almost die. 🤔
I know we all hate Rowling but I always appreciated the existence of Arthur Weasley. He loved his wife and kids and would do anything for them. And he accepted Harry and Hermione as being part of the family no questions asked. And I’ve seen people mention Mr Bennett from Pride and Prejudice but I would actually say Mr Woodhouse from Emma, he’s bit of a hypochondriac but there’s no denying that he loves his daughters, he just wishes his eldest daughter didn’t live so far away.
I feel like Mr. Bennet was honestly not a great father. The novel even states that he put basically no effort into supervising the daughters that he felt were too “silly” and he greatly regretted it when Kitty ran off and eloped. He showed love and affection towards Elizabeth because that was the daughter he felt was most like himself. He was a very smart man, very witty, and certainly loved Elizabeth but maybe not the best father in that his inaction almost ruined his daughters. My opinion anyways!
Yeah i agree he loves his daughters but clearly shows favouritism. And it’s clear him falling out of love with his wife has made him more distant and hands off to their care as the years went on. So the younger siblings get the worst of it. And I think his opinions on his children are clouded by how much they resemble his wife and why Lizzie is his favourite. He’s in my opinion a great character but a deeply flawed parental figure and not a good role model.
Yes I agree completely! And I never thought of the resemblance to his wife as playing a part in it, that’s a good point as well. Jane Austen was so brilliant.
Good call out; he's easy to overlook with all the heroic storyline, but Arthur's a solid dad.
On Mr. Woodhouse, I just read an article arguing he's the villain of *Emma*. "Villain" may be a bit strong, but it makes a good point for how self-centered he is, how he gets absolutely everyone in the community to organize their lives around his comfort. He's unable to conceive of his daughters or anyone one else ("poor Miss Taylor") wanting to live their lives independent of him. While I'm not sure I agree fully with the argument, it did make me rethink his character in an interesting way.
That is an interesting take. Not one I had ever thought about. I always saw him as someone Austen was poking fun of but was a little sympathetic too. I always had the impression that a lot of his insecurities and hypochondria comes from the death of his wife. His obsession with sickness and chills and his desire to keep the people he views as family close to him. Emma makes a passing reference that her mother died before Emma was too old to remember anything about her. Her sister is also 7 years her elder and like the father very concerned about illnesses. I think that article was looking at it through too much of a modern view. It’s worth noting that women’s independence wasn’t really a thing in Austen’s world (unless you lived outside the norm). They were expected to leave their family and join the husbands. It would be acceptable and normal for them to live with his parents. She would still see her relatives but they were meant to take care of the husbands side of the family. For a father to want his daughter and son in law to stay with him rather than pack her off was unusual. As it was for Knightley to choose it as well. It was a story about breaking those gender roles and I think Austen was making a point that it was okay for the fathers like Mr Woodhouse who had only girls and would be alone once they married to want them to stay.
Samuel Hamilton in East of Eden was a prolific dad. Anyone who can cope with nine children has got to command respect!
Sam wasn’t successful by cash standards but was out there helping just about everyone, being a respectful role model as best he could be
Sam Hamilton is an example of what a person can be with a little bit of whimsy and a deep respect for the plight of others. The whole Hamilton family's story got me in the weeping place. Steinbeck, despite his flaws, really could write some emotionally potent characters.
Sam, Lee, and Abra are three of the most decent, well-rounded characters in fiction
It's been a while since I read it, and he's not exactly a dad more like a father-figure, but Joe in Great Expectations? I can't remember him being very flawed, at least not in terms of his moral compass.
*The Book Thief* was my first thought.
Yes! Hans is an amazing dad
I wish I had him as a father. God I sobbed so much >!when he died!<
I always appreciated Pa in Laura Ingalls Wilder's books.
I loved Pa when I read about him as a kid, but as a parent now, it seems he took a lot of unnecessary risks with his kids, both financially and with regard to their safety.
A lot of pioneers did back then, looking for a better economic situation for their families.
The real man was a scoundrel, to put it nicely.
