The Rise of Silas Lapham [antikvár]

In the year 1885, when William Dean Howells wrote "The Rise of Silas Lapham," there were very few novels about American business and the American business man. Indeed, this has been observed as an oddity even up to recent years, particularly in view of the fact that business is so important an aspect of American life. William Dean Howells was a reálist-he believed that the növel should concern itself with the every-day lile of everyday people. Thus, "The Rise of Silas Lapham" telis the story of an ordinary man, whose "rise" to fortune came from an ordinary business-the paint business. But just because Silas Lapham is an ordinary-almost an average-man, business is only part of the story of his life. Mr. Lapham has a wife, and he has two daughters: one, a great beauty, the other, not lacking in beauty, to be sure, but possessed of a puckish wit that adds piquancy to the story, and spices the románcé that is the inevitable element in almost every good növel. The Lapham family lives through its share of problems, trials, joys, sorrows, defeats. A former business partner brings much sorrow into their lives. A young man whom Mr. Lapham employs complicates the "course of true love." Mr. Lapham, at the height of his success, builds a fine house -and this house is so significant in their lives, that it can almost be regarded as a character in the story. Mrs. Lapham particularly will endear herself to the reader. She is portrayed as a woman of quiet strength and dignity. In the role of wife and helpmate she acts as her husband's "conscience" in his business. In the role of mother