Fanny and Mr. Saul are to be allowed, at last, to marry.  Trollope substitutes the (Classical) sacrificial altar for the (Christian) marital one when he describes Fanny, who awaits the outcome of her mother’s conversation with Mr. Saul about their engagement, as a sacrificial lamb.  Although Fanny is in a serious mood befitting the ancient and religious imagery, a reader might be amused by the disparity between a sacrificial lamb and a soon-to-be bride.  [RR 2013]

In ancient Roman homes, the penates were household gods, worshipped alongside Vesta as guardians of the home.  Trollope says that Harry, whom he repeatedly compares to Apollo, has been recognized by the Burton’ Penates as divine.  This summarizes the Burton family’s opinion of him as a man residing on a different level of greatness from themselves.  Since Trollope specifies that Harry will “again” be considered a god, it is clear that the Burtons held a very high opinion of Harry before he temporarily abandoned Florence.  His behavior toward Florence clearly turned out not to be above reproach, so the comparison to a god is somewhat sarcastic or ironic.  Nevertheless, the Burtons are ready to forgive and forget all, since Trollope specifies that Harry is again “pure” in their eyes.  Trollope may also be gently criticizing the Burton family with this phrase, since Harry’s conduct was not pure, and placing any human person on the level with the divine is a bit excessive.  [SH 2012]

Source:  OCD.

this Apollo was to be an Apollo indeed

Florence Burton’s parents have just received the news that Harry is now an heir, fairly recently after they heard that Harry and Florence had reconciled.  Now he is not just “a god with so very moderate an annual income,” but rather one with a corresponding position in society.  The Burtons had been somewhat concerned about Harry’s ability to be happy working for his living, but now his financial situation finally fits his gentlemanly disposition.  [SH 2012]

a place of his own among the gods of Olympus

Olympus is the highest mountain on the Greek peninsula.  In mythology, it was presented as the home of the gods.  Trollope references the mountain here when describing the Burton family’s attitude toward Harry Clavering’s new position as the heir to a baronet.  Trollope has used references to Apollo/Phoebus, god of the sun, to describe the Burtons’ opinion of Harry throughout the novel, but now the metaphor is extended to include Apollo’s proper home among other gods.  With his new position and all the money and power it brings, Harry Clavering has risen greatly in society and no longer has to worry about making his way in the world; he is now among his peers, where he should be.  This shift in Harry’s social status is likened to Apollo gaining a spot to call his own in the society of his peers, the Olympian gods.  [SH 2012]

Source:  OCD.

Lady Clavering’s paraphernalia

In many of his novels Trollope expresses distaste for the traditional clothing worn by widows.  Here he writes of Hermione’s adoption of mourning attire:  “She had assumed in all its grotesque ugliness those paraphernalia of outward woe which women have been condemned to wear, in order that for a time they may be shorn of all the charms of their sex.”  Trollope’s use of “paraphernalia” has an ironic resonance with the word’s etymology, since its original meaning had special reference to the start of a marriage.  In ancient Greek the word parapherna referred to goods beyond (para) a dowry (phernē) which a bride brought with her when she married.  Hermione’s marriage has now ended in bereavement, which has its own equipment.  [RR 2013]

Source:  LSJ.

I don’t think I would care for a walk through the Elysian fields by myself

The idea of Elysium or the Elysian fields as the home of the blessed dead, reserved for celebrated heroes, comes from Classical mythology.  The eternal home of the honored and blessed would naturally be beautiful beyond imagination.  Julia’s reference to this mythical verdant place creates a hyperbole in her statement that, on her own, she does not care for gardens.  It seems Julia would not enjoy any place—not Clavering Park nor even Elysium—by herself.  [SH & RR 2012]

Alias is a Latin word adopted into English as an adverb; it primarily means “otherwise called or named.”  Usually the word modifies a name other than a person’s real name, but here Trollope uses it to modify “Boodle,” which is presumably the Captain’s actual name.  Trollope writes this when Captain Boodle is leaving London with Sophie Gordeloup, who is suspected of being a Russian spy.  By adding the word alias in front of Captain Boodle’s name, Trollope recalls the suggestions of spying that surround Sophie.  [SH 2012]

Trollope’s application of alias to Captain Boodle’s name may also be humorous.  It could suggest that Boodle’s true, somewhat buffoonish, identity is better conveyed by his silly nickname “Doodles.” For the inept Boodle, his actual title and name act as a disguise.  [RR 2013]

Source:  OED.

