Top Five Wednesday: Favorite Literary Fathers and Father Figures

Karli and I are going to be participating in a book reviewer tag called Top Five Wednesday. Each week we'll be naming our five favorite things in a variety of bookish categories. This week we're talking about our favorite literary fathers.



Karli - Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird

Atticus has always been one of the most revered fathers in literature, but with the release of Go Set a Watchman there was much discussion on whether Atticus really was the idealized man that Scout hero worshiped. I believe that, regardless of whether he was the perfect man, he was clearly an amazing father to Scout and Jem and did his best to raise them to be good people at a time when it was difficult to really understand what was right and what was true.





Tanya - Mr. Bennett from Pride and Prejudice

Mr. Bennett surely seemed as though he was failing as a father according to the norms of the day, but he has always been one of my favorites.  He knew his daughter Elizabeth to be whip-smart and headstrong and, rather than try to change her, he encouraged her in her reading and independence. Rather than pressure her into a marraige in which she would undoubtendly be miserable he encouraged her to follow her heart. He defended her choices to others time and time again and his sarcastic wit makes me chuckle. When he gives Elizabeth his approval for her marriage at the end of the book? Tears. Every time.


Karli - A.J. Fickry from The Storied Life of A.J. Fickry

A.J. find himself raising a little girl who was abandoned in his bookshop. He raises her with love, compassion, and lots of books. Being a father makes A.J. a better man and bookseller, and he leaves a legacy of literary love for his daughter.

Tanya - Jean Valjean from Les Miserables

Speaking of men finding orphaned girls...

Jean credits finding his adopted daughter Collette as saving his life and teaching him how to live again. He devotes himself to Collette's care, ensuring he grows up safe, happy, and well-educated. He is so singly devoted to her that he is willing to sacrifice his own life in order to ensure that she can be with her true love, Marius.



Karli - Harold from A Little Life

Harold adopts Jude as an adult and rarely do we read such a moving, beautiful, fatherly love as what Harold holds for the damaged Jude. The love and acceptance Harold has for Jude is truly a work of art.

Honorable Mentions:

Lucas Davenport from Hanging Prey and the rest of the Prey series.
Arthur Weasley, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and others from the Harry Potter series.


*The Top Five Wednesday book tag was created by Lainey from gingerreadslainey on YouTube and is now managed by Sam from ThoughtsonTomes, also on YouTube. You can find the topics in their Goodreads group, Top 5 Wednesdays, here.*