“When Louis Trevelyan was twenty-four years old, he had all the world before him where to choose; and, among other things, he chose to go to the Mandarin Islands, and there fell in love with Emily Rowley, the daughter of Sir Marmaduke, the governor.”

My, Anthony Trollope is delightful.  I’m convinced that he could write a novel about an ant colony and make it thoroughly entertaining.  And entertainment is what we get in this tome about a couple destined to be in a state of conflict, simply because of their own pride.

Louis Trevelyan travels to the Mandarin Islands, falls in love with the English governor of the Mandarin Island’s daughter, Emily Rowley, and marries her.  Back in England, the beginning of their marriage is harmonious including the birth of their son, but when Colonel Osborne, a friend of Emily’s father, decides to visit, Louis is spurred by jealousy as his wife acts with more than appropriate hospitality to Osborne’s constant visits.  As Louis’ manner for reprimand is more authoritarian than measured, wrath is stirred, a quarrel breaks out, and neither of the combatants have the humility or maturity to admit their own short-comings and quell the rising animosity.

Portrait of Anton Zhuber and his wife Theresia (1834) – Eduard Ritter
~ source Wikimedia Commons

While the main action is around Louis and Emily and the division between them, Trollope, in grand Trollopian-style, gives us sub-stories of various characters.  Emily’s gentle and biddable sister Nora is given the choice between marriage to a kindly lord, Lord Charles Glascock, or one to a poor writer for a penny-newspaper, Hugh Stanbury, a friend of Louis.  Dorothy Stanbury, Hugh’s poor but sensible sister, when she is given a companion position to rich Aunt Stanbury, is courted for marriage by both the clergyman of the village, Mr. Gibson (yet under Aunt Stanbury’s forceful meddling), and Brooke Burgess, Aunt Stanbury’s heir …… that is if her aunt doesn’t change her mind.  And she just might because Aunt Stanbury is not at all happy with the possibility of Brooke and Dorothy’s romantic attachment.

And, yes, the reader is introduced to Aunt Jemima Stanbury, who wields her power through a large inheritance from a previous suitor.  Through her guilt at having the money, she is determined to keep it within the rightful family, causing her to make decisions that may adversely affect the happiness of others.

Jealousy (1895) Edvard Munsch
~ Wikiart

While some of this story is light-hearted, the main theme of it is much darker.  In an Othello-type presentation, Trollope delves into the depths of jealousy and obsession, how it works on the human soul and the decay it produces among everyone it touches.  If Trevelyan at any point exhibited forgiveness or even a modicum of understanding, the animosity between him and his wife might have been abated, however, his desire to implicate her and control her became more intense as he refused to see any situation in any other way than his harsh and later on, twisted perception. The result was a truly tragic conclusion.

“A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”  Proverbs 15:11

Jealousy and Flirtation (1874) Haynes King
~ Wikiart