Framley Parsonage · Chapter
The Framley Set, and the Chaldicotes Set explained
Lady Lufton contrasts the virtuous Framley set with the dangerous Chaldicotes set, led by Mr.
What happens
Lady Lufton contrasts the virtuous Framley set with the dangerous Chaldicotes set, led by Mr. Sowerby and including Harold Smith and his wife. She fears Lord Lufton and Mark Robarts will be corrupted by their influence. Mark leaves for Chaldicotes despite his wife Fanny's concerns about Lady Lufton's disapproval. Fanny later visits Framley Court, where Lady Lufton gently rebukes her for Mark's absence, but Fanny defends her husband, and Lady Lufton ultimately appreciates her loyalty.
Themes in this chapter
Gossip and Public Opinion
Lady Lufton's views on the Chaldicotes set are shaped by gossip and public reputation, particularly regarding Sowerby's debts and the Duke of Omnium's land acquisitions.
Patronage and Power
Lady Lufton's patronage of Mark Robarts is evident in her expectation of his loyalty and her disapproval of his association with the Chaldicotes set, which she sees as a threat to her influence.
Social Ambition and Class
The contrast between the Framley set and the Chaldicotes set highlights class distinctions and social ambition, with Harold Smith's political aspirations and Sowerby's financial decline.
Characters to notice
- Lady Lufton
Lady Lufton disapproves of the Chaldicotes set, fearing their influence on her son and Mark Robarts. She values quiet, church-going people and worries about Sowerby's financial ruin and the Duke of Omnium's land-grabbing.
- Mark Robarts
Mark has gone to Chaldicotes to join the party, including the bishop, despite knowing Lady Lufton will be annoyed. He avoids calling on her before leaving.
- Fanny Robarts
Fanny is anxious about Lady Lufton's reaction to Mark's absence. She defends Mark to Lady Lufton, showing her loyalty as a wife.
- Nathaniel Sowerby
Sowerby is the host of the Chaldicotes party, a poor man with a large estate, rumored to have wasted money on electioneering and gambling. He is seen as a corrupting influence by Lady Lufton.
- Lord Lufton
Lord Lufton is unmarried at 26, causing his mother anxiety. She fears he will be led astray by Sowerby and the Duke of Omnium.
- Harold Smith
Harold Smith is a member of Parliament and a rising politician, married to Sowerby's sister. He is laborious and well-informed but conceited and pompous.
- Lady Meredith
Justinia, Lady Lufton's daughter, acts as a mediator between Fanny and Lady Lufton, defending Mark's absence with a white lie about a charity sermon.
- Mr. Jones
Mr. Evan Jones is Mark's curate, who will take the services in Mark's absence. Lady Lufton refers to him as 'poor old Evan Jones.'
Key passages
“The Chaldicotes set, as Lady Lufton called them, were in every way opposed to what a set should be according to her ideas.”
Lady Lufton believed the Chaldicotes group embodied everything she disliked.
This summarizes Lady Lufton's moral and social opposition to the Chaldicotes set.
“She liked cheerful, quiet, well-to-do people, who loved their Church, their country, and their Queen, and who were not too anxious to make a noise in the world.”
Lady Lufton preferred contented, respectable people who were devout and patriotic without seeking attention.
This describes Lady Lufton's ideal social circle.
“He had already filled more than one subordinate station, had been at the Treasury, and for a month or two at the Admiralty, astonishing official mankind by his diligence.”
Harold Smith had held several minor government posts, impressing colleagues with his hard work.
This illustrates Harold Smith's political career and reputation for diligence.
