This paper is chiefly concerned with Trollope\u27s view about what the Union should be. Phineas Finn is political novel written by Anthony Trollope (1815_1882) between 1866 and 1867, when the Second Reform Bill was being debated. England and Ireland have been inseparable at many times in their history. Ireland is also a significant place for Trollope. As Trollope says in his Autobiography, there was difficulty in obtaining reader\u27s sympathy for Irish heroes. Nevertheless, Trollope made his hero Irish. When the novel was written, the Fenians, a secret society striving for Irish independence, was active. As Dougherty points out, Trollope wrote Phineas Finn as a reaction against the Fenians. The Union has been depicted as an image of a marriage, and Trollope uses this metaphor in his novel. He compares the relationship between Phineas and the Liberal Party to a marriage. His relationship with the Party parallels the unfortunate marriages between Mr. and Lady Laura Kennedy and between England and Ireland, as well. In various marriages in the novel, Trollope tries to express his opinions on what England and Ireland should do to ensure the Union is successful. To gain the reader\u27s sympathy, Phineas is kept separate from negative stereotypes about the Irish. He is depicted as a gentleman and receives an exceptionally favorable response from his friends. His close connection with his friends suggests Ireland\u27s strong ties with England. Toward success as an MP, Phineas is requested to be obedient to the Party, should supporting the Party be against his own will. Who does not support the Party is associated with undesirable elements, such as Fenianism. Eventually, he votes against the Party due to his sense of belonging to Ireland, and resigns. Trollope feels sympathy with Phineas. So Phineas\u27s ex-colleagues give him a position with a salary of ￡1,000 a year and the novel eventually comes to a happyending. This ending shows that his link with England brings him happiness in his public and private lives. Trollope thus expresses his view that the Union is beneficial to the Irish. Trollope believes that it is disastrous for both England and Ireland to break the Union. This is shown in Laura\u27s marriage. Mr. Kennedy\u27s tyrannical attitude to his wife causes her rebellion, but he can never understand the reasons why she does not obey him. This is also true of the "marriage" between England and Ireland. Eventually, Laura leaves her husband, and their marriage ends in disastrous failure. Their consequence anticipates the dark future of the Union. Trollope feels that it is the husband\u27s attitude toward his wife that should be changed to make the Union successful. Violet\u27s marriage clearly contrasts with Laura\u27s. Her happy marriage is a desirable example of the Union. She exerts a positive influence upon Chiltern and he accepts her advice. As Trollope illustrates in her successful marriage, he wants Ireland to complement England as a wife does her husband. Phineas is accepted in London society. He can never become an insider in England because neither his first wife nor his second wife is English. The Irish thus can never become like the English in England. Trollope has a deep affection for Ireland. He never wants independence for Ireland and needs Ireland as acomplement to England. This indicates that Trollope wrote his novel from the English point of view
