# The Widow's Persecution explained — Barchester Towers > Chapter companion for Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope. ## What happens Mr. Slope meets with the bishop and they form a secret league against Mrs. Proudie, agreeing on Mr. Quiverful's appointment. The archdeacon, angered by the bishop's avoidance, confronts Mr. Harding and Eleanor, suspecting Mr. Slope's intentions toward Eleanor. The archdeacon and Mr. Harding plan to counter Mr. Slope's influence, and Eleanor is invited to Plumstead to remove her from Mr. Slope's attentions. ## Themes in this chapter ### Clerical Corruption and Patronage The secret pact between Mr. Slope and Dr. Proudie to appoint Mr. Quiverful, bypassing Mr. Harding's claim, illustrates the corrupt use of patronage for personal and political gain. ### Hypocrisy and Moral Ambiguity Dr. Proudie feigns illness to avoid the archdeacon while conspiring with Mr. Slope, and the archdeacon's harsh judgment of Eleanor contrasts with his own manipulative tactics. ### Gender and Domestic Power Mrs. Proudie's attempt to maintain control through eavesdropping and the archdeacon's plan to remove Eleanor from Mr. Slope's influence highlight the limited but contested power of women in domestic and social spheres. ## Character check-ins ### Mr. Slope Summoned to the bishop's dressing-room, he forms a secret pact with Dr. Proudie to undermine Mrs. Proudie's authority and confirms Mr. Quiverful's appointment. ### Dr. Proudie Feigning illness, he avoids meeting Archdeacon Grantly and secretly agrees with Mr. Slope to proceed with Mr. Quiverful's appointment. ### Mrs. Proudie Stations herself near the door to overhear the interview but remains unaware of the treacherous league formed against her by her husband and Mr. Slope. ### Archdeacon Grantly Furious at being fobbed off with a note from Mr. Slope, he confronts Mr. Harding and Eleanor, suspecting Mr. Slope's designs on Eleanor and the hospital. ### Mr. Harding Defends Eleanor's innocence but is persuaded by the archdeacon to fight for the hospital and to send Eleanor to Plumstead to avoid Mr. Slope. ### Eleanor Bold Innocent of the archdeacon's suspicions, she defends her conversation with Mr. Slope and accepts an invitation to the Stanhopes before agreeing to go to Plumstead. ## Key lines > Mr. Slope again pointed out to his patron that he thought he was perhaps not quite wise in his decision, and this he did sotto voce. But even with this precaution it was not safe to say much, and during the little that he did say, the bishop made a very slight, but still a very ominous gesture with his thumb towards the door which opened from his dressing-room to some inner sanctuary. Mr. Slope quietly warned the bishop that his decision might be unwise, but the bishop subtly gestured toward Mrs. Proudie's room, signaling that he could not speak freely. _This moment establishes the secret alliance between Slope and Proudie against Mrs. Proudie's influence._ > It would be a calumny on Mrs. Proudie to suggest that she was sitting in her bedroom with her ear at the keyhole during this interview. She had within her a spirit of decorum which prevented her from descending to such baseness. To put her ear to a keyhole, or to listen at a chink, was a trick for a housemaid. Mrs. Proudie knew this, and therefore did not do it; but she stationed herself as near to the door as she well could, that she might, if possible, get the advantage which the housemaid would have had, without descending to the housemaid's artifice. Mrs. Proudie did not literally eavesdrop at the keyhole, but she positioned herself close to the door to overhear the conversation, maintaining her dignity while still trying to gather information. _This highlights Mrs. Proudie's desire for control and her strategic, albeit self-justified, methods._ > The archdeacon turned on her with almost brutal wrath. Had she at once owned that she had accepted Mr. Slope for her second husband, he could hardly have felt more convinced of her belonging body and soul to the Slope and Proudie party than he now did on hearing her express such a wish as this. The archdeacon reacted with extreme anger to Eleanor's innocent comment, as if she had confessed to marrying Mr. Slope, so convinced was he of her alignment with his enemies. _This shows the archdeacon's irrational suspicion and the growing tension around Eleanor's perceived loyalty._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/barchester_towers_se/chapters/xviii-the-widow-s-persecution - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/barchester_towers_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/barchester_towers_se/chapters