“Our amiable young man is a very weak young man, if this be the first occasion of his carrying through a resolution to do right against the will of others. It ought to have been a habit with him by this time, of following his duty, instead of consulting expediency. I can allow for the fears of the child, but not of the man.”
– Jane Austen
Emma, Chapter 18. Mr. Knightley expresses his low opinion of Frank Churchill. This is after Frank’s snub to his recently married father and the people of Highbury. Frank’s excuse of family restrictions and obligations to his aunt and adoptive mother Mrs. Churchill don’t wash for Knightley. As far as he is concerned Frank’s failure to visit his father shows a failure of duty and display of weakness by not standing up to his aunt.