Anthony Troollope’s Realism is very essential for every writer in presenting or visualizing the true spirit of his age. Those writers or persons of literary genre who follow this technique, are well considered and well-popularized among their readers as well as the viewers.
As far as the case of Trollope is concerned, he is rightly believed as a great realist. A deep and careful study or analysis of his most of his literary works shows that almost all his characters, their ambitions, their desires, their hopes, their wishes, their beliefs, their attitudes, their actions, their likenesses and dislikenesses, in short, their all ways and manners of life are extracted from their contemporary society. Whatever he observes and feels, conveys to his readers without hiding anything or happening of his contemporary age.
When we start studying this novel “Barchester Towers”, we come to know that the Barchester Towers is the story of two church parties which are called Low Church and High Church. As there is going on a tussle or dispute between these two parties whether the new bishop would be appointed by a conservative or a liberal administration; most of the clergymen of Barchester are regarded uniformly of High Church. Dr. Grantly’s failure and Dr, Proudie’s success serve as raising a great deal of conflict within the local Church. This conflict between High-Church and Low-Church provides an action in the novel and further it leads to the main plot of the Barchester Towers. Trollope makes best use of his technique of art and minimizes the difference between fiction and reality and this very thing leads the action to the realistic Dr. Grantly’s ambition. By forging a link to the fictional world, he creates the actual world.
It is one of the best traits of Trollope’s art of writing that he always presents plausible characters and events that involve the reader’s interest and likeness more. The conducts and manners of Dr. Grantly are psychological and Trollope presents him in a psychological vein but handles him without using the elements of sentimentality. He feels pity and sorrow for his father but inwardly his heart longs for having the post of a bishop; though his ambition makes him feel guilty yet he cannot hide or suppress it. Trollope always talks about people’s practical affairs; that’s why his other travel books always deal or convey real human life affairs rather pictorial sights, sketches of places and scenery of outer life.
In most of the literary writings and works, Trollope seems to be presenting himself as a reporter of the great possible newspaper. As a reporter of the great newspaper observes or watches an event, happening or incident then he comments on every thing as the social organization, spheres or fields of economics, politics or legality. Same is the case with Trollope who watches, observes and feels every experience of men and women which came in Trollope’s way as a great novelist.
Most of the characters of Trollope belong to the middle and upper classes of his society and he depicts or portrays them very keenly, minutely, and realistically. As Mr. Slope is a worldly, unscrupulous and ambitious character: Trollope presents him in a hypocritical vein. On the one hand, he plays Eleanor off against her father and on the other hand favours her father in getting appointed as a favour to Eleanor in order to execute his plan of marriage with her. Dr. Grantly is a man of toppling personality and always fluctuates between two situations of opposite kinds.
Due to his wrong headedness, he becomes ridiculous in the eyes of the readers. Eleanor is stubborn and rude and she always keeps herself on the verge of showing irrationality. On one occasion, when Mr. Slope straight-forwardly proposes for marriage, she loses her temper and gives a smart slap on his face. After the stroke of apoplexy on the dean of Barchester, it was generally thought that Dr. Grantly would accept the deanship but Mr. Slope wanted to get this post. Mr. Proudie was not in favour of considering him as a candidate for this post after the death of dean. The confusion of Mr. Slope was solved when it was published in the newspaper that younger men would be given preference in admitting to the places of influence and power in the church.
Mrs. Proudie felt satisfaction and relaxed when Mr. Slope was sent to another place because she could not bear him more in Barchester. It was through the influences of Oxford that Mr. Arabin was appointed as a deen which highlighted a victory of High Church. Through Mr. Slope’s sermon, we come to know that Low Church reformers were purifying the church of its pagan stress on outward ceremony which absolutely affected only the imagination. They gave more emphasis on having belief in “inward conviction” and in faith. This aspect appealed both intellectually and instinctively to the human imagination. How a major or dominant aspect of the general catholic protestant debate; had been since the sixteenth century because it was clarified here that the violent emotions caused of it; must be understood in the light of these greater issues.
In the final analysis of this above mentioned discussion, it can be concluded by saying that Trollope is basically a realist in his approach. All the major events, incidents, disputes and happenings show that whatever Trollope observed, felt and watched in his surroundings of his age, he clearly and openly depicted or conveyed through his works; in which Barchester Towers is a crystal clear proof.
