How is Mr Bennet an ironic character?

He claims to want to protect Claire, but he works for the very company that wants to use her powers for evil!

Additional details:

emma, I did. but then I thought "why should I do emma's homework for her? If she's willing to take answers from any old stranger online instead of reading the book and determining for herself why he is an ironic character, maybe she should cut and paste a few incorrect ones from time to time so that her teachers realize she's using the internet instead of reading the assignments."

Mr Bennet Character Analysis

Mr. Bennet Character Analysis

Mr. Bennet is sarcastic, witty, and insightful. The man is frequently a bemused spectator in the midst of unpleasant situations – namely, his marriage – but he always has some pithy comment or observation to voice. Elizabeth inherits both his sense of humor and his ability to make light of awful situations.

Fortunately, Elizabeth failed to inherit his less desirable qualities: poor judgment and laziness come to mind. We don’t care how pretty Mrs. Bennet was, he should have noticed that she was a bad fit for him from the start. And seriously, not saving money for his daughters’ futures? Poor judgment call and laziness. Rather than take a proactive role in his family life, Mr. Bennet prefers to hide out in his library and dodge responsibility.

OK, pause. We have to try and make one last stand in defense of Mr. Bennet. The man actually really likes his family, as evinced by his desire to "have the family circle whole again." He also warns Elizabeth against marrying someone she doesn’t care for or respect, and he really does make an effort to secure his daughters’ futures – remember, he was one of the first men to call on Mr. Bingley when the man arrived at Netherfield.

http://www.shmoop.com/character/literature/jane-au...

Mr. Bennet Timeline

http://www.shmoop.com/timeline/literature/jane-aus...

He's an ironic character because he considers his wife and daughters (with the exception of Elizabeth of course) to be complete idiots, and they are. He spends a lot of effort ridiculing them. The irony is that it his fault; he married a woman he didn't respect and didn't raise his children well.