The eponymous Senator is Elias Gotobed, whose curious name alludes to that fact that he has a tendency to send people to sleep. After his friend John Morton inherits the estate of Bragton Hall, he travels to England with him, his fiancée Arabella Trefoil, and her mother Lady Augustus. The Senator is keen to undertake a study of English life, and is delighted when they are all invited to stay at Rufford Hall, the home of wealthy bachelor Lord Rufford. Arabella realises that the Lord is a greater matrimonial prize than Morton and encourages his advances. Frustrated with her lack of progress, she lets it be known that he proposed to her, a charge he vigorously denies. Lady Augustus threatens him with a breach of promise action and he agrees to pay Arabella £8,000 in ‘damages’.
Arabella is furious, still setting her sights on an advantageous marriage. When her fiancé falls seriously ill, Arabella confesses her faithlessness and agrees to forget Lord Rufford. Morton leaves her £5,000 in his will, and she subsequently marries Mounser Green, Ambassador to Patagonia. In a slightly turgid sub-plot, Mary Masters is urged by her family to marry a man she does not love. Quietly resisting their demands, she waits patiently for the man she does love to propose to her.
Trollope wrote of The American Senator (1877) that he wanted “to pick out the evil things” in contemporary England. Through his use of Elias Gotobed as an outsider, he is able to make observations that would have got him slapped in mixed company. The Senator is fiercely critical of British society and perplexed by many of its customs. His valedictory lecture nearly causes a riot when he shares his views with the assembled throng. This character seems to have little merit beyond a narrative device, and he distracts from some of the novel’s best aspects.
Arabella Trefoil is one of Trollope’s most successful creations. Through her, he wrote, “I wished to express the depth of my scorn for women who run down husbands, – an offence that I do fear is gaining ground in this country.” Trollope, as I have mentioned in other posts, was terrified that women would choose not to marry if they were given viable alternatives. He also had much sympathy with the idea that they should gratefully accept the first half-decent man who proposed to them. Ironically, Arabella demonstrates an admirable commitment to marriage by trying to bag the highest-ranking husband she can find, and turning down the offer of a cash alternative. In his Autobiography, Trollope begrudgingly praises the work ethic of women like Arabella, whilst at the same time despising the relentlessness with which they pursue their quarry. It is these contradictions that make Trollope’s work so engaging. The relationship between Arabella and her scheming mother is also well portrayed, but Trollope never does this better than in Lady Anna.
The American Senator is often praised as one of Trollope’s best comic novels, but I cannot agree. Beyond the exquisite Miss Trefoil, it is little more than a rather weaselly satire on English society.
The American Senator by Anthony Trollope