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sookieskipper 's review for:
The Small House at Allington
by Anthony Trollope
At first glance, this book looks like yet another strong concoction made of Bennet sisters (Jane and Elizabeth) from Pride and Prejudice, and Dashwood sisters (Elinor and Marianne) from Sense and sensibility. Trollope uses similar tropes from Victorian Era and gives them different layers. By the end of the book, you are left with no heroines or their dashing men. There are no villains or superflous women whose presence is to stitch the threads of plot together. You are left with people who you have come to know very dearly and you find it difficult to write some people off with a mere label.
Lily Dale is jilted by an ambitious young man, Crosbie. She holds no grudges, no angry words or mourns for the loss of love of her life - something that she had declared only few days before. Yes, its annoying to read her martyr speech and calling upon God to forgive the man who broke off the engagement. She isn't angry with this sudden change as her actions implies as if she
almost saw it coming. For Lily Dale, marriage is a lifelong commitment and a constancy. She doesn't believe in divorce or wants that to happen to her due to her own convictions about society and institution of marriage. She confronts her fiance, Crosbie, and gives him an out. She says she will be okay if they were to call their marriage off now rather than later when they are already married. When she finds out the engagement is over, she is relieved that the doubts that had risen over the weeks were now put to rest. With the kind of society she was in and the arrangement that was for her family, being divorced would have been disastrous. Calling off engagement and cutting things off with her fiance was probably the best course of action. Yes, Lily Dale's actions can be annoying but its not born out of practicality.
That being said, she is far from perfect. She has tendency to over share, sometimes lacks regard for delicacy of the situation and can be self-ignorant - a trait that she shared with her fiance, Mr. Crosbie. Trollope doesn't make Crosibie a villain as we have seen in Mr.Willoughby or Mr.Wickham whose ulterior motives severely lack remorse. Mr. Crosbie is upset with the way things progress when he realizes marrying Lily Dale would inhibit his progress. He makes a decision that's cruel to Lily and doesn't find courage to face her in person and give her the news. When he sits down to write his letter, he is sorry for his actions and doesn't give justifications for them.
His self-absorption gives him lack of insight thus making him leave a hurt and despair in his wake. Over time he grows as a person and shakes much of his old habits and temperament with new personality being almost likeable.The other sister Bell rejects a proposition from a wealthy man who also happens to be her cousin. She stands her ground and says she doesn't want to because she doesn't want to. The man, Bernard is baffled at the lack of reason for her rejection. Its amusing in the way it seems to be a parody of Elizabeth Bennet in this context. Bell finds her happy ending in one Dr.Crofts who hails from a poor family.
Trollope explores class distinction from the very title. Every character interaction is a conflict in social class and their respective status. It's interesting how many of them have all been interacting with each other before the start of novel. They are all either related or friends or have friends in common. It makes the setting very intricate with most characters always staying in the fringes of ongoing plot. Trollope doesn't give every main character their happy ending. Some characters find a way to resolve their differences, grow a little and move on. Each character comes with their own set of flaws which influences the actions of these characters.
Even now these characters can be easily related to and we all probably know a few who fit into the roles from this book. Very humane, very realistic.
Lily Dale is jilted by an ambitious young man, Crosbie. She holds no grudges, no angry words or mourns for the loss of love of her life - something that she had declared only few days before. Yes, its annoying to read her martyr speech and calling upon God to forgive the man who broke off the engagement. She isn't angry with this sudden change as her actions implies as if she
almost saw it coming. For Lily Dale, marriage is a lifelong commitment and a constancy. She doesn't believe in divorce or wants that to happen to her due to her own convictions about society and institution of marriage. She confronts her fiance, Crosbie, and gives him an out. She says she will be okay if they were to call their marriage off now rather than later when they are already married. When she finds out the engagement is over, she is relieved that the doubts that had risen over the weeks were now put to rest. With the kind of society she was in and the arrangement that was for her family, being divorced would have been disastrous. Calling off engagement and cutting things off with her fiance was probably the best course of action. Yes, Lily Dale's actions can be annoying but its not born out of practicality.
That being said, she is far from perfect. She has tendency to over share, sometimes lacks regard for delicacy of the situation and can be self-ignorant - a trait that she shared with her fiance, Mr. Crosbie. Trollope doesn't make Crosibie a villain as we have seen in Mr.Willoughby or Mr.Wickham whose ulterior motives severely lack remorse. Mr. Crosbie is upset with the way things progress when he realizes marrying Lily Dale would inhibit his progress. He makes a decision that's cruel to Lily and doesn't find courage to face her in person and give her the news. When he sits down to write his letter, he is sorry for his actions and doesn't give justifications for them.
His self-absorption gives him lack of insight thus making him leave a hurt and despair in his wake. Over time he grows as a person and shakes much of his old habits and temperament with new personality being almost likeable.The other sister Bell rejects a proposition from a wealthy man who also happens to be her cousin. She stands her ground and says she doesn't want to because she doesn't want to. The man, Bernard is baffled at the lack of reason for her rejection. Its amusing in the way it seems to be a parody of Elizabeth Bennet in this context. Bell finds her happy ending in one Dr.Crofts who hails from a poor family.
Trollope explores class distinction from the very title. Every character interaction is a conflict in social class and their respective status. It's interesting how many of them have all been interacting with each other before the start of novel. They are all either related or friends or have friends in common. It makes the setting very intricate with most characters always staying in the fringes of ongoing plot. Trollope doesn't give every main character their happy ending. Some characters find a way to resolve their differences, grow a little and move on. Each character comes with their own set of flaws which influences the actions of these characters.
Even now these characters can be easily related to and we all probably know a few who fit into the roles from this book. Very humane, very realistic.