Florence compares Harry Clavering, who has just become heir to Clavering Park, to the Greek sun god Apollo.  She has forgiven and completely forgotten all Harry’s sins concerning herself and Lady Ongar.  Her brother Theodore can forgive but not forget Harry’s conduct, which was duplicitous and certainly did not fit his definition of “godlike.”  Florence, like the other women in Harry’s life, idealizes him and places him on a pedestal as one would a god.  She can see no wrong in him or his behavior at all until she has no choice but to acknowledge it, and even after she does so, she accepts Harry back with open arms as soon as he apologizes to her.  Trollope, Theodore Burton, and the reader, however, can see the error of Harry’s past ways, and do not hold him as quite so high above everyone else as the women do.  [SH 2012]

better part of me

Harry refers to Florence as the “better part” of himself.  At the end of his Metamorphoses Ovid refers to his soul as the “better part of myself,” and in the preface to book 1 of  his Natural Questions Seneca calls the soul or mind “the better part of us.”  Harry’s formulation identifies his future wife as the more prudent, thoughtful part of himself.  [RR 2013]

Source:  Ovid, Metamorphoses 15.875.
Seneca, Natural Questions preface to book 1 section 14.

Trollope uses this phrase to describe the state of peace and happiness in which young lovers like Harry Clavering and Florence Burton live.  The word “halcyon,” which means “calm” or “restful,” comes from an ancient myth about a woman named Alcyone, whose beloved husband Ceyx was killed in a shipwreck.  Ceyx comes to Alcyone in a dream to tell her that he has died, and the next morning Alcyone goes to the shore and discovers that his drowned body has floated there.  Overcome with grief, she throws herself towards the sea, but at the last moment she is transformed into a bird and skims along the surface.  Ceyx’s body is also changed into a bird, and the two are reunited.  The days on which Alcyone broods are the calmest days of the sea, according to the story, hence the modern meaning of the word, which is employed here.  [SH 2012]

Source:  OED.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 11.410-748.

Constance Vane

Julia mentions Constance Vane to Harry as a type of a fashionable English girl not particular appealing to either of them, though neither says so explicitly.  Though Trollope does not tell us much about Constance, he tells us enough to realize that her name is partly ironic and partly fitting.  Her first name, “Constance,” is related to the Latin participle constans, meaning “standing firm” or even “remaining unchanged.”  But Constance has not been constant in her looks:  she has changed from “a waxen doll of a girl” to a “stout mother of two or three children.”  Her maiden name, “Vane,” recalls the Latin adjective vanus, meaning “empty” and is apt, since Trollope asserts that “she had never had a thought in her head, and hardly ever a word on her lips.”  By giving her this name, Trollope adds linguistic depth to an otherwise insubstantial character.  [RR 2013]

pandemonium

“Pandemonium” is a Classically based coinage used by John Milton as a name for the capital of hell in Paradise Lost.  Pan is Greek for “all,” and demon is Greek for “demon” or “spirit.”  The suffix is Latinate.  When Julia mentions pandemonium, she is aware of the word’s Miltonic heritage because she contrasts Harry’s current “paradise” (his relationship with Florence) and the “pandemonium” he has avoided with her.  [RR 2013]

Source:  OED.

Nil conscire sibi

Julia quotes this Latin phrase from one of Horace’s Epistles to Harry; it means “to be conscious of no guilt.”  According to Julia, Harry taught her this phrase when they were young lovers.  She has not lived her life in a way “to be conscious of no guilt,” and since Harry has betrayed Florence, neither has he.  Julia is explicitly applying the phrase to herself, but she also implicitly applies it to Harry.  She essentially re-teaches Harry, with a piercing commentary on his own behavior, the very phrase (and the ideal it expresses) which he taught her.  Harry, who taught both Julia and Florence bits of Latin, has now been turned into the student.  Julia humbles him with this switch of roles, teaching him his own lesson in turn.  [SH & RR 2012]

Source:  Horace, Epistle 1.1.61.

