How interesting that you find Mr. Bennet a stock character, Heather. To me, he is a very real and three-dimensional person, whom I could easily imagine meeting in my 21st-century world, and I'm one of those who can't help being fond of him, despite his faults. I agree with you about the other stock characters, and don't forget poor Mary, the stereotypical Bluestocking! Mr. Bennet's "young ladies like to be crossed in love" speech does rub me the wrong way, though, because it proves to me that he is just as clueless as his wife about how unhappy Jane really is.