Danny: Sir, I love your daughter and I want to marry her. That's why I'm calling. Jack: First of all, Danny, the truth is this is just a courtesy call. Like when you say to your neighbor, "We're having a loud party on Saturday night if that's all right with you." What you really mean is, "We're having a loud party on Saturday night." Perhaps it's just my rebellion against my conservative background, but I want to separate myself as much as possible from traditions that imply that my fiancée is something to be given away. I know that asking them for their blessing isn't necessarily the same thing as asking permission to marry her, it's just something I'm weird about.
He didn't feel he was "giving her away" as much as he felt that he was saying to both her and I, "this guys good, he'll be a good partner for you, you have my thumbs up". Trust me, my wife belongs to no person. She is as independent and capable as human beings come. As a father of a daughter, I would someday hope (and perhaps expect) that the man she choses to marry will extend me the same courtesy. I would likely ask him very similar questions that my father in law asked. Hopefully, like me and my father in law, we will have a close relationship.