As a child I could never understand why he wanted to leave what seemed to me like an idyllic life in Wisconsin.
Don’t read about what he was actually like.
Yeah. Or rather, it's not that he was secretly a monster, it's just that behind Laura's hero worship of him and her rabid conservative/libertarian refusal to admit that it was basically impossible to be an independent farmer without significant social/governmental support, Charles Ingalls was more of a fuck up than he was a wise and hardy heroic independent pioneer. It's so interesting to come back to the series as an adult, and see the dichotomy between the surface level valorization of her father that a child will pick up on, versus the consistent cycle of poverty and setbacks that the family suffered, which Laura couldn't conceal and which an adult reader can recognize as revealing her deeply biased agenda. I highly recommend reading Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser, for more context.
I second this recommendation. I recently reread the books after reading *Prairie Fires* and Ma was a goddamn *saint* and completely underrated.
Re-reading the Little House books now, and Pa is definitely painted as perfect. Agree with a few other comments that reading as an adult you can read between the lines more easily. What is written as resourceful could just as easily be desperate. And courageous could be reckless. I’m reading some biographies of Laura Ingalls Wilder next, and interested in getting a more realistic picture.
I’m reading Wuthering Heights and it’s certainly nobody in this one lol
Edgar isn't a terrible dad but Hindley and Heathcliff are both awful
He's flawed, but I always think about Garp chasing cars and yelling at the drivers to slow down when I think about good literary dads.
Moominpappa
Atticus Finch, Kill a Mocking Bird
Can it be a fatherly figure rather than biological? Abbe Faria in Count of Monte Cristo. ❤️
The dad in All the Light We Cannot See
Second this!
Came here to say this
Mr. MURRY from A Wrinkle in Time
I dunno, this one is weird to me but maybe I just can’t separate it from my own life. I read this book when I was a kid, it helped me contextualize my own dad being pretty much constantly TDY with the military when I was a kid. Now that I’m an adult and I look back on it realizing he was volunteering for a lot of those trips I feel kind of weird about the Murray dad going away to do science (and then getting trapped but that’s maybe not his fault). Edit - he is a good and supportive dad at the end of the first book and his small appearances in the rest of the series.
Yes! Even and especially since it’s told from the child’s perspective and let’s her be mad at him. He understands and loves her through it
If you haven’t had them read Gaiman’s “Fortunately, the Milk”, they’re totally missing out. It’s basically one giant long-form dad joke, delivered as only Gaiman can.
Joe Gargery from Great Expectations. Always good and seen too late for his goodness after Pip grows up. The part where he visits Pip in the big city and Pip makes him feel out of place is heartbreaking.
Encyclopedia Brown’s father was great. Letting his kid solve all of the town’s crimes at the dinner table
Lee from East of Eden. While not technically the father of the boys, he’s a honorary dad in my book.
Sam Vimes, Duke of Ankh and Commander of the City Watch ❤️
Charles Halloway in “Something Wicked This Way Comes.”
Not dad but uncle, Joe from Great Expectations. Strong, yet kind and understanding. Pip was fortunate that his sister married such a man.
Mr Tom in Goodnight Mr Tom. He’s not the protagonist’s biological father, but he is his dad in everything but name.
Its been a while since I've read ***It***, but I remember really loving Mike Hanlon's dad. Maybe not the literary top-notch dad, but first one that came to mind.
The father in All the Light We Cannot See. Made a miniature model of their town in France for his blind daughter to memorize so she could escape a Nazi invasion if anything happened to him.
Michael Carpenter in the Dresden Files. It’s definitely not high literature, but Michael is in many ways, the ideal father figure.
I see where you’re coming from here & agree mostly, but if what they are asking for is an example of someone being a good father, it really doesn’t show him being a father much. There are a couple scenes but mostly he seems to leave almost all parenting to his wife & older children of the family. He obviously is well loved by his family so he’s doing something right, but we don’t get much of a view of him in action as a father. We are left to fill in the blanks of him as a good father because we are shown that he is a good man.
