Family and Situation
Mr. Bingley is the deceased father of Charles Bingley, Caroline Bingley and Louisa Hurst (née Bingley). We know that he amassed a fortune in trade and was able to leave his son “property to the amount of nearly a hundred thousand pounds.” We’re also told that he intended to purchase an estate, presumably with aspirations of joining the squirearchy, “but did not live to do it.”
Mrs. Bingley is never mentioned, so the reader is left to assume that she predeceased her husband, although this is never stated with certainty.
Character
Given the congeniality of Charles and spoiled nature of Caroline and Louisa, it is difficult to predict what his temperament was. Caroline at what point expresses surprise that her father left “so few books” for Charles to inherit, but his lack of interest in the topic suggests that it may not actually be surprising.
