Doctor Thorne
Chapters 10 to 12 |
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[7-9]
[13-15] |
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Chapter 10
Sir Roger's Will |
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Habit is second nature
This sentiment is attributed to Diogenes who lived during the 5th
and 4th centuries BCE and was a Cynic from Sinope. He moved to
Athens after becoming involved in some legal trouble and became a student
of the Greek philosopher Antisthenes. Sir Roger Scatcherd uses this
phrase to explain to Dr. Thorne why he drinks such large quantities of
alcohol. Sir Roger goes on to say that even though this habit is second
nature, it is actually a more powerful nature than the first nature,
presumably the instinct we're born with.
http://www.bartleby.com/81/7797.html
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, Volume 1. Ed.
William Smith. Boston: Little and Brown, 1849.
[MD] |
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Sowing wild oats
In Plautus' Trinummus, the character Philto says something
similar in lines 532-32. In Latin, the phrase is "Em istic oportet
opseri mores malos, si in opserendo possint interfieri," however, it
can be translated into English as: "Ah! bad habits should be sown right
there, if in sowing they are able to be killed." Trollope uses the phrase
"sow his wild oats," in a conversation between Sir Roger Scatcherd and Dr.
Thorne regarding Sir Roger's son, Louis Philippe. Sir Roger says to let
him get rid of his bad habits (excessive drinking) while he is still
young, in other words "sow his wild oats," and he will straighten out by
the time he's older. This seems to be the same idea to which Plautus is
referring in Trinummus; get rid of one's bad habits by sowing them
into the earth so that they are no longer a burden. [MD] |
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Chapter 11
The Doctor Drinks His Tea |
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Chapter 12
When Greek Meets Greek, Then Comes Tug of War |
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Barchester Galen
Dr.
Fillgrave is referred to as a Galen. Previously Dr. Thorne was referred
to by this same title.
See commentary on
Doctor Thorne Chapter 2. [TH] |
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Frog
and ox
Trollope describes Dr. Fillgrave's attempt at carrying himself with
dignity by saying that "the effort would occasionally betray itself, and
the story of the frog and the ox would irresistibly force itself into
one's mind at those moments when it most behoved Dr. Fillgrave to be
magnificent." This is a reference to one of the fables of Aesop. The
story begins when a frog sees an ox. The frog is seized by a jealous rage
and tries to puff itself up to the size of the ox. It asks its children
which of them is bigger and each time the children answer, "The ox."
Finally the frog explodes. Dr. Fillgrave is compared to this frog because
during the ensuing scenes his injured pride leads him to try to act larger
than he is. He, like the frog, blows himself up to a large size only to
end up looking far from dignified. Dr. Fillgrave is upset because he is
left waiting by Roger Scatcherd for 20 minutes and is then told that Roger
won't see him. Lady Scatcherd offers him payment but he declines out of
pride. Finally he explodes with rage when he meets Dr. Thorne in the
hallway. Because Dr. Fillgrave is described as being short and plump the
imagery of a puffed up frog seems even more fitting for him.
www.mythfollore.net/aesopica/oxford/349.htm
(site no longer available)
OCD [TH] |
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Achilles glaring at at Hector
Achilles was a Greek hero in the Trojan War who is prominently placed in
Homer's Iliad. Hector is the commander of the Trojan forces and
the staunchest rival of Achilles. Both meet in Book 22 of the Iliad
wherein Achilles triumphs over Hector. Dr. Fillgrave, when trying to exit
the residence of Roger Scatcherd, bumps into Dr. Thorne. Dr. Fillgrave
glares at him as Achilles might have at Hector. Achilles and Hector being
intense classical rivals seems a fitting pair for comparison with the
intense rivals Dr. Fillgrave and Dr. Thorne. [TH] |
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Achilles
Dr.
Fillgrave is compared to Achilles. Like Fillgrave, Achilles was offended
by a person in power. For Achilles it was Agamemnon's seizure of Briseis
that provided the insult and the root of his anger. For Dr. Fillgrave it
is his belief that Dr. Thorne has publicly stolen his patient. Dr.
Fillgrave is extremely hurt by this humiliation and thus retreats to make
good on his threats against Dr. Thorne.
Cassell's Dictionary of Classical Mythology
[TH] |
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Quoad
Latin,
"in respect to." [RR] |
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[7-9]
[13-15] |
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