Ryan Dubnicek, "What is the Turret Without its Ivy? Gender and Agency in *Barchester Towers*" (Volume 3)

Within the first pages of Barchester Towers, Anthony Trollope writes, in reference to Mrs. Eleanor Bold that, “hers was one of those feminine hearts which cling to a husband, not with idolatry, for worship can admit of no defect in its idol, but with the perfect tenacity of ivy” (14). Trollope seems to be proclaiming that there is a common tendency for a woman to cling to a man due to inherent feminine weakness and male strength. This metaphor is key to the understanding of the female characters in Barchester Towers, but perhaps not in the way it appears on the surface, since, throughout the remainder of his novel, his characters tear down this metaphor and rebuild it with an opposite take on who fills the role of the ivy and who the stone to which it adheres. As the plot of Barchester Towers comes to an end, it becomes apparent that women, not men, are the characters with agency and are not weak plants who cling to male presence and power.

Eleanor Bold, at the outset, seems to be a perfect example of a woman who cannot operate positively without a man. She is a widow reliant on the help of a nurse, and who seems to have entered stasis since the death of her husband. She is presented as naïve, at best, and oblivious to the workings of the men around her, at worst. Yet, Eleanor withstands angry gossip and assumptions from her sister, her brother-in-law and father; does battle with the Stanhope family’s manipulative interactions and machinations; and repels two unwanted, and selfishly-motivated, marriage proposals. When the metaphor of the ivy and the stone again surfaces in Chapter 49—the fourth from final—it is in a very different tone and with a new meaning. As Mr. Arabin and Eleanor embrace after professing their love to one another, Trollope writes:

When the ivy has founds its tower, when the delicate creeper has found its strong wall, we know how the parasite plants grow and prosper (239).

The metaphor is no longer one of ivy clinging to a stone but of a “parasite plant” clinging to a “tower.” Trollope describes, just a few sentences later, the engagement as a victory and asks, “What is the turret without its ivy?” In this instance, after the events of the novel, Eleanor seems to be situated as the turret herself and Mr. Arabin the ivy. Eleanor was able to withstand a siege from both Mr. Slope, a character steeped in ambition to conquer, and Bertie Stanhope, someone who seeks a wealthy wife to pay off his debts. Further, Mrs. Bold is established as a key figure in the power struggle of Barchester, similar to a fortress, since it is she who chooses the winner in the fight between the low-church (Slope/Proudie) and the high-church (Arabin/Grantly) philosophies when she chooses a husband.

Eleanor’s strength in repelling these suitors stands in stark contrast to Mr. Arabin’s rather pitiful sulking after his first misstep whe he poorly attempts to tell Eleanor of his love by asking her about Mr. Slope. In his sadness, Arabin is drawn to the Signora Neroni because, “he required charming in his present misery” (121). Thus, while Eleanor copes with her own sorrow, Arabin looks to lean on the strength of others—or the illusion such. Arabin even takes on some conventionally feminine traits when it is customary for a man to take the lead, as when he is reluctant to be assertive in his interactions with Eleanor for fear of rejection and when he confides in the Signora about his desires for Eleanor.

Though Mrs. Bold is an excellent example of the agency ascribed to Barchester Towers’ female characters, she is not alone. Just as Eleanor is the most impactful of the Harding family, so a woman controls each of the other major households within Barchester. The Bishop, Dr. Proudie, is firmly in the hand of his wife, Mrs. Proudie, while Charlotte and the Signora control the Stanhopes. Their power is not just within their families: each accomplishes many of their goals in the wider community. Mrs. Proudie twice delivers the news that Mr. Quiverful is to become the new Warden of Hiram’s Hospital and even forces the Bishop to sign the order to do so. Charlotte Stanhope actively negotiates with her father to deal with her brother Bertie’s debt and persuades the latter to pursue Eleanor’s hand in marriage—something he sours on yet continues out of fear of her wrath.

Most telling is the Signora whose entire existence seems to be framed around her ability to attract and destroy the men around her. In behavior akin to a bug zapper, she seductively draws in Mr. Slope and then publicly, and violently, rejects him, necessitating his need to leave Barchester altogether. The Signora also pushes Mr. Arabin to continue his pursuit of Eleanor and the latter to be receptive to this pursuit—which ends, fittingly, with Eleanor calling back a retreating Mr. Arabin, and squeezing an engagement out of him despite his desire to shy away from such a high-tension moment. The Signora even shows incredible agency throughout Barchester despite a disability that restricts her movement. While Mr. Slope often chooses to act through letters, the Signora travels to  Mrs. Proudie’s party and Miss Thorne’s fete, despite her physical limitations. In scenes akin to a queen holding court, she draws people to her at these events and her family home,

A female presence in power is comparatively absent in the home of Archdeacon Grantly.  Without the presence of a dominant woman, neither he nor Slope (who breaks with Mrs. Proudie) is very effective in their endeavors: each is more reminiscent of limp ivy rather than a strong turret upon which others can cling. Mr. Slope is most powerful at his writing desk issuing letters and often flounders when he attempts to accomplish his goals in person. The Archdeacon, while he is often traveling, is also a man with only one conquering maneuver—the discussion. While he can talk about many things, he is unable to persuade others to agree.  He fails directly to accomplish any of his goals—neither convincing Mr. Harding to take the wardenship or become the next Dean of Barchester, nor persuading Eleanor to stay away from Mr. Slope, nor influencing the Bishop to act in accordance with his wishes.

The “ivy and tower” metaphor is poignant for its simultaneous accuracy and inaccuracy in Barchester Towers. However, Trollope seems to employ this metaphor as a playful acknowledgement of the pretense of Victorian life. While he, if not entirely convincingly, writes that, “There is nothing so odious to man as a virago,” he creates many female characters who act strongly and with fury to the delight of the reader (247). Trollope seems to present two sides of most of the events and characters of Barchester Towers, and succeeds in pointing out the disconnect between the perceived idealism of the time and the reality. As the narrator speaks admiringly about the clergy of the Church of England, the effectiveness of the Countess De Courcy’s rude tactics at the Thorne breakfast, and of his pity for Eleanor Bold, he presents the clergy acting in decidedly un-Christian fashion, plainly admits that the De Courcy’s are “in the wrong” (108) in their conduct in arriving at the Thorne’s party, and shows Eleanor gaining a loving husband, and happiness against the odds. Trollope enjoys pointing to the conventions of provincial Victorian life only to oppose those very conventions. The novel suggests that if women are indeed the ivy of Barchester’s towers, then it appears that the ivy is holding up the crumbling walls of the men of Barchester, and not the reverse.