I think Mrs Bennet is mean, spiteful and cruel.
Her wish to promote her daughters may be understandable, but I find her very mean that in doing so, she degrades and speaks sneeringly of someone else's daughter i.e. Charlotte Lucas, the daughter of her old friends and neighbours. At Netherfield, she tells Bingley how beautiful and good Jane is, and how very plain Charlotte is, and sneers at Charlotte for helping with the mince-pies, while her own daughters have been brought up differently and had nothing to do in the kitchen i.e. boasting that her own daughters had been brought up to be fine ladies. I also find Mrs Benent's reaction to Lizzy's refusal of Mr Collins to be quite cruel, luckily Lizzy had her father's support.
Mrs Bennet is silly, vulgar and ill-natured. There are other people who are silly or vulgar but very good natured e.g. in S&S, Mrs Jennings is vulgar but very good-natured, in Emma, Miss Bates is silly and poor, "having sunk from the comforts to which she had been born", but very good-natured.
I've thought of an AU pairing of Bingley-Charlotte with his interest in her beginning when Mrs Bennet was sneering at her, it would serve Mrs Bennet right. Bingley did say that Charlotte seemed a very pleasant young woman, it could be -- Bingley had brief infatuations for pretty women but it turned out that a plain but sensible woman was the one who really won his heart. Or it could be a comedy when the mention of Charlotte helping with the mince pies was what first drew his attention -- Bingley loves mince pies, and loves her delicious pies! And remembered the mince pies from the old days when he was a little boy, before the Bingleys had made a large fortune -- when his mother also used to help with the mince pies! I'm not good at writing comedy, but there are other writers who are.
Her wish to promote her daughters may be understandable, but I find her very mean that in doing so, she degrades and speaks sneeringly of someone else's daughter i.e. Charlotte Lucas, the daughter of her old friends and neighbours. At Netherfield, she tells Bingley how beautiful and good Jane is, and how very plain Charlotte is, and sneers at Charlotte for helping with the mince-pies, while her own daughters have been brought up differently and had nothing to do in the kitchen i.e. boasting that her own daughters had been brought up to be fine ladies. I also find Mrs Benent's reaction to Lizzy's refusal of Mr Collins to be quite cruel, luckily Lizzy had her father's support.
Mrs Bennet is silly, vulgar and ill-natured. There are other people who are silly or vulgar but very good natured e.g. in S&S, Mrs Jennings is vulgar but very good-natured, in Emma, Miss Bates is silly and poor, "having sunk from the comforts to which she had been born", but very good-natured.
I've thought of an AU pairing of Bingley-Charlotte with his interest in her beginning when Mrs Bennet was sneering at her, it would serve Mrs Bennet right. Bingley did say that Charlotte seemed a very pleasant young woman, it could be -- Bingley had brief infatuations for pretty women but it turned out that a plain but sensible woman was the one who really won his heart. Or it could be a comedy when the mention of Charlotte helping with the mince pies was what first drew his attention -- Bingley loves mince pies, and loves her delicious pies! And remembered the mince pies from the old days when he was a little boy, before the Bingleys had made a large fortune -- when his mother also used to help with the mince pies! I'm not good at writing comedy, but there are other writers who are.