# When Greek Meets Greek, Then Comes the Tug of War explained — Doctor Thorne

> Chapter companion for Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope.

## What happens

Dr. Fillgrave is summoned to attend Sir Roger Scatcherd but arrives to find Sir Roger has recovered and refuses to see him, leading to a tense confrontation with Lady Scatcherd and an unexpected encounter with Dr. Thorne.

## Themes in this chapter

### Professional Dignity vs. Practicality

Dr. Fillgrave's refusal of the fee to preserve his dignity, despite his desire for it, exemplifies the conflict between professional pride and practical gain.

### Social Class and Marriage

Lady Scatcherd's awkwardness and the condescension she faces from Dr. Fillgrave underscore the class tensions between the nouveau riche and established professionals.

## Character check-ins

### Dr. Fillgrave

Summoned to Boxall Hill, he is offended when Sir Roger refuses to see him; he rejects a fee to preserve his dignity.

### Lady Scatcherd

Anxious and flustered, she tries to appease Dr. Fillgrave with a five-pound note after her husband's refusal to see him.

### Sir Roger Scatcherd

Recovered from his illness, he stubbornly refuses to see Dr. Fillgrave, insisting on his loyalty to Dr. Thorne.

### Dr. Thorne

Appears unexpectedly at the end of the chapter, encountering Dr. Fillgrave in the hall.

### Winterbones

Sir Roger's clerk, who locks the door on Lady Scatcherd's orders.

## Key lines

> Dr. Fillgrave dearly loved a five-pound fee. What physician is so unnatural as not to love it? He dearly loved a five-pound fee; but he loved his dignity better.

Dr. Fillgrave was very fond of a five-pound fee, as any doctor would be, but he valued his dignity even more.

_Highlights the internal conflict between financial gain and professional pride._

> Put him under the pump, said the baronet; and he laughed his peculiar low guttural laugh, which told so plainly of the havoc which brandy had made in his throat.

Sir Roger joked that Dr. Fillgrave should be put under the pump, laughing in a way that revealed the damage alcohol had done to his voice.

_Illustrates Sir Roger's contempt for Dr. Fillgrave and his own physical decline due to drinking._

## Links

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