I have not poisoned the little ring, as the ladies would have done some centuries since

Julia Ongar makes this statement of the ring which she wishes Harry to pass on to Florence as a gift.  The “ladies…some centuries since” likely refers to Medea, the mythological woman who aided Jason in his quest for the golden fleece.  However, Jason abandoned Medea in order to marry the daughter of Creon, the king of Corinth.  Medea gives Creon’s daughter a dress as a wedding gift, but the dress is poisoned and catches fire when the girl wears it, killing both her and Creon as he tries to save her.  As Harry Clavering’s former lover who has been ultimately rejected for a new wife, Julia Ongar could consider herself in the position of Medea.  The possibility for cruel vengeance would be lost neither on Harry nor on Julia.  However, Julia wants to make it known to both Harry and Florence that, unlike Medea, she bears no ill will and poses no threat to her former lover’s new bride.  [SH & RR 2012]

Source:  OCD.

The conversation between Harry and Theodore Burton seems, on the surface, to be simply about their workplace at the Adelphi, from which Harry has been absent recently.  However, in this case, “Adelphi” refers not only literally to the building in which their office is housed, but also to their status as future family members.  The Greek word adelphoi means “brothers,” which is what Harry and Theodore will be if Harry marries Florence Burton.  Harry has only just been reconciled to Florence earlier in the evening, after she tried to end their engagement.  By asking Harry about his return to work, Theodore is, on another level, inquiring after how soon Harry is going to resume his familial position and duties as his future brother-in-law’s employee.  See commentary on the Adelphi in Chapter 7.  [SH 2012]

peculiar fold

Harry realizes that he should frequent the “sheepfold” of Theodore Burton’s house until he sets up “a small peculiar fold” with Florence.  Because “peculiar” contains the Latin pecu-, meaning “flock” or “herd,” Trollope’s phrase “peculiar fold” doubly expresses the image of Harry’s family-to-be as a little flock of its own.  [RR 2013]

Source:  OED.

dog in the manger

Trollope refers to one of Aesop’s fables here.  In the fable, a dog asleep in a manger is awakened by cows coming into the barn after a long day of work.  Even though the cows are tired and hungry, and even though the dog cannot eat hay, the dog will not let the cows anywhere near the hay in the manger.  Julia knows that since she cannot enjoy Ongar Park herself, she should not behave as the dog and keep it away from someone who could enjoy it.  Since her late husband’s relatives have expressed interest in the park, Julia makes the financially difficult but unselfish choice to give the park to Lord Ongar’s family for no charge.  [SH 2012]

Source:  Entry on the fable on Laura Gibbs’s Aesopica website.

The word “imperative” stems from the Latin verb impero, which means “command.”  Usually the English adjective is used to mean “urgent” or “obligatory,” but here Trollope activates its etymological meaning.  He describes Mrs. Clavering as “imperative” because in the matter of Harry’s marriage, she shuts down her husband’s whisperings about Harry marrying Julia Ongar rather than Florence, and essentially commands that it shall not be so.  The Reverend Clavering recognizes that to argue with such a commanding presence would be pointless.  [SH 2012]

Source:  OED.

convalescent invalid

In describing Harry as a “convalescent invalid,” Trollope pairs two words which share the Latin element val- “well” or “strong.”  Harry is an invalid because he is not strong; in- negates the val-.  Nevertheless he is also convalescent because he is getting stronger; -sc- signals a process underway.  [RR 2013]

a cupid in mosaic surrounded by tiny diamonds

At this point in the novel, Florence has decided to break her engagement with Harry, and she sends him a package containing all the letters and presents he has given her.  Harry, meanwhile, has been sick and under his mother’s heavy influence for several days, and she has convinced him to renew his commitment to Florence and forget the possibility of marrying Lady Ongar for good.  When the package from Florence arrives at the Clavering home, it is Mrs. Clavering who writes to Florence concerning Harry’s resolve to marry her, and it is she who instructs Harry about how he should repack Florence’s package and send it back.  It is fitting, then, that the woman who has worked so hard to keep the two lovers together should give Harry the image of a cupid to pass on to Florence.  Cupid was the Roman counterpart to the Greek god of love, Eros, who played a role in much mythological match-making.  The cupid Mrs. Clavering gives to Harry symbolizes the role of Cupid that she plays in Harry and Florence’s relationship.  In fact, even in giving this gift, she plays that role:  she knows that the extra gift in the package will win Florence’s heart.  [SH 2012]

