# How Bessy Pryor Was to Be Banished explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Anthony Trollope.

## What happens

Mrs. Miles, determined to separate Bessy from her son Philip, arranges to send Bessy to live with Mr. Gregory's sister in Avranches, Normandy. Bessy pleads to stay, promising obedience but refusing to renounce her love for Philip. Despite her aunt's severity, Bessy argues that love cannot be commanded, and Mrs. Miles ultimately insists on banishment as the only solution.

## Themes in this chapter

### Family Duty and Sacrifice

Mrs. Miles insists on duty over happiness, demanding Bessy sacrifice her love for Philip to uphold family expectations.

### Love and Marriage

Bessy's unwavering love for Philip clashes with her aunt's plans, highlighting the tension between romantic love and familial control over marriage.

### Gender Roles and Women's Agency

Bessy asserts her agency by refusing to renounce her love, even as she submits to her aunt's authority, illustrating the limited but present resistance available to women.

## Character check-ins

### Bessy Pryor

Bessy is the central figure, pleading with her aunt not to be sent away while steadfastly refusing to give up her love for Philip.

### Mrs. Miles

Mrs. Miles is the stern aunt who, despite her affection for Bessy, resolves to banish her to Normandy to prevent her marriage to Philip.

### Philip Launay

Philip is the object of Bessy's love, though he is absent from the scene; his potential return motivates Mrs. Miles's decision.

### Mr. Greenmantle

Mr. Gregory (likely a variant of Mr. Greenmantle) proposes his sister in Avranches as a suitable place for Bessy's exile.

## Key lines

> Why should not I come back, now that he has gone?

Bessy asks why she cannot return to her aunt's side now that Philip has left.

_Bessy pleads for reconciliation, believing Philip's absence removes the immediate cause of conflict._

> I will obey you altogether, but I must love him.

Bessy promises full obedience to her aunt's commands but insists she cannot control her feelings for Philip.

_This highlights the central conflict between external obedience and internal emotion._

> What is it though our hearts do break—what is it though we die—if we do our duty?

Mrs. Miles argues that fulfilling one's duty is more important than personal happiness or even survival.

_This encapsulates the theme of duty versus love in the chapter._

## Links

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