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Frank Hunter
Dr. Frobisher is the school headmaster. He has a charming if somewhat superficial manner and primarily serves to deliver two items of bad news to Andrew. The first is that Andrew has been refused his pension; the second is that he wants Andrew to be the first speaker in the school assembly, rather than Andrew taking the closing slot that his seniority would normally deserve.
Dr. Frobisher Quotes in The Browning Version
The The Browning Version quotes below are all either spoken by Dr. Frobisher or refer to Dr. Frobisher. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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The Browning Version Quotes
FROBISHER: I’ve told you about him, I think. He is a very brilliant young man and won exceptionally high honours at Oxford.
ANDREW: So I understand, sir.
FROBISHER: Not, of course, as high as the honours you yourself won there. He didn't, for instance, win the Chancellor’s prize for Latin verse or the Gaisford.
ANDREW: He won the Hertford Latin, then?
FROBISHER: No. (Mildly surprised.) Did you win that, too?
ANDREW nods
FROBISHER: It’s sometimes rather hard to remember that you are perhaps the most brilliant classical scholar we have ever had at the school –
ANDREW: You are very kind.
FROBISHER: (Urbanely corrects his gaffe.) Hard to remember, I mean – because of your other activities – your brilliant work on the school timetable, for instance, and also for your heroic battle for so long and against such odds with the soul–destroying lower fifth.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Here, the arrival of Dr. Frobisher, the school headmaster, interrupts Taplow’s lesson with Andrew. He has come to have a conversation with Andrew, first checking that the latter is aware of the imminent arrival of Peter Gilbert—Andrew’s fresh-faced replacement who will take over the Crocker-Harris apartment. Dr. Frobisher’s conversational misstep suggests how far removed Andrew’s day-to-day lived experience has become from the prestigious achievements of his early scholarly life. The headmaster tries to correct his mistake, but he can’t cover up on the truth he has accidentally revealed: that Andrew’s relevance has diminished greatly over the years.
MILLIE: The mean old brutes! My God, what I wouldn’t like to say to them! (Rounding on ANDREW.) And what did you say? Just sat there and made a joke in Latin, I suppose?
ANDREW: There wasn’t very much I could say, in Latin or any other language.
MILLIE: Oh, wasn’t there? I’d have said it all right. I wouldn’t just have sat there twiddling my thumbs and taking it from that old phoney of a headmaster. But then, of course, I’m not a man.
ANDREW is turning the pages of the Agamemnon, not looking at her.
What do they expect you to do? Live on my money, I suppose.
ANDREW: There has never been any question of that. I shall be perfectly able to support myself.
MILLIE: Yourself? Doesn’t the marriage service say something about the husband supporting his wife? Doesn’t it? You ought to know?
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Dr. Frobisher’s visit comes with bad news—that Andrew will not receive a pension from the school. According to the headteacher, the decision was made by the board of governors and hinged on the fact that Andrew is not quite at the usual retirement age yet (though he is close and unwell enough to have resign). Millie shows her deep frustration with Andrew’s meekness, though this concern is more motivated by worry about her own financial security than Andrew’s wellbeing. Andrew, for his part, is doing what he has become accustomed to: avoiding emotional confrontation. He stares at his book—which it’s Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Com
ANDREW: They are mostly boys of about fifteen or sixteen. They are not very difficult to handle.
GILBERT: The headmaster said you ruled them with a rod of iron. He called you the Himmler of the lower fifth.
ANDREW: Did he? The Himmler of the lower fifth? I think he exaggerated. I hope he exaggerated. The Himmler of the lower fifth?
GILBERT: (Puzzled) He only meant that you kept the most wonderful discipline. I must say I do admire you for that. I couldn’t even manage that with eleven–year–olds, so what I’ll be like with fifteens and sixteens I shudder to think.
ANDREW. It is not so difficult. They aren’t bad boys. Sometimes – a little wild and unfeeling, perhaps – but not bad. The Himmler of the lower fifth? Dear me!
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This exchange comes when Peter Gilbert, a new teacher at the school, comes to look at the flat that he and his new wife will take over from Andrew and Millie in the new term. Andrew tries to be helpful to Peter, offering his advice, but is greatly taken aback when Peter clumsily informs him that Dr. Frobisher compares him to a notorious Nazi general. The nickname also demonstrates the superficiality of the headmaster’s charm, showing that he says one thing to people’s faces and another behind their backs. Andrew’s shock is rooted in the fact that, though he knew Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaec
ANDREW: Oh, by the way, headmaster. I have changed my mind about the prize–giving ceremony. I intend to speak after, instead of before, Fletcher, as is my privilege . . . Yes, I quite understand, but I am now seeing the matter in a different light . . . I know, but I am of opinion that occasionally an anti–climax can be surprisingly effective. Goodbye.
(He rings off and goes and sits at table.)
Come along, my dear. We mustn’t let our dinner get cold.
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These are the final words of the play and represent a quiet triumph for Andrew. Whereas earlier he had meekly accepted Dr. Frobisher’s desire to switch the order of speakers at the school assembly, swapping Andrew out of the headline slot in favor of a more popular teacher, Andrew now decides to insist on what he knows is rightfully his. Though subtly drawn, this attitude is markedly different from his earlier reluctance to speak up for himself. Though readers can’t hear Dr. Frobisher’s end of the conversation, Andrew’s repeated insistences on speaking last show that the headteacher evidently tries to Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperi
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Dr. Frobisher Character Timeline in The Browning Version
The timeline below shows where the character Dr. Frobisher appears in The Browning Version. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Browning Version
Millie comes in, wearing an apron. She informs Andrew that the headmaster, Dr. Frobisher , is about to arrive. Taplow gets up, thinking that he ought to leave. The...
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Dr. Frobisher asks Andrew if the Gilberts have called to the flat yet. Andrew does not know...
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Dr. Frobisher outlines Peter Gilbert’s distinguished academic achievements at Oxford University, but says they aren’t as high...
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Changing the subject, Dr. Frobisher informs Andrew that he has two “delicate matters” to discuss. The headmaster expresses how “unlucky”...
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Andrew asks whether Dr. Frobisher ’s comment confirms he will not receive any pension from the school. Dr. Frobisher says...
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Dr. Frobisher says Andrew’s case for a pension is just as deserving as Buller’s was, but “rules...
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...been “very welcome,” but sees no reason to argue with the governors’ decision. He asks Dr. Frobisher for the second “delicate matter.” Dr. Frobisher asks Andrew whether he would be willing to...
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Dr. Frobisher goes on to explain his reasons for wanting to swap the order of speakers: he...
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Millie comes in, having smartened up. She exchanges greetings with Dr. Frobisher . He compliments her appearance, asking Andrew if he knows that he has a “very...
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With Dr. Frobisher gone, Millie comes back into the room and curtly asks Andrew: “Well? Do we get...
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Andrew informs Millie of Dr. Frobisher ’s other “delicate matter,” to have him speak first at tomorrow’s ceremony. She is nonplussed...
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Gilbert says that Dr. Frobisher told him that Andrew “ruled them [the pupils] with a rod of iron. He called...
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...that he just wanted to come back and say goodbye, and that the arrival of Dr. Frobisher had prevented him from doing so earlier. He hands a small book to Andrew, saying...
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The phone rings, which Andrew picks up—it’s the headmaster, Dr. Frobisher . Andrew answers Dr. Frobisher’s questions about the timetable, before informing him that he has...
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