Phineas Redux · Chapter
LXXX: Conclusion explained
The final chapter ties up the loose ends of the narrative.
What happens
The final chapter ties up the loose ends of the narrative. Phineas Finn, acquitted and married to Madame Goesler, is seen as fortunate but urged to take up useful work. Quintus Slide faces ruin after a libel action, while Laurence Fitzgibbon and Barrington Erle continue in political life. Lady Laura lives as a recluse, the Duke works on decimal coinage, and various characters find their resolutions: Gerard Maule marries Adelaide Palliser, Lord Fawn disappears, and Mr. Spooner remains a bachelor.
Themes in this chapter
The Cost of Ambition
Phineas Finn's acquittal and marriage bring fortune, but the chapter hints at the need for him to engage in useful work, reflecting the price of his political journey.
Scandal and Public Opinion
Quintus Slide's libel action and Lord Fawn's breakdown show how public scandal and opinion can destroy lives.
Love and Sacrifice
The marriages of Phineas and Madame Goesler, and Gerard Maule and Adelaide Palliser, highlight love as a resolution, while Lady Laura's reclusive life underscores sacrifice.
Characters to notice
- Phineas Finn
Acquitted, refuses office, marries Madame Goesler, and travels abroad before returning to London.
- Madame Max Goesler
Marries Phineas Finn in October, opens the house in Park Lane with great éclat.
- Lady Laura Kennedy
Lives as a recluse at Saulsby with her father, the old Earl.
- Quintus Slide
Continues attacking Phineas Finn, leading to a libel action; loses his position and plans to seek fortune in New York.
- Gerard Maule
Marries Adelaide Palliser at Matching, takes up residence at Maule Abbey, and promises to attend to farming.
- Adelaide Palliser
Marries Gerard Maule with great glory at Matching, bringing a considerable fortune.
Key passages
“The acquittal and following glories of Phineas Finn were gall and wormwood to him; and he continued his attack upon the member for Tankerville even after it was known that he had refused office, and was about to be married to Madame Goesler.”
Quintus Slide was bitterly resentful of Phineas Finn's acquittal and success, and he kept attacking Phineas even after Phineas had turned down a government position and was engaged to Madame Goesler.
Illustrates Slide's persistent malice and the theme of scandal.
“Of Phineas everyone says that of all living men he has been the most fortunate. The present writer will not think so unless he shall soon turn his hand to some useful task.”
People consider Phineas the luckiest man alive, but the narrator believes his fortune is incomplete unless he applies himself to meaningful work.
Reflects the theme of the cost of ambition and the need for purpose.
“The marriage between Gerard Maule and Adelaide Palliser was celebrated with great glory at Matching, and was mentioned in all the leading papers as an alliance in high life.”
Gerard Maule and Adelaide Palliser's wedding was a grand affair at Matching, widely reported in newspapers as a high-society union.
Highlights the social importance of marriage alliances.