# National Avenue — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for National Avenue by Booth Tarkington.

- [National Avenue](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/national-avenue.md): Dan Oliphant's marriage to Lena McMillan is met with disapproval from his family, particularly his mother and grandmother, Mrs. Savage. The couple moves into a house on National Avenue, where Lena struggles with the prov
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/i.md): The chapter introduces the Oliphant brothers, Harlan and Dan, contrasting their personalities and stately home on National Avenue. It describes their childhood differences: Harlan is fastidious and aristocratic, while Da
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/ii.md): Dan Oliphant graduates from university and spends time in New York, where he meets Lena McMillan through her brother George. Despite the McMillans' reserved hospitality, Dan is captivated by Lena and receives an invitati
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/iii.md): Dan Oliphant returns home from New York and walks with his childhood friend Martha Shelby. He confesses that he is engaged to a woman from New York, causing Martha to react with quiet sadness. Dan expresses his deep atta
- [Chapter IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/iv.md): Dan Oliphant visits his grandmother, Mrs. Savage, who warns him against marrying a New York girl and mixing 'stocks.' She argues that the strongest American stock came from yeoman English settlers who moved west, while E
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/v.md): Dan announces his engagement to Lena McMillan to his parents and brother Harlan, receiving a lukewarm reception that contrasts with his idealized expectations. Afterward, he is called to nurse his sick cousin Charlie at 
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/vi.md): Harlan and Martha discuss Dan's ambitious but failing Ornaby Addition project. Harlan reveals that Dan has become the town's laughingstock, working tirelessly with a few laborers while trying to secure funding from banke
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/vii.md): Dan Oliphant struggles to promote Ornaby Addition while managing his relationship with Lena McMillan. He writes to Lena explaining the impossibility of a year abroad and the necessity of living in his city, causing tensi
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/viii.md): Lena McMillan struggles with her decision to marry Dan Oliphant, torn between her love for him and her fear of leaving New York for the Western frontier. She consults her brother George, who reveals his own disillusionme
- [Chapter IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/ix.md): At their wedding reception, Lena is overwhelmed by the heat, the unfamiliar people, and the social expectations of Dan's world. She becomes increasingly distressed, particularly after an encounter with Dan's grandmother,
- [The Heat of the Night](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/x.md): Dan Oliphant struggles to comfort his new wife Lena, who is overwhelmed by the heat and her new surroundings. Their tense interaction is observed by Martha Shelby, who shares a quiet moment with Dan at the fence. Lena's 
- [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/xi.md): Dan takes Lena to see Ornaby Addition, but a violent thunderstorm ruins the outing. Lena becomes increasingly distressed by the storm and Dan's clumsy attempts to comfort her, especially when he mentions Martha Shelby's 
- [XII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/xii.md): Harlan visits his dying grandmother, Mrs. Savage, who expresses her bitter opinions about Lena, Dan's wife, and the newborn baby. She condemns Lena as mercenary and bad, predicts the child's doom, and insists Dan should 
- [Chapter XIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/xiii.md): Harlan returns home from visiting Mrs. Savage, and his mother expresses anxiety about Dan, who has gone out celebrating the birth of his son. She suspects Dan may have gone to Martha Shelby's house, and asks Harlan to in
- [XIV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/xiv.md): Harlan arrives at the Shelby home to find Dan and Fred Oliphant visiting Martha. Dan, elated over the birth of his son, passionately discusses his plans for Ornaby Addition and a new automobile factory with George McMill
- [Chapter XV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/xv.md): At a family dinner celebrating the baby's arrival, Lena learns from Fred Oliphant that Dan visited Martha Shelby the night Henry Daniel was born and appointed her godmother. This revelation triggers a confrontation betwe
- [XVI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/xvi.md): Dan Oliphant faces the imminent foreclosure of Ornaby Addition with only thirteen days to raise money. Despite his father's doubts and his mother's gentle warnings, Dan remains defiantly optimistic, even as potential buy
- [XVII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/xvii.md): The day after Mrs. Savage's funeral, Mr. Oliphant reads her will to the family. Dan receives only $3,500, while Harlan inherits the bulk of the estate. Lena reacts angrily, believing the will is aimed at her. Dan, howeve
- [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/xviii.md): Dan Oliphant refuses financial help from his family after his grandmother's will, insisting on building Ornaby Addition himself. His parents try to persuade Harlan to assist, but Dan's pride and Harlan's principles creat
- [XIX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/xix.md): Harlan and Martha discuss Dan's Ornaby Addition project, with Harlan skeptical and Martha defending Dan's success. Martha has returned from an extended stay in Italy, leaving her father Mr. Shelby alone. Lena expresses b
- [XX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/xx.md): Dan and Lena engage in a tense, silent standoff over Martha's return, revealing the erosion of their marriage. Later, Harlan and Martha discuss Dan's Ornaby Addition and the Renaissance, exposing their unchanged dynamic 
- [XXI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/xxi.md): Dan avoids visiting Martha after her return, leading to tense silence between him and Lena. Weeks later, on a hot Sunday, Dan's parents visit and praise a 'carpenter shop' he built for young Henry, who rebels against Sun
- [Chapter XXII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/xxii.md): Martha reflects on Dan's absence and her feelings, while her father Mr. Shelby returns home furious about a confrontation with Dan over the streetcar line through Ornaby Addition. Martha defends Dan, but her father's cry
- [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/xxiii.md): Harlan and Martha drive through Ornaby Addition, observing Dan's rapid development of the area, including new bungalows, factories, and infrastructure. They discuss Lena's disinterest in building a home, Dan's ambitious 
- [Chapter XXIV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/xxiv.md): Dan Oliphant reflects on his father's health and final words of blessing and advice, while the city undergoes rapid transformation driven by industrial progress and destruction of old landmarks. Dan's father dies, and Da
- [XXV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/xxv.md): Dan Oliphant's father dies while Lena and Henry are abroad. Lena returns after a prolonged stay, looking younger than ever, but refuses to visit the new house Dan is building. Henry, now fifteen, smokes openly and shows 
- [Chapter XXVI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/xxvi.md): Martha clarifies to Harlan that her steadfastness for Dan is rooted in memory, not love, and gently deflects his annual marriage proposal. During a spring evening visit, Harlan finds George McMillan already with Martha, 
- [Chapter XXVII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/xxvii.md): At a symphony concert, Martha and Harlan discuss Dan's absence and business worries. Dan arrives late with Sam Kohn, revealing a struggle to retain control of Ornaby Addition. Lena, who knows the singer Venable, plans to
- [XXVIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/xxviii.md): Dan finds Henry drunk in a restaurant and decides to sell his car. When he returns home, Lena confronts him hysterically, blaming the town for Henry's behavior and demanding to leave with their son, leading to a violent 
- [XXIX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/xxix.md): Dan Oliphant faces a devastating day of financial collapse, losing control of Ornaby Addition and the Four, while also learning that his wife Lena has left for New York, taking their son Henry with her. Physically ill wi
- [The End of Dan Oliphant](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/xxx.md): Dan Oliphant lies dying, attended by Martha Shelby and his brother Harlan. In his final moments, he reflects on his failures, including the loss of Ornaby Addition, and acknowledges Harlan's help in preventing bankruptcy
- [XXXI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/national_avenue_se/chapters/xxxi.md): After the war, the old National Avenue is completely demolished, with Old Hickory Shelby's house being the last to go. Martha and Harlan drive through the transformed city, reflecting on the changes and Dan's lost vision

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