The Small House at Allington
Chapters 7 to 9 |
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chapter list |
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[4-6]
[10-12] |
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Chapter 7
The Beginning of Troubles |
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Apollo
The narrator refers to Crosbie as Apollo. The narrator uses this
name to denote Crosbie in order to show that Bernard,
Bell, Lily, and Adolphus or "Apollo" are on a comfortable, even joking
first name basis. See commentary on Chapter 2.
[AM] |
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Humours
This word is referring to Hippocrates' theory of the bodily humours
which were four types of fluids thought to permeate the body and influence
its health. An imbalance in the distribution of the humours was thought
to affect each individual's personality. Lily Dale asks her sister
Bell about why their mother should have to go to their uncle to please his
humours. The reference to Hippocrates' humours conveys how Bell
understands that the ill-ease of their uncle would be swayed into
contentment by their mother's influence.
OCD [AM] |
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Elysium
Elysium, in classical mythology, is the paradisiacal place where
the blessed dead reside in Hades. This allusion refers to what Mr.
Crosbie's life would not be like if he chose to marry Lily Dale
with his small income. Mr. Crosbie would have to give up his seemingly
splendid life of
London luxuries such as fashion and clubs in exchange for the domestic
life in which he would live a humdrum existence in a small house full of
babies and mouths to feed. This idea of married life does not seem like a
paradise to him.
OED
Cassell's Dictionary of Classical Mythology
[AM] |
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Apollo of Beaufort
The narrator uses Apollo to contrast Crosbie's usual social
smoothness with the lack of finesse with which Crosbie tries to explain
that his marriage to Lily would be delayed due to his small income. See
commentary on Chapter 2. [AM] |
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Chapter 8
It Cannot Be |
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Chapter 9
Mrs. Dale's Little Party |
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Calf-like victim caught for the sacrifice and bound with ribbon at the
alter
Greco-Roman sacrificial imagery is used again to convey the present
and anxious state of mind of Mr. Crosbie. In this section of the text,
Crosbie has the "calf-like feeling" because in order for him to marry Lily
Dale, he must give up his ambitions and the luxuries to which he had
become accustomed. Additionally, Crosbie feels like a sacrificial victim
because by marrying Lily Dale, he is presenting himself as one who will
loose his independence. Even though giving up his own autonomy will make
Lily Dale happy, he feels that it would be no benefit to him what so ever.
See above commentary for Chapter 7. [AM]
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Slip between the cup and the lip
This is a proverbial phrase that implies how anything can go wrong
even if something appears to be sure to happen. The source of this
quotation is Erasmus' Adagia, a book of classical proverbs. The
mythical background of the proverb concerns Ancaeos, who was the helmsman
of the Argo. According to Robert Graves, this story is told in the
scholia
for Apollonius'
Argonautica 1.185.
Ancaeos was told by a slave that he would never taste the wine from his
own vineyards. When a bottle made from his own grapes was sent to him,
the slave stated, "There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip." At
this instant a messenger came in and told Ancaeos that a wild boar was
laying his vineyard waste, whereupon he set down his cup, went out against
the boar, and was killed in the encounter. This section of the text shows
how Lily Dale is under the assumption that her love and matrimonial plans
are in no danger of being thwarted. The classical reference is used to
contrast Lily's idealism and naivete with the fact that the most
predictable things can go wrong and that nothing is sure unless it has
already passed. The allusion creates a parallel between Lily and Anacaeos.
Cassell's Dictionary of Classical Mythology
The
Meridian Handbook of Classical Mythology
Robert
Graves, The Greek Myths: Complete
Edition.
London:
Penguin, 1992.
[AM] |
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Crosbie came forward and shone like an Apollo
It is the narrator who states that Crosbie shines like the sun god
Apollo. Trollope uses this reference to Apollo in order to illustrate the
confidence that Crosbie exudes within a crowd of people. See commentary
on Chapter 2. [AM] |
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Like the moon? - well; I fancy I like the sun better
This is Crosbie's response to Lily's question if he likes the moon.
This is a fitting assertion, given the fact that Crosbie has been
identified with Apollo, who is associated with the sun.
Cassell's Dictionary of Classical Mythology
[AM & RR] |
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Laurels
The laurels that surround Crosbie and Lily Dale on the lawn invoke
the myth of Apollo and Daphne from Book 1 of Ovid's Metamorphoses.
The laurel tree in this story becomes associated with Apollo and his
failed attempt at love with Daphne. In this story, Daphne becomes the
laurel tree in order to prevent Apollo from having her as his wife. For
more on laurels, see commentary on Chapter 2. [AM] |
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Tantalized
This word evokes the underworld punishments of Tantulus, eternally
thirsty and leaning toward water and also eternally hungry and stretching
toward fruit. In a broader sense, "tantalize" means to present something
that is desired but is seemly out of reach. This image of Tantulus and
alluring but ungraspable desires is used to show how the curate who
attends Mrs. Dale's party feels tortured and perhaps envious of the
activities and pleasures experienced by the other guests at the party
which he cannot partake in or enjoy.
Cassell's Dictionary of Classical Mythology
OED [AM] |
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Greek Kalends
An expression used to refer to a time that will never come. The
humor of this phrase is derived from the fact that "kalends" was a Roman
term which denoted the first day of the month in the Roman calendar and
the Greeks did not reckon time according to Roman kalends. Trollope uses
this figure of speech when describing Mr. Crosbie's unconscious desire "to
postpone his marriage to some Greek kalends." This allusion is used to
convey how Mr. Crosbie secretly wishes that the day of his marriage will
never come.
OED [AM] |
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[10-12] |
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