He wrote in his tract On the
power of a Christian congregation
over its preachers: 5 «We conclude then, that a Christian congregation that has the gospel, possesses not only the right and
power but also owes it to the salvation
of souls according to the baptismal
bond it has entered into, to shun, avoid, depose and withdraw from the authority which the present bishops... exercise; for it is publicly manifest that they
live and govern in opposition to God and his Word.»
In fact, their whole relationship could arguably be centered around a struggle for
power — Sybil to have
power over her own
life and Tom, similarly, to break free from the
bonds of classism.