The marriages at the end of Framley Parsonage and what they foretell

Anthony Trollope concludes vol 4 of the Barchester novels, Framley Parsonage, in his typical wry manner; as noted in yesterday's post, AT is a "comic" writer, so we know that the outcome of his long tale will be wrapped up in a series of marriages, with perhaps a mild come-uppance for the evil-doers. That said, AT is no sentimentalist, either, so it's worth looking at his treatment of the marriages that conclude this volume. Most notably, the marriage of the beautiful Grisela Grantly to the wealth Lord Dumbello seems shaky from the start, clouded in rumors that Dumbello's sudden voyage to France may have been an attempt to get out of the marriage contract (along w/ rumors that he'd broken off a previous engagement). We know that GG's father went to France to pursue Dumbello (love that name!) - but we don't know what happened between the 2 men in France. Perhaps Trollope is holding that back for another novel? In any event, it's probably the inspiration for James's The Ambassadors, on a similar theme but with the added dimension of Anglo-American politics and mores. Of course the main marriage plot in FP is the marriage between Lord Lufton and Lucy Robarts, to which Lady Lufton has at last given her blessing. The marriage seems to have high promise for success - the 2 are clearly in love, and Lady Lufton has overcome (some of) her biases against an untitled woman as newest member of the family. And yet - has Lord Lufton really reformed in any significant way, or his he still just a dimwitted, spendthrift, titled, and entitled outdoorsman? And as to Lady Lufton, the very last lines of the novel have her expressing her opinion that in the Lufton household the nursery has always been in one particular room; she says that Lucy is free to decide where she'd like to place the nursery - and the last line of the novel assures us that Lady Lufton got her way. She has broadened in some ways for sure, but she's still a bossy, domineering presence, which bodes ill over time.

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