The Rise of Silas Lapham: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Rise of Silas Lapham" is a novel that delves into the life of Silas Lapham, a self-made millionaire in the paint industry who grapples with social acceptance and personal morality. The central character, Silas, embodies the archetype of the self-made man, admired for his business success yet struggling to fit into Boston's elite circles. His wife, Persis, reflects their shared rural roots and navigates the complexities of social propriety while being a strong influence in Silas's business decisions. Their daughters, Irene and Penelope, each experience romantic entanglements and personal growth, with Penelope ultimately finding love with Tom Corey, a young man from a more socially established family.
Tom Corey serves as both a love interest in the Lapham family and a character who seeks to transcend class distinctions. Other significant characters include Milton K. Rogers, a former business partner of Silas, and the Corey family, particularly Tom's mother, Anna, who is protective of her son. The narrative explores themes of ambition, social class, and familial bonds, as well as the tensions between personal desires and societal expectations. Through these characters, the novel paints a vivid picture of 19th-century American society and the challenges faced by those striving for upward mobility.
The Rise of Silas Lapham: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: William Dean Howells
First published: 1885
Genre: Novel
Locale: New England
Plot: Domestic realism
Time: Nineteenth century
Silas Lapham, a millionaire paint manufacturer in Boston. He is respected in business circles, but his family is not accepted socially. Garrulous, bourgeois, burly, and brusque, he reflects traits of the self-made man who loves his maker, yet he is compassionate with outsiders and loving to his family. Babbitt-like, he emulates men he has admired for their savoir faire. Bankrupt after a series of business reverses, he gladly leaves the material comforts of Boston to return with his family to the modest living of their earlier days. Lapham is called “Colonel,” his rank when he was injured at Gettysburg during the Civil War.
Persis Lapham, his wife. Like her husband, she has kept the ways of the country. More aware of present social conduct than is her husband, she is no more capable of observing the proprieties. Interested in marriage for her daughters, as well as prudent and self-effacing in social matters, she restrains herself in advising them. As an influence in his affairs, she goads Lapham into business dealings, to her involving morality, only to regret later the action taken. When uninformed of his activities, she becomes suspicious; she is remorseful and self-reproaching when she senses her unfounded jealousies. To Persis, returning to the country is an escape from the rigors of Boston's social life and her inability to cope with status.
Irene, the Laphams' younger daughter. Quiet, reserved, beautiful, and domestic, she infers that Tom Corey is inter-estedinher,onlytolearnthatheisinlovewithhersister.She escapes the sympathy and questioning of her family and the trials of the family's financial reverses through a month-long visit with relatives in the Midwest. Returning to Boston to let the family know that her cousin's evident interest in her is another misleading affair, she becomes a virtual recluse other than for visits to the Midwest.
Penelope, the Laphams' older daughter. She is satirical, humorous, and droll. Inferring that Tom Corey is in love with Irene, but being secretly in love with him herself, Penelope is guilt-stricken when Corey reveals his affection for her. She refuses Corey's attentions, thinking her father's financial adversity would imply the wrong motivations for her accepting Corey. Ultimately, they are married and go to Mexico and Central America, where Corey will be in business.
Tom Corey, the son of a proper Bostonian family. Shaking off the effects of hereditary stratification, he displays considerable business acumen. In his attentions to Irene, he hopes to attract Penelope to him. This indirection misleads the Laphams and the Coreys. His stability, self-reliance, and graciousness in personal affairs, as well as removal from their families, ensure marital happiness for him and Penelope.
Milton K. Rogers, Silas Lapham's former business partner. His recurrent appearances for assistance create situations to point up Lapham's character and the attitudes and rapport between the Laphams. Unsuccessful in appeals to Silas, Rogers turns to Persis, who intercedes with her husband.
Anna Corey, Tom's mother. In her seemingly innocuous role of an aristocrat whose chief occupation is the comfort of her husband and children, she is likable. In protecting her son from questionable associations, as with the Laphams, she is protective in a genteel way.
Bromfield Corey, Tom's father. A rich young painter in Rome at the time of his marriage, he has never changed his pace. Sedentary, he remains unassuming in social matters. Nothing surprises him, nothing shocks him, and nothing upsets him. In his self-imposed isolation, he views life as an amusing process and expresses his ready opinions on happenings accordingly.
Zerilla Dewey, a typist in Lapham's office, the butt of Mrs. Lapham's jealousy.
Mrs. James “Moll” Millon, Zerilla's mother. Moll Millon is the ne'er-do-well widow of the man who was killed by a bullet intended for Lapham in an early labor dispute.
Lily and Nanny, Tom Corey's young sisters. Their behavior toward the Laphams and Tom's marriage reflects their mother's influence.
Walker, the Laphams' younger daughter. Quiet, reserved, beautiful, and domestic, she infers that Tom Corey is inter-estedinher,onlytolearnthatheisinlovewithhersister.She escapes the sympathy and questioning of her family and the trials of the family's financial reverses through a month-long visit with relatives in the Midwest. Returning to Boston to let the family know that her cousin's evident interest in her is another misleading affair, she becomes a virtual recluse other than for visits to the Midwest.
Bartley Hubbard, a journalist who writes Lapham's biography.
Mr. Sewell, a minister, the adviser to the Laphams in their dilemma after Tom's indirection with Irene and Penelope.
James Bellingham, Mrs. Corey's brother and a business adviser to Lapham at the time of Lapham's financial losses.