stoutfellow (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stoutfellow) wrote2005-07-15 04:37 pm
stoutfellow) wrote2005-07-15 04:37 pm
"The Warden"
It feels a bit odd to be reviewing a book that was published a century and a half ago. On the other hand, Anthony Trollope is not that well known these days (although there was a brief flurry of interest in his Palliser novels a couple of decades ago), and The Warden is not one of his best-known works.
Wotthehell. I feel like talking about it, OK?
The plot is easily summarized. Septimus Harding, an aged Anglican cleric, is the supervisor - the Warden - of Hiram's Hospital, a charitable institution providing room, board, a small stipend, and other services to a dozen elderly or disabled residents of the town of Barchester. It was founded some four centuries earlier, as a legacy of a wealthy wool merchant, and the will specified the amount of the stipends. The value of the supporting property has risen greatly, but the stipends have not kept pace; the remaining income goes to the Warden. The situation catches the eye of a young reformer, who begins legal proceedings to rectify matters. Before long, the Times of London, Charles Dickens, and Thomas Carlyle (or, rather, caricatures clearly meant to represent them) weigh in. Mr. Harding's son-in-law, Archdeacon Grantly, girds his loins for battle, enlisting the aid of noted lawyer Abraham Haphazard, and... And nothing. The suit and countersuit fizzle out; Mr. Harding resigns as Warden; and quiet resumes.
The real battle is not the outward legal one; it is the turmoil within Mr. Harding's mind. He is a retiring sort, accustomed to being dominated by his vigorous son-in-law, and it has never occurred to him that there is anything inappropriate about his situation. Once the possibility is raised, though, he has to wrestle with it, and with his own nature. Those whom he is accustomed to ask for advice and support simply do not understand his dilemma (for their own, different reasons), and he has to make his decision on his own. Ultimately, he must go against the Archdeacon himself - and this is no easy task.
The strength of the book rests in characterization and psychological insight. Trollope does descend to caricature in some cases, as mentioned above, but Harding, Archdeacon and Mrs. Grantly, Eleanor Harding, and John Bold are well drawn. Harding himself is the most appealing character. Bold sees himself (falsely) as a heroic reformer; Eleanor pictures herself as an Iphigenia, sacrificing herself - or at least her love - for her father's sake (but fails of her resolve); the Archdeacon has thoroughly identified himself with the Church, and the Church with the faith; only Harding has the integrity to face the situation clearly, despite his self-interest, despite his general passivity, and his story is nicely told.
It's a short book and a relatively uneventful one, but the main characters are memorable, and I enjoyed it as much on this rereading as I did the first time through, some thirty years ago.
Wotthehell. I feel like talking about it, OK?
The plot is easily summarized. Septimus Harding, an aged Anglican cleric, is the supervisor - the Warden - of Hiram's Hospital, a charitable institution providing room, board, a small stipend, and other services to a dozen elderly or disabled residents of the town of Barchester. It was founded some four centuries earlier, as a legacy of a wealthy wool merchant, and the will specified the amount of the stipends. The value of the supporting property has risen greatly, but the stipends have not kept pace; the remaining income goes to the Warden. The situation catches the eye of a young reformer, who begins legal proceedings to rectify matters. Before long, the Times of London, Charles Dickens, and Thomas Carlyle (or, rather, caricatures clearly meant to represent them) weigh in. Mr. Harding's son-in-law, Archdeacon Grantly, girds his loins for battle, enlisting the aid of noted lawyer Abraham Haphazard, and... And nothing. The suit and countersuit fizzle out; Mr. Harding resigns as Warden; and quiet resumes.
The real battle is not the outward legal one; it is the turmoil within Mr. Harding's mind. He is a retiring sort, accustomed to being dominated by his vigorous son-in-law, and it has never occurred to him that there is anything inappropriate about his situation. Once the possibility is raised, though, he has to wrestle with it, and with his own nature. Those whom he is accustomed to ask for advice and support simply do not understand his dilemma (for their own, different reasons), and he has to make his decision on his own. Ultimately, he must go against the Archdeacon himself - and this is no easy task.
The strength of the book rests in characterization and psychological insight. Trollope does descend to caricature in some cases, as mentioned above, but Harding, Archdeacon and Mrs. Grantly, Eleanor Harding, and John Bold are well drawn. Harding himself is the most appealing character. Bold sees himself (falsely) as a heroic reformer; Eleanor pictures herself as an Iphigenia, sacrificing herself - or at least her love - for her father's sake (but fails of her resolve); the Archdeacon has thoroughly identified himself with the Church, and the Church with the faith; only Harding has the integrity to face the situation clearly, despite his self-interest, despite his general passivity, and his story is nicely told.
It's a short book and a relatively uneventful one, but the main characters are memorable, and I enjoyed it as much on this rereading as I did the first time through, some thirty years ago.
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