# Part II: Despair explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Anthony Trollope.

## What happens

The narrator, having completed his story 'The New Inmate' for the Panjandrum magazine, arrives at Mrs. St. Quinten's house for a reading session full of hope. However, the group votes that his story qualifies as a novel and is therefore excluded by their prior resolution against novels. Mrs. St. Quinten casts the deciding vote against him, leaving the narrator crushed and despairing. The evening continues with readings from other members, but the narrator is unable to engage, lost in his disappointment.

## Themes in this chapter

### Ambition and Failure

The narrator's high hopes for 'The New Inmate' are shattered by the group's vote, illustrating the crushing disappointment of creative ambition thwarted by arbitrary rules.

### Morality and Hypocrisy

The group's decision to exclude all stories, despite the narrator's passionate belief in his work, reveals a hypocritical rigidity that prioritizes rules over artistic merit.

## Character check-ins

### Mrs. St. Quinten

Hosts the Panjandrum meeting; reviews Bishop Berkeley's theory and casts the deciding vote against the narrator's story.

### Churchill Smith

Argues that 'The New Inmate' is a novel and influences Mrs. St. Quinten's vote; presents an essay 'On the Basis of Political Right'.

### Patrick Regan

Supports the narrator initially; reads his own work divided into three portions; later discusses the event with the narrator.

### Walter Watt

Proposes the vote on the novel question; remains impartial; reads an essay called 'The Real Aristocrat'.

### Jack Hollycombe

Has not written his contribution; fires paper pellets during readings; supports the narrator in the vote.

## Key lines

> Si vis me flere, dolendum est primum ipsi tibi.

If you want me to weep, you must first feel grief yourself.

_The narrator quotes this Latin maxim to justify his own self-pity as a source of creative inspiration._

> I have reviewed Bishop Berkeley's whole Theory on Matter

I have written a comprehensive review of Bishop Berkeley's philosophy of matter.

_Mrs. St. Quinten announces her contribution to the magazine, a dense philosophical piece._

> I think we did mean to exclude all story-telling

I believe our intention was to ban all narrative fiction.

_Mrs. St. Quinten delivers the decisive vote that rejects the narrator's story._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_4_se/chapters/part-ii-despair
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_4_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_4_se/chapters