Duty vs. Personal Inclination

Characters struggle between fulfilling societal or familial duties and following their own desires, exemplified by the Rector's inability to perform parish work despite his role, and Nettie's self-imposed burden of caring for her sister's family against her own wishes.

Mr. Proctor's internal conflict between his sense of duty as a rector and his personal feelings of inadequacy and desire to resign.

The Rector's longing for the scholarly solitude of All Souls contrasts with his pastoral duties and his mother's insistence on settling down.

The Rector is torn between his duty to his parish and his longing for the scholarly peace of All Souls, further complicated by his filial duty to his mother.

The Rector is torn between his sense of duty to his parish and his personal inability to perform the pastoral work expected of him, leading to a crisis of conscience.