Together these stories reveal some of Howells' comments on society and art. His daughter also compensates for her lost lover by helping and thinking of her father at the time of his financial crisis.īeing realistic, the novel presents characters who have both tragic and comic qualities and fates. Silas will not save his business by continuing to extort money from unknowing parties he now thinks of others rather than himself. Silas' moral rise after his tragic downfall and Irene's similar realistic development after her love affair are somewhat parallel.
Irene's love affair is tragically ended when her supposed lover, Tom Corey, reveals that he loves her sister instead. Silas loses his business because he loans too much money to a former partner to redeem his soul from the sin of greed he had used his partner's money to make the business profitable and then forced the partner out of the enterprise. Silas' rise to fortune and the contrived love affair of Irene are romantic aspects of the novel which are only temporary and end tragically. Silas' conduct in managing his business and Irene's love affair are based on the same materialistic set of values which draw the two stories together. He wants his daughter to marry into the aristocratic Corey family to gain the social prominence the backwoods Laphams have never attained.
Silas Lapham earns a fortune in the paint business through opportunism, greed, and driving ambition. In the William Dean Howells novel, a business story dominates a secondary love triangle. Knowledge of how they relate to each other is also important. When reading and studying The Rise of Silas Lapham, recognition of the existence of a plot and subplot is necessary. Technique and Style in The Rise of Silas Lapham.Romanticism and Realism in The Rise of Silas Lapham.The Rise of Silas Lapham as Tragicomedy.
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