Barchester Towers · Chapter
Mr. Arabin Reads Himself in at St. Ewold's explained
Mr.
What happens
Mr. Arabin, accompanied by the Archdeacon and Eleanor Bold, travels to Ullathorne to be formally installed as the new vicar of St. Ewold's. Despite his nervousness and self-doubt about facing his new parishioners, he successfully reads the lessons and preaches his first sermon. The Archdeacon later preaches a sermon comparing his selection of Arabin to St. Paul's sending of Onesimus. The chapter concludes with the group returning to Plumstead after a day of church services and social interaction with the Thornes.
Themes in this chapter
Personal Integrity vs. Ambition
Mr. Arabin's genuine modesty and self-doubt contrast with the Archdeacon's more worldly and strategic view of clerical placement.
Social Class and Snobbery
The interactions between the clergy, gentry (Thornes), and rural parishioners (farmers, churchwardens) highlight the rigid social hierarchy of the time.
Clerical Corruption and Patronage
The Archdeacon's self-congratulation for choosing Arabin without regard to 'patronage or favour' subtly acknowledges the prevalence of such practices.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Arabin
New vicar of St. Ewold's, nervous about his first service but performs adequately.
- Archdeacon Grantly
Accompanies Arabin, ridicules his shyness, and preaches a sermon comparing himself to St. Paul.
- Eleanor Bold
Travels with the party, engages in light banter with Arabin about public speaking.
- Miss Thorne
Hosts the party at Ullathorne, keenly observes Arabin, and discusses local matters.
- Mr. Thorne
Introduces Arabin to parishioners and discusses agricultural topics with the Archdeacon.
- Mr. Stiles
Churchwarden who clarifies his role regarding discipline in church.
Key passages
“The change, he said, from St. Mary’s to St. Ewold’s was quite as powerful on the spirits as would be that from St. Ewold’s to St. Mary’s. Would not a peer who, by chance of fortune, might suddenly be driven to herd among navvies be as afraid of the jeers of his companions as would any navvy suddenly exalted to a seat among the peers?”
Mr. Arabin argued that the psychological shift from a prestigious Oxford pulpit to a humble country parish was as disorienting as the reverse, comparing it to a lord suddenly forced to work with laborers or a laborer suddenly elevated to the peerage.
Arabin defends his nervousness by arguing that context, not inherent ability, determines one's confidence.
“A young lady, he said, would execute with most perfect self-possession a difficult piece of music in a room crowded with strangers, who would not be able to express herself in intelligible language, even on any ordinary subject and among her most intimate friends, if she were required to do so standing on a box somewhat elevated among them.”
He claimed that a young woman could play a complex piece of music confidently before strangers, but would be unable to speak coherently on a simple topic among friends if forced to stand on a raised box.
Arabin uses this analogy to illustrate how unfamiliar circumstances can paralyze even the most capable people.
“He deprecated any comparison between himself and St. Paul, but said that he was entitled to beseech them for their goodwill towards Mr. Arabin, in the same manner that the apostle had besought Philemon and his household with regard to Onesimus.”
The Archdeacon modestly dismissed any direct comparison to St. Paul, yet claimed the right to ask the congregation to welcome Mr. Arabin just as Paul asked Philemon to welcome Onesimus.
The Archdeacon's sermon subtly elevates his own role in selecting Arabin, drawing a parallel to apostolic authority.
