Character Analysis
When we first see Mr. Robinson, it's right after Mrs. Robinson has tried to seduce Benjamin by getting naked and closing the door behind her. So…Ben's still a little rattled. The irony is that, in the conversation that follows, Mr. Robinson advises Ben to "have a few flings" and not take things too seriously.
We're thinking he wasn't suggesting Mrs. Robinson.
Their second meeting ain't so friendly. After the whole relationship with Mrs. Robinson and her daughter has blown up, Ben's up in Berkeley, trying to get Elaine back. One day, he arrives at his apartment to discover that Mr. Robinson's there. This time, he tells Benjamin that he and Mrs. Robinson are getting a divorce and that he thinks he might press charges against Ben or prosecute him in some way. He warns Ben to stay away from Elaine, and asks him why he seems to hate him or what he stands for.
MR. ROBINSON: Isn't there something you want to tell me? .... Is there something I've said that's caused this contempt, or is it just things I stand for that you despise?
I think the old guy has something there. It is the things he stands for that are the original source of Benjamin's alienation and that probably propelled him into the affair with Mrs. Robinson. Ben denies that he hates Mr. Robinson, and says that his affair with Mrs. Robinson meant nothing. Mr. Robinson leaves and angrily tells Ben that he thinks he's "scum," among other things.
In a way, Mr. Robinson is an innocent bystander caught up in this whole thing. His wife doesn't love him, and they had to get married due to an unplanned pregnancy in the first place. The fact that Mr. Robinson really gets hurt by the affair undercuts the comic aspects of it, despite how this scene is played.