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Chapter 1
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Rise of Silas Lapham, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Class
Realism vs. Melodrama
Love and Communication
Morality and Compassion
Summary
Analysis
After dropping off Bartley, Lapham takes his carriage home to Nankeen Square, a neighborhood with a poor reputation. When Lapham and Persis first came to Boston, they had to save their money, but they eventually reached a point where they had more money than they knew what to do with. Irene and Penelope both went to public schools, each graduating a year late, although Penelope picked up an interest in reading. Persis wanted the girls to go to finishing school, but each attended only part of a year. The two girls remain very close to Persis.
This passage shows how the Lapham family has tried to adapt to their new wealth by engaging in the typical social activities of the wealthy, but they find for various reasons that they don’t quite fit in. Finishing school used to be a place for young women to learn subjects like etiquette—the fact that neither Irene nor Penelope completes their time at that school suggests that they don’t quite fit in yet with the proper society ladies.
Active
Themes
Though wealthy, the Laphams have always struggled to fit in and improve their social position in Boston. Penelope in particular cares little about her role in society. Persis didn’t realize how unfashionable her family was until some visitors (the Corey women: Anna, Nanny, and Lily) started dropping hints about how their coachmen struggled to find the neighborhood. But when Persis brought those concerns to Lapham, he didn’t see any particular reason to move.
This passage shows how the Laphams have conflicted feelings about their position in society. Some family members, like Penelope, have little interest in conforming to social expectations and perhaps even try to do the opposite. Persis, on the other hand, strongly feels the social pressure to act in a way that will please others. Lapham himself is more oblivious than either of them, not quite fitting in because he doesn’t realize what the social expectations for a wealthy man in Boston are in the first place.
Active
Themes
Lapham and Persis have often discussed how to get Penelope and Irene more involved in society. Lapham has considered building a house on the Back Bay, a more fashionable neighborhood where he owns land, but Persis keeps telling him not to trouble himself. The topic comes up several more times, and Lapham sometimes jokes about building a new house, but he never actually does it. And so, the Laphams have remained where they are.
Active
Themes
