The Coreys he finds to be offensively aristocratic, and he does not consider associating with them until he needs to introduce his daughters to society. He does not like to see tragedy on the stage because there is enough of it in real life. Uncultured, he prefers newspapers, theater, and lectures to books. Like the people on the boat that he takes to his summer home, he is a commonplace man with nothing but the American poetry of vivid purpose to light him up. His plans for a home are ugly, and he has no appreciation for art, as shown by his saying that the quality of a painting depends solely upon the price paid. Silas has few aesthetic values, for he covers the New England landscape with advertisements for his paint.

His realism grows as the novel progresses, for he later faces the reality of his moral fault of taking advantage of Rogers, the reality of his social position as a crude, uneducated backwoodsman, and the real necessity for Penelope to marry Corey. He is romantic in regard to the wealth that has made his life dreamlike and immediately makes the mistake of matching his beautiful, instead of his intelligent daughter, with Tom Corey. The psychology of his makeup is presented realistically, and in the end, he is 'sadder but wiser,' chastened but not totally defeated.

His comic traits do not make him a comical butt, and his tragic downfall does not make him an actual hero but, instead, he is a man much like ourselves. He, also, has false social aspirations, as illustrated by his building a new home which he thinks will put him on the same social level with the Coreys.Īs a tragic comic hero, Silas finds in his middle age that he cannot attain his romantic but impossible social aspiration. Silas likes to brag, for instance, about his family, his paint, and his new home. As a comic character, he must display some quirks that are not moral flaws or characteristics that are not damning. Additionally, he must have a tragic flaw Silas fulfills this by having a desire for wealth above all considerations and by having an exalted pride in his wealth. His great wealth places him out of the ordinary realm of men. Technique and Style in The Rise of Silas LaphamĪs a tragic hero, Silas must be presented as being a better than average man.

Romanticism and Realism in The Rise of Silas Lapham.

The Rise of Silas Lapham as Tragicomedy.

The rise of silas lapham