Yes, he's good fun to read about, but a person like that can do a lot of damage in real life. Here's his wife unhappy, Anne ignored, his oldest daughter with her personality ruined and everyone forced to leave their home. It's not just his family either; if I may be allowed to mention another book briefly, Elizabeth Bennet's musings on Darcy's power to bestow pain or pleasure on his dependants put Sir Walter in a very bad light. His vanity and self-indulgence wouldn't seem so funny to a tenant farmer trying to support a large family on a badly-managed estate or a scullery maid whose wages are overdue.