There are parts to the novel that can be dry to read - notably the intimate details Dreiser provides readers involving the Philadelphia banking industry during the Civil War days. Problems arise when Chicago suffers a great fire in 1871, and the monies that Frank’s business had been investing fall through. Many begin asking for their money back, and Frank must try to prevent bankruptcy. Although the detail is necessary when it comes to providing insight into Frank’s character and just how much weight is involved within his scandals, not all of it is necessary.
This threat of bankruptcy becomes not only a business failure, but a personal one as well. Frank craves money because in it carries power. Most want money, he realizes, but not for money alone. “They want it for what it will buy in the way of simple comforts, where as the financier wants it for what it will control - for what it will represent in the way of dignity, force, power.”
Once Frank’s shady business practices become exposed, he must face a trial and eventual jail time. The book drags a bit during the trial period, and could have benefited from some trimming. Yet the interesting point Dreiser makes is that Frank is by no means exceptional in his corruption, he’s just unlucky because he’s the one who has been branded a scapegoat and the one who gets caught. Had it been any other time, the blame could have easily fallen upon one of his partners, since backstabbing and cheating are rampant.
There is a particularly interesting scene where a black man is being accused of having stolen a lead pipe, and he is told that punishment for such a crime could be up to one year hard labor, yet ultimately the black man is spared this punishment, and released with only a warning. Though the man who pardons him approaches the black man with such condescension - acting as though he is somehow doing him a favor by not granting him this severe punishment for such a minor crime. Meanwhile, Frank’s crime of stealing thousands of dollars is not viewed as harshly. Inevitably, Frank does go to jail for his crime, but ultimately, given the times, he will thrive once again, where as the black man will forever in his lifetime be under the oppressive thumb of white man racism.
Article comments
1 - Nitsan Ben-Horin
The above article ommits to mention the most important fact about this book, that it is a true story, based on the life of railway tycoon Charles T. Yerkes, which was fictionalized into a biographical novel, followed by The Titan & The Stoics, widely known as the Trilogy of Desire. I think it is widely accepted as the best business novel ever written, and to do away with the financial details of the speculations would be to do away with the purpose of the book itself. It is, in fact, astonishing, that Dreiser, not a money person himself, could demonstrate such udnerstanding of the intricacies of corporate finance, and move from business to romance so flawlessly. I think not a little praise should also be given to the philosphical introspection of the lead character that shows Dreiser's uncanny grasp of the human character.