] Surely he realizes the position that his survivors will be in if he dies before one of his daughters marries well. I'm surprised that his desire to see his wife disappointed outweights his concern about that, but apparently it does.

It seems that Mr. Bennet's disappointment in his marriage and perhaps his disappointment in not fathering a son (both things that would include long-range planning and hoping) have made him reluctant to look ahead but instead to only focus on the here and now. It will be interesting to see if that attitude is prevalent in the novel and the movie.