I don't even remember when I said I was going to start reading this book.....maybe it's better that way. Boy am I pathetic. Oh well. I'm not too far into The Warden yet, but I was starting to stress out over how lazy I am on here so 2 chapters is better than nothing, right?
So far, the characters don't seem to be as brilliant as those in Bronte or Dickens. Maybe Villette has me addicted to 1st person narratives.
Anyways, so far, the character that stands out to me most is Dr. Grantly. Who is Dr. Grantly? Well, allow me to give you a short family run down of the main character - Septimus Harding. Mr. Harding, a widower, has 2 daughters - the elder is maried and the much younger one still at home. One of Mr. Harding's best friends is the bishop of the diocese, and the bishop's son, Dr. Grantly, is married to Mr. Harding's daughter. Dr. Grantly, that worthy man, is an archdeacon in the Anglican church and his is an awe-inspiring, conservative, puritanical personality. The people of the town almost live in fear of him. But when he's at home with his wife, he miraculously reverts to being a normal person! It is his wife alone who seems to know his opinions, fears, observations, etc. To everyone else, he is rigid and cold. That dual personality cracks me up!
The aforesaid Septimus Harding is almost the opposite of Dr. Grantly. Everyone loves him - he's warm and friendly, chatty, and open minded. Simple things are what please him most, and he is especially fond of music. He's in charge of a charity hospital (it's really more like a senior home) which houses 12 elderly men. This institution was founded back in the middle ages and as time has gone by, it's become a very valuable bit of property. Mr. Harding, however, is generous and even lowerd his personal salary in order to give more to his men in Hiram's Hospital.
As I mentioned earlier, Mr. Harding's younger daughter, Eleanor, still lives at home. But maybe not for long. In the town, Barchester, there is a young surgeon named John Bold, who admires Eleanor. As he is a friend of her father, John Bold often comes to visit them in the evening. Dr. Grantly, however, doesn't entirely approve of the match - John Bold is a zealous, progressive reformist.
Tension rises when Bold's new cause is a matter of how the funds are being spent at Hiram's Hospital. He shocks several in town when he comes to inquire after the Hospital's accounting. Dr. Grantly is scandalized and Mr. Harding is hurt. And I have no clue what happens next.
This quest for the holy grail, i.e. the truth of how the hospital is run, looks like it's the main conflict in the story. John Bold's eagerness for reform brings up a good question - which causes are worth our time campaigning for? There's an organization for everything from drinking milk to self-esteem to recycling to being nice to our pets. And which should we concern ourselves with? As Christians, our primary focus should be God's glory and advancing His kingdom. That cause will be here till the end of the earth, and whole lifetimes can be and are filled by doing so. It's so easy to become sidetracked by secular causes and forget about serving in the church, evangelism, discipleship, etc.
So, where is the balance between the sacred and the mundane? I have two humble ideas. First, (obviously) we should take care that we never involve ourselves in something that would be contrary to what God says in His Word. Second, activities that could potentially point others to Christ seem to be better choices than others. For example, volunteering at a pregnancy center or supporting a child in a third world country might open doors to evangelism, whereas promoting ethanol usage is sort of a dead end. I'm not saying you should never do the latter kind of thing (the last thing I want to do is be legalistic!), but the former seems to have so much more potential for good you can do others.
Well, my mind has blessedly run out of things to say, so, until next week, adieu!
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