] The whole depiction of the General's tyranny is very good isn't it? She never straightforwardly describes him as a tyrant, but leaves it up to the reader to experience that dawning realisation - some of us a bit more slowly than others I am ashamed to say ;-) It is an amazing portrait of the type of man, outwardly so charming and successful, but of his family so destructive. A wonderful example of JA's observational and analytic skills.

Yes, isn't Jane sneaky that way? She never comes right out and says "This person is a villain", "This person is a control freak", "This person is in LaLa Land" (or the Regency equivelent). Instead she shows us little peeks into the character which gradually build upon each other to give a complete view.