Mrs Bold’s Thunderclap
There comes a point in some relationships when words just aren’t enough.
1857
There comes a point in some relationships when words just aren’t enough.
1857
In the gardens of the Rectory at Ullathorne, the ambitious Mr Slope, chaplain to the Bishop of Barchester, declares his ‘love’ for wealthy widow Mrs Bold.
by Anthony Trollope (1815-1882)
“AH, Eleanor, will it not be sweet, with the Lord’s assistance, to travel hand in hand through this mortal valley which His mercies will make pleasant to us, till hereafter we shall dwell together at the foot of His throne?”
“My name, Mr. Slope, is Mrs. Bold,” said Eleanor, too much disgusted by his blasphemy to be able to bear much more of it.
“Sweetest angel, be not so cold,” said he, and contrived to pass his arm round her waist. He did this with considerable cleverness, for up to this point Eleanor had contrived with tolerable success to keep her distance from him.
She sprang from him as she would have jumped from an adder, but she did not spring far — not, indeed, beyond arm's length — and then, quick as thought, she raised her little hand and dealt him a box on the ear with such right goodwill that it sounded among the trees like a miniature thunderclap.
by Anthony Trollope (1815-1882)
1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?
2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?
3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?
Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.