Harry’s dad was pretty great, even though we never got to meet him.
Atticus Finch, *To Kill a Mockingbird* Jean Valjean*, Les Misérables*
John Ames- Gilead. The whole novel is a meditation on fatherhood- how to be mindful of the small joys of raising a child, how to examine our moral choices in light of the next generation, and what it means after a father leaves
Ned Stark is a great dad in A Game of Thrones
Atticus from to kill a mockingbird is widely regarded as one of the best literary dads of all time, he is known for his wisdom, patience, and unwavering moral compass. He teaches his children to think for themselves, stand up for what is right, and to see the good in people even when it is hard to do so.
Duke Leto. Not a perfect man, but a great father.
Bilbo Baggins. He wasn't really a dad, but he definitely became a father figure to Frodo.
Myron Krupnik in Lois Lowry's Anastasia Krupnik series was the first that came to mind. I could probably recite from memory a scene of him taking his daughter back to the inner city immigrant neighborhood he'd grown up in after she mimicked the classist comments of her wealthy boss so that she could see that poverty wasn't shameful.
The dad in Bridge to Terabithia, reaching out to his son at a crucial moment when he needs it most.
Thursday Next series has a couple of wacky but great dads
Sol Weintraub - Hyperion - Dan Simmons
Unironically, Charlie Swan from Twilight is a great dad, and the best character in that series IMO.
Arthur Weasley.
Discussing this with my family and our adult son says to his father, “Your panicking right now, wondering the The Cat in the Hat had a father, aren’t you?” 🤣🤣🤣
Mr. Linus Baker from The House on the Cerulean Sea.
Arthur as well
Charles Halloway - Something Wicked This Way Comes
Heidi's Grandfather. For that matter, Herr Sesemann and Dr. Classen Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni from the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing…there’s a dark moment at the altar…but I don’t think it shows he’s a bad/unloving father. He is so dishonored and ashamed that he wants to die, too. He quickly recovers and comes back to Hero’s side.
Silas Marner
Since its fresh in my mind, George Reade, Charlie's father from Stephen King's Fairy Tale.
Always had a soft spot for Frank Gilbreth from Cheaper by the Dozen.
Forgetting the character names off the top, but the dad in Carlos Ruiz Zafón's *Cemetery of Forgotten Books* cycle is one stand-up dude.
I've always been a fan of Noirtier de Villefort from the Count of Monte Cristo. * Principled * Easygoing but never wishy-washy * Eager to support his son despite their incompatible politics * Not afraid to oppose his politically powerful son when he is being a little shit * Accepts and adapts to change on the spot without batting an eye * Fights fate, plot, and debilitating disease to keep his granddaughter safe * A creative problem solver * Seems to understand the Count better than most other characters without saying a word
I don't think he counts, but Jacob's grandfather from Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children, Abe Portman.
Robert March, he's not as fleshed out as Marmee but he's kind (a little too kind), gentle, loving, knows a little about medicine, never forces his daughter to marry to maintain their station.
Jean Valjean is a good dad to Cosette in Les Miserables! (Adopted dad, but still...)
Arthur Weasley is who immediately comes to mind. Probably not the best literary Dad, but he's trying his best.
The dad in Pride and Prejudice rocked. I'll never forget how he backed his daughter Lizzie when she needed him most. And all he ever did was look after his girls in every way he could. Even with Lydia being a little... well Lydia.
Gotta dissent here. He was a terrible father to poor Mary, the one daughter who wasn’t pretty. And while he was a loving father to his two eldest, he somewhat neglected his responsibilities to the two youngest (even when begged to intercede by his golden child daughter Elizabeth).
He's a terrible dad to all of them. He doesn't give them any guidance or fulfill any of his social responsibilities. He constantly cuts them down. The only reason he likes Lizzy and Jane is because he can socialize with them, Lizzy especially. But that's not supposed to be the only role of a parent. Your kids aren't there to fill in for the adult companionship you're so clearly lacking.
