I wouldn't say her father was indulgent necessarily but he goes against type for a father in a Gothic novel. These novels were all the rage at this time and the father/uncle/male guardian was known to be at the very least mean and at his worst might keep his charge isolated from others if not locked up. The mother would have most likely died in giving birth to the heroine or at some point thereafter while the heroine was still rather young and so on and on and on. JA has a good time poking fun at the cliches of this genre. This is what I was referring to when I claimed that Catherine's parents are most unaccomodating in her quest to be the heroine of her favorite type of reading material thus producing a most un-heroinelike daughter. If Catherine is ever to be a heroine, it seems she will have to earn the title for herself with no help from her wonderful parents. So, as a heroine-in-training something must happen to put her in the path of the necessary requirements so that she can fulfill her so-called destiny as a full-fledged heroine. How she will manage this, if ever, is the question. :)