Lady Scatcherd

[Catriona L]

I love Lady Scatcherd, she's so kind you would just want to be with her! Why then does she not decide to stay with Mary and Frank at Boxall Hill? She is like a mother to both of them but perhaps she is anxious to be out of the public eye which she would not be if the Gresham family is visiting regularly. Any other suggestions?

[Ecurb]

I think she wants to give the young lovers their own home, without interfering. She's also mildly embarrassed by her elevated social status. I love the scene in which she welcomes Frank to Boxall Hill, kissing him and fondling him while he pretends to protest. Sir Roger may have teased his wife by calling her "M'Lady", but she's one of my favorite characters in all of Trollope.

[Ecurb]

By the way, I can't find the reference right now (possibly because I haven't looked for it), but I think it is in Framley Parsonage that Mary (now Mary Gresham) gets mad at someone (I forget whom) for making jokes about Dr. Thorne's possible romance with Lady Scatcherd. Mary is irate, because such a rumor would embarrass them both, and they wouldn't be able to continue their friendship in their usual casual and easy manner.

But I remember thinking: Why shouldn't Dr. Thorne be in love with "M'Lady"? Anyone might be, including this reader. I guess times were different, and Lady Scatcherd lacked the refinement and education thought necessary to "attach" Dr. Thorne. Perhaps, even, I sense a little snobbishness on Trollope's part, although I hope not.