I don't think Austin was a terrible father.

He was emotionally cruel to Catherine and I despise him for it. That being said though if he truly hated her and had not the smallest piece of love for her why did he not give her up for adoption at birth?

He hated Catherine because most likely her mother died giving birth to her. Her mother was a beauty and it's obvious he loved her very much, some part of him blames Catherine for her death but another knows she is his daughter. He inflicts emotional cruelty on Catherine yet provides her with the best of everything, so in his own way he is being kind to her. He is one of the most fascinating and complex characters ever written in my opinion.

He also acted in her best interests in regards to Morris. He could see Morris was just after her money and wanted to protect her because she was a trusting innocent in the world.

A large part of him is monstrous but he does have a few good qualities. I can actually see him as having been quite a kind and protective father had his relationship with Catherine been better.


Go to bed Frank or this is going to get ugly .

I don't think he was a terrible father either. He just had high expectations. If he were a terrible father he would have just let her marry Morris. But he knew that Morris will spend all the money and he couldn't have had Catherine living in debt.
He was realistic about Catherine. I mean, she really was naive, unattractive, with no social skills, no charm. Her only appeal was the money.

Finally, Dr. Sloper is getting praise here as, not the worst father in the world. He was trying to get his daughter to see what kind of man Townsend was, but, of course her head was in the clouds, and she wasn't going to hear anything bad about him, because he flattered her, and all she wanted to hear was good things about herself, whether it was true or not. She became angry at her father because he finally told her how it was. Also, Dr. Sloper didn't disinherit her, either.