The Borough Treasurer · Question
How does The Borough Treasurer develop the theme of Respectability and Hypocrisy?
Answer
The Borough Treasurer by J. S. Fletcher develops Respectability and Hypocrisy across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
Mallalieu and Cotherstone are outwardly prosperous, respected civic leaders (Mayor, Borough Treasurer), yet they are criminals living a lie, demonstrating the gap between public reputation and private corruption.
Mallalieu and Cotherstone are outwardly respected figures—Mayor and Borough Treasurer—but hide a past conviction for fraud.
The contrast between the men's current respected public roles and their criminal past is a key theme.
Mallalieu, as Mayor, uses his position to direct police and suppress truth, prioritizing reputation and self-interest over morality.
Evidence in the book
- I: Blackmail
Mallalieu and Cotherstone are outwardly respected figures—Mayor and Borough Treasurer—but hide a past conviction for fraud.
- II: Crime—and Success
The contrast between the men's current respected public roles and their criminal past is a key theme.
- VII: Night Work
Mallalieu, as Mayor, uses his position to direct police and suppress truth, prioritizing reputation and self-interest over morality.
- XII: Parental Anxiety
Cotherstone's primary concern is to protect Lettie's marriage prospects by hiding his past, showing the priority of outward respectability over truth.
- XXX: Cotherstone
Cotherstone, a former treasurer of the town's club, is shunned by his fellow members and townspeople after his arrest, highlighting the fragile nature of social respectability and the hypocrisy of a community quick to judge.
