# A New Candidate for Ecclesiastical Honours explained — Barchester Towers

> Chapter companion for Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope.

## What happens

Mr. Slope maneuvers to secure the deanery for himself after Dr. Trefoil's apoplexy, persuading Bishop Proudie to support his candidacy while conceding the Hiram's Hospital appointment to Mr. Quiverful. Meanwhile, the bishop's domestic struggle with Mrs. Proudie continues, and Mr. Slope writes letters to influential figures to advance his cause.

## Themes in this chapter

### Clerical Corruption and Patronage

Mr. Slope's manipulation of Bishop Proudie and his letter-writing campaign to secure the deanery exemplify the corrupt use of patronage and personal influence in church appointments.

### Hypocrisy and Moral Ambiguity

Mr. Slope's professed desire for 'uniformity of opinion' masks his self-serving ambition, while the bishop's concession to Mrs. Proudie reveals the hypocrisy in his domestic and ecclesiastical authority.

## Character check-ins

### Mr. Slope

Actively campaigns for the deanery, manipulates Bishop Proudie, and writes letters to Sir Nicholas Fitzwhiggin and Mr. Towers to secure support.

### Dr. Proudie

Initially hesitant, he is persuaded by Mr. Slope to support his candidacy for the deanery and agrees to nominate Mr. Quiverful for Hiram's Hospital.

### Mrs. Proudie

Defeated in a previous confrontation with the bishop, she bides her time and reasserts her influence over him during the night.

### Dr. Trefoil

The dean is stricken with apoplexy and is past hope, creating the vacancy Mr. Slope seeks to fill.

### Mr. Quiverful

Mentioned as the beneficiary of the Hiram's Hospital appointment, which Mr. Slope agrees to arrange.

## Key lines

> I need not say that it would be my chief desire to act in all matters connected with the cathedral as far as possible in accordance with your views.

Mr. Slope assures the bishop that he would align his actions with the bishop's wishes in cathedral matters.

_Mr. Slope uses flattery to persuade the bishop to support his candidacy for the deanery._

> Ce n’est que le premier pas qui coûte

The first step is the only difficult one.

_The bishop reflects on his initial defiance of Mrs. Proudie, hoping subsequent steps will be easier._

> He was as a ghost, all whose power of wandering free through these upper regions ceases at cockcrow; or, rather, he was the opposite of the ghost, for till cockcrow he must again be a serf.

The bishop dreads returning to his wife at night, knowing he will lose his newfound freedom and become subservient again.

_The narrator uses a ghost metaphor to describe the bishop's fear of his wife's dominance._

## Links

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