A Hazard of New Fortunes: Analysis of Major Characters
"A Hazard of New Fortunes" explores the complexities of ambition, social dynamics, and personal fulfillment through its major characters. At the center is Basil March, an insecure insurance man who takes on the editorship of a New York literary magazine, where he unexpectedly finds both success and a sense of purpose. His financial backer, Mr. Dryfoos, is a self-made rustic millionaire whose family pressures complicate his life, reflecting the tensions between wealth and familial aspirations. The narrative also delves into the tragic fate of Henry Lindau, March's tutor, a socialist whose activism leads to his death, highlighting the intersection of personal beliefs and societal conflict.
Conrad Dryfoos, Mr. Dryfoos' son, faces his own tragic end while attempting to defend Lindau, showcasing the volatility of social struggles. Meanwhile, Mr. Fulkerson, the magazine's promoter, seeks stability through his partnership with March, revealing the interplay of personal desire and the pursuit of success. Christine Dryfoos, navigating societal expectations and familial approval, ultimately pursues her dreams in Europe, while Mrs. March provides a voice of reason amid the unfolding events. The narrative weaves together themes of ambition, family loyalty, and the search for identity within the tumultuous backdrop of late 19th-century America.
A Hazard of New Fortunes: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: William Dean Howells
First published: 1889
Genre: Novel
Locale: New York City
Plot: Social realism
Time: The 1880's
Basil March, an unsuccessful Boston insurance man who accepts the editorship of a literary magazine in New York. His adventures with the magazine's promoters, financial backers, and staff members constitute the story. Though March has little self-confidence, the magazine thrives. Eventually he has a chance to buy the publication, in partnership with the promoter, a happy circumstance that will make him not only financially successful but also spiritually fulfilled.
Mr. Dryfoos, a rustic who had made a fortune from his natural gas holdings. It is he who finances the magazine March edits. He lives a harassed existence: His womenfolk are socially ambitious; he cannot approve his daughter's choice in suitors; his son, determined to be a minister, makes a bad businessman; and a socialist on the magazine's staff plagues him on political issues. Dryfoos finally solves his problems by selling the magazine to March and the promoter, Fulkerson, and taking his family on an extended trip to Europe.
Henry Lindau, March's tutor, a German socialist who becomes the magazine's foreign editor and reviewer. His clash with Dryfoos results in Lindau's dismissal from Every Other Week, Dryfoos' periodical. While demonstrating with the workers in a streetcar strike, Lindau is set upon by the police and beaten so severely that he eventually dies. He receives a proper funeral by a contrite Dryfoos.
Conrad Dryfoos, Dryfoos' son and the ostensible publisher of Every Other Week. While defending the one-armed Lindau from the police who are beating him, he is struck by a stray bullet and killed.
Mr. Fulkerson, the promoter who invites March to accept the editorship of the magazine. He is happy when he and March buy the magazine, because in this act he sees a secure future for himself and the girl he wants to marry, a Southern belle whose Virginia colonel father loves to extol the merits of slavery.
Christine Dryfoos, Dryfoos' daughter, who is bent on entering society and who finally has her way. First, however, she loves a young man to whom her father objects, but whom she rejects when her father later approves of him. In Europe, her fondest dreams come true when she becomes engaged to a penniless French nobleman.
Mrs. March, March's wife, who, though reluctant to leave Boston, persuades her husband to take the editorship in New York.
Angus Beaton, the art director of Every Other Week, who loves Christine and is paid for his trouble when, despite her love for him, she scratches his face and forcibly ejects him from her father's house.