# Lambert Hutchins explained — Spoon River Anthology

> Chapter companion for Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters.

## What happens

Lambert Hutchins reflects on his two monuments: the house he built on the hill and the lake-front in Chicago, which became a polluted switching yard. He used his vote in the House of Representatives to secure this legacy, seeking rest from poverty and a secure life for his daughters. Yet, despite his wealth and status, he faced constant whispers and his daughters married hastily to escape, leaving him to question the worth of it all.

## Themes in this chapter

### Class and Power

Hutchins used his political power to secure a legacy of wealth and status, but the resulting pollution and social whispers reveal the hollowness of his achievements.

### Unfulfilled Lives and Repression

Despite his material success, Hutchins' daughters grew up fearful and married hastily to escape, and he himself questions the worth of his life's work.

## Character check-ins

### Lambert Hutchins

The speaker who built a house on the hill and helped create a polluted lake-front in Chicago, seeking security for his daughters but finding only whispers and regret.

## Key lines

> I helped to give this heritage To generations yet unborn, with my vote In the House of Representatives, And the lure of the thing was to be at rest From the never-ending fright of need, And to give my daughters gentle breeding, And a sense of security in life.

I used my political influence to secure a legacy for future generations, hoping to escape poverty and provide my daughters with a refined upbringing and financial safety.

_Hutchins admits his motivation was to overcome his fear of poverty and ensure his daughters' comfort._

> But, you see, though I had the mansion house And traveling passes and local distinction, I could hear the whispers, whispers, whispers, Wherever I went, and my daughters grew up With a look as if someone were about to strike them; And they married madly, helter-skelter, Just to get out and have a change.

Despite my wealth, status, and fine home, I was haunted by gossip, and my daughters grew up anxious, marrying impulsively just to escape.

_Hutchins reveals the emotional cost of his success: social ostracism and his daughters' desperate flight from home._

> And what was the whole of the business worth? Why, it wasn’t worth a damn!

So what was the point of it all? It was utterly worthless.

_Hutchins concludes that his life's work and legacy have no real value._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/chapters/lambert-hutchins
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/chapters