| Framley Parsonage Chapters 16 to 18 |
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Chapter 16 |
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Platonic
friendship "Could it be possible that Mrs. Grantly had heard anything of that unfortunate Platonic friendship with Lucy Robarts?" Lady Lufton is at this point worrying about her son's chances with Griselda Grantly, which seem to be diminishing, and wonders if the closeness between Lord Lufton and Lucy Robarts might have something to do with it. A Platonic friendship is one that involves no sexual/romantic feelings between the two persons involved. It is named after the Greek philosopher, Plato, who advocates love that is strengthened by an intellectual relationship. [JC] |
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Clouded Brow "A slight cloud came across [Lord Lufton's] brow as he saw this." A sign of displeasure. In this case, Lord Lufton is unhappy to see that Lucy Robarts is snubbing him. See the commentary for Barchester Towers Chapter 24. [JC] |
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Chapter 17 |
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Laurels Griselda Grantly is described by Trollope as "reaping fresh fashionable laurels" at what Lady Lufton considers disagreeable houses in London. The laurel plant is a plant sacred to Apollo, Dionysus, and Artemis. Here Trollope makes reference to the crown of laurels originally worn by priestesses of Apollo. The laurel became a symbol of victory in the classical world when its wearing extended to victors in the Pythian games. In ancient Rome laurels were worn by military victors. After the 14th century the laurel became associated with a successful poet or poet "laureate." Griselda Grantly can be said to have won symbolic laurels in that she has accumulated her honors by attending the most notable parties in London and by dancing with many notable gentlemen such as Lod Dumbello. The mention of her laurels here refers back to Mrs. Grantly's letter to Lady Lufton in the previous chapter. In this letter it is mentioned as to how much Griselda is admired and asked out. It is her success on the London social scene that has awarded Griselda her prestige. Bell, Robert. Dictionary of Classical Mythology. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2000. Ferber, Michael. Dictionary of Literary Symbols. Santa Barbara: ABC Clio, 1982. [TH] |
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Carnifer Literally means "meat-carrier" in Latin. [TH] |
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Ganymede Ganymede was a young Trojan prince who was selected by Zeus to be his cup-bearer on account of his attractiveness. Zeus also rewarded him with immortality by placing him in the stars as the constellation Ganymede. The later Greek and Roman accounts of Ganymede often emphasize the sexual aspect of his relationship with Zeus, while Renaissance versions prefer to dwell on the constellation that bears his name, considering it a symbol of the soul's ascent into heaven. For Trollope, however, Ganymede in this sense is merely a young man who serves refreshments to guests at a party. In Trollope's lengthy rant about the practice of "handing around" food and drink at parties, Trollope claims that the servers fail to keep the party-goers in sherry. He also describes the necktie of this particular Ganymede and "the whiteness of his unexceptionable gloves." Ganymede is most well known as a symbol of male beauty. Trollope uses this description of the server being a Ganymede to speak more broadly about servers being hired by his contemporaries. He criticizes the fact that they are all show without providing any actual service. The parties are designed to restrict costs and advertise for the host. The parties themselves are all resplendent dignity with very little food actually being served. Mrs. Proudie is putting on a great fuss about her conversazione, but she is taking steps to prevent guests from eating too much of the food or drinking any substantial portion of the drink. This is precisely what Trollope is protesting as a discourteous act of stinginess on the host's part. Cassell's Dictionary of Classical Mythology [TH] |
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Battling in the arena
Mrs. Proudie perceived an insult when Mrs. Grantly ironically commented that Griselda Grantly could not compare with the Proudie daughters. Mrs. Proudie is described then as not wanting "to do battle on the present arena." Trollope refers to the gladiatorial games with his mention of arena combat. However, the irony is that this is not a game or a military battle--it is a social call. He is describing the sparring of two leading ladies in terms of gladiatorial combat. He treats Mrs Granlty and Proudie with a degree of satire. [TH] |
