I think Mrs. Morland is probably the best parent I've come across in the four novels I've read of JA (P&P, Persuasion, Emma, & NA), but still she isn't perfect. She recognizes that her daughter is "shatter-brained" but traveling alone put her to the test of keeping her wits about her. If she recognizes that, then she should have helped her develop such life skills earlier. But you've gotta love her for looking the other way at Catherine's clandestine correspondence. She's certainly no parental tyrant.