Alice Adams · Chapter
Chapter XXIII explained
Walter Adams is discovered to have embezzled funds from Lamb and Company and has fled.
What happens
Walter Adams is discovered to have embezzled funds from Lamb and Company and has fled. The news devastates the Adams family: Mrs. Adams wails uncontrollably, Virgil Adams rages and vows to repay every penny, while Alice tries to calm them. Old Charley Lohr brings the news and offers help. The next morning, Virgil goes to his glue factory only to find a sign that J. A. Lamb will take over the building, crushing his business prospects. Lamb confronts Virgil, who insists he will repay Walter's debt. The chapter ends with Alice forcing her father to eat breakfast before he leaves.
Themes in this chapter
Family Dynamics and Sacrifice
The Adams family is torn apart by Walter's crime; Mrs. Adams's maternal anguish, Virgil's rage and vow to repay, and Alice's efforts to hold the family together highlight the strain and sacrifice within the family.
Pride and Shame
Virgil Adams's fierce insistence on repaying every penny ('Every last, dang, dirty penny!') reflects his pride and his shame at being perceived as a thief, while the public exposure of Walter's crime brings disgrace to the family.
Ambition and Disappointment
Virgil's dream of building his glue business is crushed by Lamb's takeover sign, symbolizing the collapse of his ambitions and the disappointment of his hopes for financial recovery.
Characters to notice
- Alice Adams
Alice tries to soothe her mother and father after Walter's embezzlement is revealed, and later forces her father to eat breakfast before he goes to the factory.
- Mrs. Adams
Mrs. Adams wails uncontrollably over Walter's flight, alternating between lamenting for Walter and for Alice, and is eventually put to bed by Alice.
- Virgil Adams
Virgil rages at Walter's betrayal, vows to repay the stolen money, walks all night, and goes to his factory only to discover Lamb's takeover sign.
- Charley Lohr
Charley Lohr brings the news of Walter's embezzlement to the Adams family and offers his sympathy and help.
- J. A. Lamb
J. A. Lamb appears at the factory with a sign announcing his takeover of the building, and confronts Virgil about the debt.
- Walter Adams
Walter is mentioned as having embezzled funds from Lamb and Company and fled; his mother laments his absence and his father denounces him.
Key passages
“Her mother’s wailing could still be heard from overhead, though more faintly; and old Charley Lohr was coming down the stairs alone.”
Alice hears her mother crying upstairs as Charley Lohr descends the stairs alone.
Sets the scene of distress after Walter's crime is revealed.
“Fact is, your brother Walter’s got in a little trouble—well, I suppose you might call it quite a good deal of trouble. Fact is, he’s quite considerable short in his accounts down at Lamb and Company.”
Charley Lohr informs Alice that Walter has embezzled money from Lamb and Company.
Reveals the central crisis of the chapter.
“Every cent! Every last penny! I can raise it—I got to raise it! I’m going to put a loan on my factory tomorrow. Oh, I’ll get it for him, you tell him! Every last penny!”
Virgil Adams vows to repay the stolen money by taking a loan on his factory.
Shows Virgil's determination and pride.
“After the fifteenth of next month this building will be occupied by the J. A. Lamb Liquid Glue Co. Inc.”
A sign announces that Lamb's company will take over Virgil's factory building.
Symbolizes the destruction of Virgil's business ambitions.
