Phineas Finn · Chapter
LVIII: Rara Avis in Terris explained
Phineas Finn and Mr.
What happens
Phineas Finn and Mr. Monk dine together, discussing political honesty, the nature of morality, and a proposed trip to Ireland to study tenant-right. Mr. Monk, though a Cabinet minister, grows disillusioned with the constraints of office and yearns for independence. Meanwhile, Phineas continues to evade Mr. Kennedy's invitations, leading to a tense confrontation in which Mr. Kennedy directly asks whether Lady Laura has forbidden Phineas from visiting. The chapter also touches on Mary Flood Jones's quiet devotion and Mrs. Finn's excitement at the prospect of hosting a Cabinet minister.
Themes in this chapter
Honor and Integrity
Mr. Monk's sermon on political honesty and the difficulty of maintaining scruples in public life highlights the theme of integrity versus expediency.
Politics and Patronage
The discussion of tenant-right reform and Mr. Monk's position in the Cabinet illustrate the interplay of political power, patronage, and reform.
The Cost of Ambition
Phineas's struggle to balance independence with political success, and Mr. Monk's cautionary advice, underscore the personal costs of ambition.
Characters to notice
- Phineas Finn
Dines with Mr. Monk, discusses political honesty and a trip to Ireland; struggles to avoid Mr. Kennedy's invitations and is cornered into a difficult conversation.
- Mr. Monk
Hosts Phineas for dinner, preaches on morality and political independence, contemplates tenant-right reform, and agrees to visit Ireland.
- Mr. Kennedy
Persistently invites Phineas to dinner, confronts him at his office, and directly asks if Lady Laura has forbidden Phineas from coming.
- Lady Laura Standish
Referenced as the reason Phineas avoids Mr. Kennedy's house; her command influences Phineas's refusals.
- Mary Flood Jones
In solitude, she weeps over Phineas's rising fortunes but vows to love him always.
- Mrs. Finn
Thrilled at the prospect of hosting Mr. Monk, the Cabinet minister, at Killaloe.
- Mr. Gresham
Mentioned as a colleague of Mr. Monk in the Cabinet, cautious about committing to tenant-right reform.
- Duke of Omnium
Referenced as one of the two most honest men in the Cabinet with whom Mr. Monk discusses tenant-right.
Key passages
“There are general laws current in the world as to morality. ‘Thou shalt not steal,’ for instance. That has necessarily been current as a law through all nations. But the first man you meet in the street will have ideas about theft so different from yours, that, if you knew them as you know your own, you would say that this law and yours were not even founded on the same principle.”
Universal moral rules like 'do not steal' are interpreted so differently by different people that they might as well be different laws.
Mr. Monk illustrates the relativity of moral understanding, even for seemingly absolute commandments.
“He would not perceive that as he had made up his mind to be a servant of the public in Parliament, he must abandon all idea of independent action; and unless he did so he could be neither successful as regarded himself, or useful to the public whom he served.”
Phineas fails to see that being a public servant in Parliament requires sacrificing personal independence for effectiveness.
The narrator reflects on the inherent conflict between political service and personal scruples.
“Let her at least not be a kept mistress. Let it be bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh, if we are to live together in the married state.”
If England and Ireland are to remain united, Ireland must be treated as an equal partner, not a subordinate.
Mr. Monk uses a marital metaphor to argue for fair treatment of Ireland within the Union.
