57 pages • 1 hour read
William Dean HowellsThe Rise of Silas Lapham
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1885A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 1-5Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary
Bartley Hubbard visits the office of Silas Lapham. Bartley wants to conduct an interview with the millionaire businessman Silas for his “‘Solid Men of Boston’ series” (3). In a wry tone, Silas begins to narrate the story of his life.
Silas Lapham was born in 1820 on a small Vermont farm, near the border with Canada. His “quiet, unpretentious” (5) family is poor and religious. Though they lack money, his parents pride themselves on their moral standing. Yet, rather than remembering his mother praying, Silas remembers her washing his feet at night. During a storm in 1835, a tree is uprooted, revealing a pit filled with mineral paint. During this era, however, there is little local demand for such paint. People are too poor to paint their houses. Silas describes how he still keeps the old family farm going and spends a month there each summer with his family. In 1855, Silas returns from a trip to Texas, where he has worked on a tavern stand for three months. He decides to mine the paint. During this time, he also marries a teacher named Persis. Together, they become rich as the mineral paint stands up to the harsh weather without fading or chipping. He is told that his paint will “drive every other mineral paint out of the market” (11).
Silas breaks from his story to show Bartley a stockroom full of paint. The Persis Brand, he explains, is his line of premium paint, named after his wife. He advertises his paint by decorating barns and large rocks. Some people object to this, but Silas does not understand why. He believes the landscape is subordinate to man, not the other way around. He talks about how most of the buildings in his hometown of Lumberville were decorated with the paint. Silas became a local hero and the townspeople voted to rename the town Lapham. Silas talks about his lack of influence during the American Civil War. Rather than make money by selling his paint, he signed up for the Union Army and rose to the rank of colonel. He still has an old bullet lodged in his body from the Battle of Gettysburg. By the time the war was over, Silas was ready to return to business. He worked with a business partner who supplied capital so that Silas could satisfy the post-war demands of the American people.
Bartley concludes the interview. As he leaves Silas’s office, he compliments Silas’s “extremely handsome young” (18) female typist. Silas offers her faint praise and offers Bartley a ride in his buggy to the Events office. They talk about horses. By the time he has arrived home, Silas has sent Bartley a box of Persis brand paint as a gift for his wife. When he writes the article, Bartley uses a cutting tone that he feels damns Silas but which he is certain that Silas will never “find out” (23).
Chapter 2 Summary
Silas’s family lives in an “unfashionable neighborhood” (24) in Boston. He is originally from the countryside, so he never learned that he should live in an upmarket area of the city to be among their social peers. The family only discovers that they live in a less-than-fashionable part of town when Mrs. Corey visits to thank Persis Lapham for caring for her when she became suddenly sick. Mrs. Corey mentions her difficulty in finding the house, as most of her friends and associates live in more fashionable areas. Similar to the home, the Lapham daughters lack an education in social etiquette. They attended finishing school for only a short time before leaving, as they were afraid of being “snubbed by the other girls” (26). When she was caring for Mrs. Corey, Persis met her son. For a moment, she wondered whether this dashing and refined young man might make a good match for her daughter, Irene. This young man is currently away in Texas. Quickly, however, Persis realizes that her children have not been taught the system of etiquette that is expected among the Boston elite.
The Laphams dress in extravagant, ugly, and expensive clothes. They decorate their house in a similarly ugly manner, and they often take lavish and unnecessary trips. Rather than touring Europe or hosting dinner parties, they host potluck evenings for businessmen. After Mrs. Corey’s visit, Persis tells Silas that she suddenly feels as though they have always lived in “the backwoods” (28). Silas mentions some property that he owns in one of the more fashionable parts of town. Though Persis declines her husband’s suggestion that they build themselves a new house on this lot, she privately fantasizes about her daughters being glimpsed in the windows of Boston’s elite neighborhoods. Silas resolves to build a new home in the fashionable part of town, thereby elevating his family into the social elite. Irene and Penelope, Silas’s daughters, seem pleased.
Chapter 3 Summary
Silas’s daughter Irene receives an unsigned letter containing a Texas newspaper clipping. In the article, the writer describes life on the ranch of the Honorable Loring G. Stanton. Persis tells her daughter that perhaps the article was sent by Tom Corey, Mrs. Corey’s son. Tom is currently in Texas, working on a ranch during the winter. Irene saves the article. Penelope notes that she has never seen “a love-letter in the form of a puff to a cattle ranch” (39).
Silas begins construction work on the new house. Even though all Silas’s ideas are hideous, the architect is able to refine these ideas into something more pleasing to the eye. Silas and Persis visit the construction site, where they unexpectedly meet Silas’s old business partner, Rogers. Silas refuses to speak to Rogers, leaving his wife to awkwardly make conversation. Persis remembers that Rogers played a key role in building Silas’s fortune and thus paid, in part, for the new house. She does not plan to live in the new home as she still believes that her husband took advantage of his business partner. Many years before, Silas offered Rogers the opportunity to buy the whole business or be bought out. Rogers, down on his luck at the time, was forced to sell his shares in their business. Silas, Persis knows, was aware that the price of paint was about to skyrocket. He made a fortune at the expense of his former business partner, who claims had “no choice at all” (46). Persis accuses Silas of betraying Rogers out of greed. Silas insists that he never wanted to be partners with anyone. He claims that Rogers made money on his investment. Persis will not let her husband wriggle out of his guilt.
