A Hazard of New Fortunes · Chapter
Chapter VIII explained
In the wake of Conrad Dryfoos's death, the Marches find themselves in more sympathetic relations with the Dryfoos family.
What happens
In the wake of Conrad Dryfoos's death, the Marches find themselves in more sympathetic relations with the Dryfoos family. Mrs. March observes the family's grief, noting Christine's estrangement from her father and Mela's subdued, helpful demeanor. March reflects on his own economic insecurity, the precariousness of his position at Every Other Week, and the broader injustices of a civilization that pits people against one another. He discusses Lindau's slow recovery from his amputation and the moral compromises inherent in the pursuit of wealth and status.
Themes in this chapter
Capitalism and Moral Compromise
March critiques the economic system as a 'battle' and 'game' where people are forced to lie, cheat, and steal to survive, and where no one is secure in their work or livelihood.
Social Class and Mobility
The Marches' fear of falling into the poorhouse and their dependence on the whims of the wealthy Dryfoos illustrate the precariousness of class status in Gilded Age New York.
Family and Generational Conflict
Christine's estrangement from her father and the Dryfoos family's grief over Conrad's death highlight tensions within the family across generations.
Characters to notice
- Basil March
March reflects on economic insecurity, the moral compromises of civilization, and his uncertain future at Every Other Week. He also visits the injured Lindau.
- Mrs. March
Mrs. March visits the Dryfoos family, observes their grief, and engages in a philosophical discussion with March about greed, poverty, and social conditions.
- Mr. Dryfoos
Dryfoos is depicted as broken and stupefied by his son's death, continuing to go to Wall Street mechanically. His future support of the magazine is uncertain.
- Mela Dryfoos
Mela is subdued and caring toward her parents, showing a childish interest in her mourning but behaving with more restraint than before.
- Christine Dryfoos
Christine is noted to be holding out against her father, with an unsettled account between them even amid the family's grief.
- Mr. Lindau
Lindau is recovering from an amputation, suffering greatly and kept under opiates. March visits him and finds he is not fully conscious.
Key passages
“Someone always has you by the throat, unless you have someone else in your grip.”
March says that in society, people are either oppressed or oppressing others.
March's cynical view of social and economic relations.
“I wonder if He meant our civilization, the battle we fight in, the game we trick in!”
March questions whether God intended the competitive and deceitful nature of modern society.
March's philosophical reflection on the morality of civilization.
“It ought to be law as inflexible in human affairs as the order of day and night in the physical world that if a man will work he shall both rest and eat, and shall not be harassed with any question as to how his repose and his provision shall come.”
March argues that it should be a natural law that anyone who works is guaranteed rest and food without worry.
March's idealistic vision of economic justice.
“We don’t moil and toil to ourselves alone; the palace or the poorhouse is not merely for ourselves, but for our children, whom we’ve brought up in the superstition that having and shining is the chief good.”
March says people work not only for themselves but for their children, who are taught that wealth and status are the ultimate goals.
March's critique of the values passed down through generations.
