unopposed

[Peter Jiong]

"Aren’t you proud that your hubby should be a County Councillor? I tell you I shall be an M.P. before I die.”
He was walking up and down the room concocting schemes—asking himself how long it would be before Miles Campbell, the member, was confronted by the inevitable dilemma of the unopposed M.P., one horn of which is the Kingdom of Heaven, and the other—the House of Lords.

From Mrs. Craddock (set in the late 19th century) by W Somerset Maugham

What does the underlined part mean?

 

[GoesStation]

I understand it to mean that the character was wondering how soon Campbell would have to decide whether to die in office or accept a noble title (which would grant him a seat in the Lords, the unelected house of Parliament). Apparently he holds a safe seat in a constituency where his is the only party that puts up candidates. He's unopposed, so there's no risk he'll lose his seat as long as he keeps standing for office.

I don't know why retirement doesn't seem like an option for him.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

. . . I don't know why retirement doesn't seem like an option for him.

My impression is that Maughm is just creating a funny neurotic. Hubby seems to be fretting about how long it will take to get Campbell's MP seat.

But if we want to understand a lot of these passages, we really need to read Mrs. Craddock — if only the dern library would open . . . .

 

[Rover_KE]

No need to wait for that, Charlie—click here to download the free ebook.

However, you might want to glance over this critique and synopsis first.:-(

I can't help but admire Peter's persistence in sticking with it.

 

[Tdol]

Do you know the idiom horns of a dilemma?