Chapter 4 Summary
Over time, Persis’s anger regarding the new home fades away. She agrees to visit the site again. This time, they happen to meet Tom Corey. He has recently returned from Texas and, immediately, he intrigues Silas. Though Silas likes Tom’s attitude, he criticizes the young man for depending financially on his parents. He believes that men should support themselves, rather than be taken care of by others. Silas walks him around the site in a bragging manner, much to the amusement of his daughters. Penelope “loyally” (53) goes out of her way to ensure that her sister has some time alone with Tom. Later, Silas praises Tom to his wife while Irene confesses her admiration for Tom to her sister.
Chapter 5 Summary
Tom returns home, where he discovers that most of his family have gone to the seaside. His father Bromfield is alone while Tom’s mother and sisters are away. They speak about Tom’s career prospects and social situation. Bromfield asks whether Tom has considered marriage, which Tom dismisses. A life of leisure is not a real occupation, he says. Bromfield recommends that Tom marry a wealthy woman. The Coreys are part of the old moneyed elite, so he believes that Tom should marry someone from this social group. Tom mentions that marrying a wealthy woman whose family have only recently become rich would be just like marrying a poor woman. He remarks that he is struck by Silas Lapham, however, as well as by his daughters. He mentions that Penelope is “not pretty, but rather interesting” (67) compared to Irene. Tom and his father plan ways in which Tom might present himself as a business prospect to Silas.
The narration delves into Bromfield’s past. He spent his youth as a painter. He lived on an allowance from his wealthy father and travelled to Rome to paint. He painted only portraits; since he was already rich, he did not need to live on his earnings. Eventually, he gave up on painting portraits entirely and lived a secluded life, reading and speculating about the theories of art, rather than actually creating art.
Silas and Persis talk about Tom. Silas believes that he could mold Tom into a fine business partner and “make a man of him” (71). Persis does not believe that a boy raised in such elite circles would devalue himself by working in the unglamorous mineral paint industry. Silas takes a haughty attitude at his wife’s suggestion.
Chapters 1-5 Analysis
The Rise of Silas Lapham begins with a journalist writing an article about the protagonist. The article strives to mythologize Silas’s life, though not necessarily in a complimentary fashion. Silas’s relatively meagre upbringing is explained to the reader as Silas recounts his history to the journalist. As a result, the backstory passes through two perspectives. The reader hears Silas speak of his modest past and then experiences the influence of the editorialization of his story, which illustrates the extent to which Silas is an outsider among the Boston elite. His past is a novelty, and his meteoric rise makes him something of a fascination for the rich and powerful people of Boston, who still do not consider him one of them. Silas’s willingness to engage in this profile suggests that he has a desire to overcome this lack of acceptance. He wants to establish his name, but he lacks an understanding of the Boston elite. This is demonstrated in a later conversation with Bromfield Corey, an established quasi-aristocrat. Bromfield is not even aware of the newspaper in which the profile of Silas is published. Silas wants to establish his name, but he does not even know which newspapers are favored by the men he strives to impress. His attempts at creating a mythology around himself reveal his desperation, while his inability to find an audience reveals the barriers he faces in trying to enter the social circles that are so alien to him. Ultimately, the novel points to the complex relationship between Social Etiquette and Class that cannot be solely attributed to monetary wealth.
Silas is not alone in using the media to advance his interests. A newspaper clipping is sent to Irene without any indication of the sender. Irene chooses to believe that the article was sent by Tom Corey, as he has been working on the same Texas ranch that is profiled in the article. Irene mirrors her father’s beliefs, as she suspects that Tom is using the article to strike up a dialogue with Irene just as Silas hopes to open up communication channels with the Boston elite. Unfortunately for Irene, she is incorrect. The article was actually sent by Tom’s colleague, who was told about Irene by Tom. This misunderstanding is largely responsible for the confusion that occurs later, as the idea is planted in Irene’s mind that Tom must be romantically interested in her. She follows in her father’s footsteps of suspecting that the upper classes operate in one manner, only to be told later that she has completely misinterpreted the situation. As with Silas’s attempt to raise his social status, Irene’s potential relationship with Tom is built on a fundamental misunderstanding of how elite society operates. These social missteps not only address themes of class, but also Ambition and Hubris as the Laphams’ desired end goals (high social standing, advantageous marriage) narrow their scope of perception, rendering them ignorant of the finer details of the world they’re navigating.
In the opening chapters of the novel, Silas’s determination and ambition is juxtaposed with Persis as the voice of measured morality. She is a calming influence on her husband, a moral presence in his life who cautions him against his worst ideas and ambitions. She is the person who reminds him that the family are happy enough in their current home and she chides him for trying to marry one of his daughters to a member of the Corey family. She is also one of the few people who know the truth about Rogers and how Silas drove him out of the business, meaning that she has seen what her husband is capable of doing to someone who stands in the way of his ambition. She is never fearful of her husband. Their relationship has been built over many years, providing Silas with a perspective and guidance, which is more valuable than anything else in his life. He acknowledges this value, developing a line of high-end paint that he names after his wife. The Persis brand becomes a symbolic demonstration of the importance of Persis to Silas and Familial Responsibility. Ultimately, this line of paint and his strong relationship with his wife will endure beyond the collapse of the rest of his fortunes.
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