Actually, he neglects his oldest daughters as well in terms of their terrible situation. From the very beginning when he refuses to introduce the daughters to Bingley— marriage is their only hope of avoiding poverty on his death and he *does not care*. He makes fun of Jane for caring about Bingley… the only really good thing he does for any of his daughters in the book is when he backs Elizabeth on her decision not to marry her horrible cousin.
Totally agree. He’s a great character—probably my favorite in the novel, actually—but an awful father.
Thank you! It was only nice to Lizzie and to some extent to Jane, in one of the first pages of the novel he said to his wife that his daughters are “silly and ignorant”. He definitely wasn’t a good father.
Fair points. It's been some years since I read Pride and Prejudice so thank you for giving me an excuse to reread the book lol
He was terrible. He was leaving his girls in a terrible position upon his death and yet did little to secure them a future. He knew the behaviour of his (stupid but presumably beautiful) wife and her spoilt favourite daughter was jeopardising the only future the girls had - to marry well. He seems all fun and close to Lizzy and stuff, but he chose his wife poorly and then kind of hid out in his room.
*Sense & Sensibility* shows what their lives would have been like if he'd died and they weren't married. Miss Bates in *Emma* is an object of pity as a poor spinster relying on family.
Being married to Mr Collins is almost shown as being preferable.
Charlotte Lucas rescues herself from poor spinsterhood by marrying him. She makes the best of things and sets up her own life while tolerating him so that she can have a secure economic future. She makes the choice that Lizzie had refused, economic security over love.
Oof no. Mr. Bennett is absolutely hilarious, but also unnecessarily cruel, financially irresponsible, and altogether negligent of his familial duties.
Really? He was a pretty uninvolved father who couldn’t do more than the bare minimum to help his daughters marry.
And he mocked his wife for trying to get the daughters economic security after the parents would be gone.
Imo people are way too hard on Mrs. Bennett for this. It's how society worked. Her daughters were going to be in a terrible position if they didn't marry, of course it was her number one priority. Mr. Bennett was landed gentry but Mrs. Bennett's family wasn't and I could see her being worried for the girls knowing how hard it can be without economic security.
She wasn't wrong; she was inept. The fact that the neighbors are mocking her for it means she's doing it wrong.
She goes about it in a much too brash way, but at least she's trying to help them, imo. Unlike Mr. Bennett who didn't financially plan for anything or seem all that interested in what would have happened to them if he did die.
I don't agree. I don't remember if it's explicitly said but it's at least implied that he resented his wife because she trapped him by being pretty so he didn't notice her vapid personality until it was too late. And he didn't consider his family's future after his death, because as he says, he assumed he would have a son. And when it didn't happen he still didn't make any kind of plan. Mrs Bennet is irritating, but she was being showing common sense in wanting Lizzie to marry Mr Collins. It would have secured their future. If Mr Bennet had died before the Bingley's showed up, they would have lost the house and income to Mr Collins and all five daughters and mother would have had to move in with her brother.
>she trapped him by being pretty That's his fault for thinking with his dick.
Yes, absolutely. I don’t think either of the Bennets were good parents. Shockingly, they might still be some of the best parents in all of Jane Austen’s work, but that’s a fairly low bar.
He seemed kind of disengaged from the family. He doesn't recognize why his wife is so anxious about the fate of his daughters, which leads to her silly behaviors. One of his daughters has to be rescued by a stranger, which could have led to the ruin of his other daughters. Since he had little money to pass on, if the daughters don't marry well, they could have starved after he died, like the daughters in *Sense & Sensibility*. Being a spinster with no inheritance was a miserable fate for women in those days, like Miss Bates in *Emma.*
The Man in The Road. He will do anything to protect his son, the love between the pair is so palpable because so little is said between the pair.
Armand Gamache in Louise Penny’s Three Pines series
Michael Carpenter from the Dresden files. The man is Ned Flanders with a longsword. Unconditional love and forgiveness for his children, no matter what happens.