peccavi sounds soft and pretty when made by sweet lips in a loving voice

This statement is part of Trollope’s explanation about confession being a feminine activity:  women enjoy confessing their wrongdoings and receiving forgiveness, while men hate to admit their failures.  Peccavi is a perfect form of the Latin verb pecco; peccavi means “I have sinned.”  The Latin language and confession of sins are tied up in the culture of the Christian church, particularly in the Catholic sacrament of confession.  Trollope conflates church hierarchy and societal gender hierarchy by using a Latin word to discuss the confession of a woman.  Combining the imagery of priest over parishioner and man over woman strengthens the demarcation of gender hierarchy.  [SH & RR 2012]

hours of one long ovation

The word “ovation” come from the Latin ovatio, which means “a minor triumph or processional entry.”  In Roman times, an ovatio was a less lavish honor than a triumph, but still a great acclamation celebrated with a parade into the city.  In this scene of the novel, Cecilia and Florence Burton welcome Harry Clavering back into their family with open arms after he has rejected a union with Lady Ongar and has renewed his commitment to Florence.  Harry’s journey to Onslow Terrace and his welcome there are a sort of “processional entry” back into the Burton clan.  [SH 2012]

Although Harry is treated as a conquering hero by Cecelia and Florence, there may be a disconnect between the way he is viewed by them and the way he is viewed by a reader.  To a reader, Harry’s “ovation” may be misplaced:  what has he done worth celebrating other than honor his promise at last?   By adding a Classical echo through the use of “ovation,” Trollope heightens the Burton women’s reception of Harry and potentially increases the distance between their treatment of Harry and a reader’s own assessment of his behavior and the recognition it is (or isn’t) due.  [RR 2013]

Source:  OED.

Cecilia explains to Theodore her motivation for visiting Lady Ongar:  she wants to do her utmost to save the engagement of Florence and Harry.  In her words, “I could not bear that Florence should be sacrificed whilst anything remained undone that was possible.”  Florence as a bride would stand before a marriage altar; if Florence’s marriage is cancelled, she metaphorically stands before the sacrificial altar and becomes the sacrificial victim herself.  See commentary for Chapter 30 of The Bertrams for a different juxtaposition of sacrificial and marital altars.  [RR 2013]

Julia “not uncivil”

This double negation uttered by Cecilia Burton is an example of the Classical rhetorical phenomenon called litotes.  Litotes is a construction that renders a statement more emphatic by denying or negating the opposite of what is meant.  Cecilia chooses not to say positively that Lady Ongar was civil, but rather to say negatively that she was “not uncivil.”  This biting negative statement clues the reader into the fact that Cecilia’s dislike for Lady Ongar has not changed much since their interview.  In fact, Cecilia’s remark might stem from her dislike of Lady Ongar:  if she still thinks of Lady Ongar as immoral and bold, she might not believe her to be capable of true civility.  The closest Lady Ongar can come to receiving a positive reaction from those around her is in receiving a non-negative reaction.  [SH & RR 2012]

Doodles says this to Archie about Sophie Gordeloup just before Hugh and Archie depart for their yacht trip.  The Latin word medium is the neuter singular form of the adjective medius, media, medium; as a substantive, medium means “a thing in the middle.”  It can also refer to an intermediary or a means of communication.  In English the word can be used as a noun in the same sense, or to mean a substance through which an effect is transmitted, but here Doodles employs its meaning of a person who acts as an intermediary between dead spirits and the living.  [SH 2012]

Doodles knows enough about Latin to want to make the Latinate “medium” reflect Sophie’s gender, so he removes the Latin neuter ending -um and adds the Latin feminine ending -a.  The result is silly, since English “medium” in the sense of “spiritual intermediary” is used to refer to either a man or a woman.  Doodles is perhaps trying to show a certain amount of finesse and gentlemanly knowledge, but he ends up seeming inept.  [RR 2013]

Source:  OED.