The Magnificent Ambersons: Analysis of Setting
"The Magnificent Ambersons: Analysis of Setting" explores the significant role that the fictional Midland town plays in Booth Tarkington's novel, paralleling the themes of change and decline. Modeled after Indianapolis, Indiana, Midland serves as a microcosm of societal transformation, illustrating the tension between progress and the loss of traditional values. The setting reflects the movement of the town's population outward, away from its downtown as new developments emerge, while also highlighting the adverse effects of industrialization, such as pollution and the degradation of aesthetics and morals.
Central figures embody opposing views on change: George Minafer, who clings to the past, and Eugene Morgan, who embraces innovation and the future. Their conflict symbolizes the broader struggle between established social structures and the rise of modernity. The Amberson mansion, an architectural symbol of wealth and status, encapsulates the family's initial prosperity and subsequent decline, marking pivotal moments such as the ball that signifies the end of an era. As the narrative progresses, the deterioration of both the mansion and the surrounding neighborhood reflects the broader societal shifts, culminating in George's personal crisis when he is injured by an automobile, underscoring the inevitable nature of change. This exploration of setting reveals deeper insights into the characters' struggles and the overarching themes of the novel.
The Magnificent Ambersons: Analysis of Setting
First published: 1918
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Social realism
Time of work: 1873-early twentieth century
Places Discussed
Midland town
Midland town. Midwestern city modeled on Indianapolis, Indiana, Booth Tarkington’s birthplace and hometown. The town offers a physical representation of the novel’s theme: changes in values and even the kinds of corruption that arrive in the wake of progress. The novel conveys the idea that while change is inevitable—in the town, in class structure, in the economy—it also exacts a high cost in aesthetic and moral values.
The novel’s Midland town is in transition. Its center of population is moving away from its former downtown area as new generations build their homes on the town’s outskirts. Additions and subdivisions and roads multiply. However, as the town’s economy becomes more reliant on manufacturing and as gas and electricity are more commonly used, the town also acquires grime, soot, and polluted air.
Tensions between the past and the future are incarnated in the novel’s two antagonists, George Minafer, scion of the wealthy, upper-crust Amberson family, and Eugene Morgan—an inventor, particularly of automobiles. George hates automobiles and intensely dislikes Eugene for both personal and cultural reasons. It is clear that George wants the present and the future to be identical to the past. Eugene, on the other hand, knows that the future must bring change and finds the future exciting. To resist change—personal, cultural, and economic—George goes to extremes that are painful for him and for other members of his family. Ultimately, however, the theme of change, as seen in motifs of place, becomes manifest in George’s learning about the very contingency of life itself. In one of the novel’s cruelest ironies, George is seriously injured when he is struck by an automobile while crossing the street.
Amberson mansion
Amberson mansion. Midland home of several generations of the Amberson family. The great house reflects both the Ambersons’ prosperity early in the novel and their later decline. The house is a masterpiece of late Victorian architecture and furnishing. In an early scene, the Ambersons give a ball in the house in honor of George’s return home from school. The ball is presented as a symbol of the end of an era; there will be no more displays of such elegance.
George and Eugene, voices of the past and of the future, meet for the first time at the ball. Their personal confrontation begins, against the background of the clash between nineteenth century upper-class society, on one hand, and entrepreneurship, adventure, and confidence in the future on the other hand. Also at the mansion’s ball, Eugene resumes his courtship of Isabel, George’s mother, while George himself is smitten with Eugene’s daughter Lucy.
Later, the neighborhood around the mansion deteriorates as old families sell their homes and move out or rent them; property values decline, and eventually the mansion itself is demolished.
Boardinghouse
Boardinghouse. Place where George and his aunt Fanny share rooms after the Amberson family fortune is gone after the death of patriarch Major Amberson, and George must go to work for a living. The boardinghouse is a concrete representation of the depths to which George falls, and there he learns to deal with insults to his pride.
Bibliography
Cournos, John, and Sybil Norton. Famous Modern American Novelists. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1952. Contains a brief biography of Tarkington and a useful synopsis of the Growth trilogy.
Fennimore, Keith J. Booth Tarkington. New York: Twayne, 1974. Perhaps the best book on Tarkington for the general reader, one that offers a good overview of the author and his novels, a useful chronology, and an excellent annotated bibliography. Emphasizes the interaction between the aristocrats and the upstarts in The Magnificent Ambersons.
Gray, Donald J. Introduction to The Magnificent Ambersons, by Booth Tarkington. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989. Provides a valuable overview of the novel as well as an overview of Tarkington’s prolific career. Claims that the author is less concerned with psychological than social realism.
Noe, Marcia. “Failure and the American Mythos: Tarkington’s The Magnificent Ambersons.” Midamerica 15 (1988): 11-18. Contends that failure is a prominent theme in American literature and that this novel is Tarkington’s most thorough treatment of that theme. Holds that George’s failure as an aristocrat is an essential element in the novel in that it paves the way for his moral growth.
Woodress, James Leslie. Booth Tarkington: Gentleman from Indiana. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1955. An old but valuable biography that includes insightful analyses of the author’s plays as well as the novels. Highlights the importance of work as the foundation of Tarkington’s moral vision and the purifying power of a woman’s love in The Magnificent Ambersons.