Honestly, to me this seemed more like a misguided attempt. The trope is so over used but mostly by villainous fathers would still treat their child bad regardless. This guy doesn’t seem too bad. He’s distant and that needs to change but I don’t think he truly neglected her. His idea was she needed to be left alone to do what she wanted independently without the ties of family that a woman becomes slave to. In his eyes, he’s done quite a bit for her. Their world is built around patriarchy, so it makes sense that if he’s left her alone, she’s not tied down by that and is in a sense more free than most woman in her society.
Idc if he had good intentions, ultimately he's convinced he was looking out for her when he was just making her situation worse and turning a blind eye to everyone she's ever hurt. It is neglect because he didn't physically or verbally show that he cares and never disciplined her
I’m not saying he never neglected her. I’m saying he probably did assume he was doing the right thing. He should’ve been a father in her life rather than a person. That much is true. However I just think from his actions and the world they are set up to be in, he is misguided and that ended up being bad for his child in the long run. :/ I agree with you for the most part truly.
I hate the "I'm not neglectful I actually cared for them all along" trope. Like dude, what your child needed the most wasn't jewelry, a position, or a man, they just needed a guiding and loving parental figure in their life to guide them and stop then from making bad decisions (like the original mc). Just because he threw money at her and looked the other way doesn't mean he wasnt neglectful.