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Chapter 18 |
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The
Greek of Chaldicotes and his gift This is a reference to Mr. Sowerby, and it is based on a line from Vergil's Aeneid Book 2 line 49: timeo Danaos et dona ferentis, or in English: "I fear Greeks even bearing gifts." This line is spoken by the Trojan Laocoon, who is trying to warn his companions that the huge wooden horse which has been left outside the gates by the Greeks is in fact a trap and not a gift as they believe. In Framley Parsonage, Mr. Sowerby has written a letter to Mark in which he says that he can secure another church position for Mark that earns 600 pounds a year, and that Mark need only come up to London to receive this appointment. Mark is naturally excited about this occurrence, but his wife Fanny is skeptical about the situation; she is the one who thinks about Sowerby as the Greek of Chaldicotes and does not fully trust his motives. Mark believes that Lady Lufton will also not be happy with his acceptance of the position; in predicting Lady Lufton's reaction, Trollope again makes reference to the Greek from Chaldicotes and his tricky gift. In the Aeneid, the Greek horse does in fact turn out to be a trap, and with the use of it the Greeks end up capturing the city of Troy and defeating the Trojan army. In Framley Parsonage, the offer of the prebendary also turns out to be a sort of trap for Mark Robarts; in lieu of his recently-acquired additional income, Sowerby convinces Mark to buy a horse from him for 130 pounds, but this is in addition to Sowerby's bills for 900 pounds, to both of which Mark had already signed his name. Therefore, Laocoon is equal to Fanny Robarts in this allusion (both of them attempt to give a warning about something which turns out to be a trap), while the Greek wooden horse can be seen to be the prebendal stall from Barsetshire, urged by Sowerby. [MD] |
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Keen
discontent of political Juvenals
This is a reference to the ancient Roman poet Juvenal, who wrote his Satires in the 2nd and 3rd decades of the 2nd century CE. These poems mock aspects of Roman society and politics, and this political criticism is what is being referenced here. Trollope says that members of both political parties had criticized the Premier's last appointment to the position of Lord Petty Bag (before Harold Smith) and thus, this phrase voices these people's discontent. OCD [MD] |
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He was
a Juno whose form the wicked old Paris had utterly despised
This classical allusion is a reference to the beauty contest which was held between Juno, Venus, and Minerva, and of which Paris was the judge. Here the allusion is used to represent the fortunes of politicians in the government and their struggles to gain influence. Mr. Harold Smith and Mr. Supplehouse have been complaining about the way in which the government has been handling situations, but all of a sudden Mr. Smith is selected for a prestigious position in the government, the office of Lord Petty Bag. Mr. Supplehouse is overlooked for the job and he thus vents his anger at not being selected by writing vindictive columns about Mr. Harold Smith in the Jupiter newspaper. In this allusion, Mr. Harold Smith is depicted in the role of Venus, who was ultimately chosen by Paris as the most beautiful of the three goddesses in the contest. Juno, who was scorned by the Trojan prince Paris, became infuriated with all the Trojan people for this lack of respect and thus aided the Greeks in their war with the Trojans; we can see her continuing anger throughout the pages of the Aeneid in the difficulties in which she places Aeneas and his fellow surviving Trojans. Paris himself can be said to be the government, or Lord Brock specifically, who selected Mr. Harold Smith as the new Lord Petty Bag and thus picked him as the winner of the contest. This allusion is humorous because it equates Victorian politicians to squabbling goddesses in a beauty contest; Trollope's use of gender reversal in classical allusions is a frequent occurrence in his works. [MD] |
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Higher
governmental gods This is the first identification of the dominant political party with the Olympian gods. In Chapter 20, the various governmental offices are more particularly identified with specific classical deities. In Chapter 23, Trollope portrays the change in government as a battle between the gods and giants, and he continues the god/giant motif throughout the rest of the novel. [RR] |
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