# Failure (1871) explained — The Education of Henry Adams > Chapter companion for The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams. ## What happens Henry Adams reflects on his time as an assistant professor of history at Harvard College, finding the academic and social life of Cambridge a 'social desert' and his own teaching a failure. He contrasts the thin education of a schoolteacher with that of an editor, concluding that his formal education has ended and his life has begun. Despite his self-criticism, Harvard College offers him recognition, and he finds his students excellent company, though he doubts his own utility as a teacher. ## Themes in this chapter ### Education and Self-Formation Adams critiques his own education as a teacher and editor, concluding it was thin and that he learned more from failure than success. ### Social Class and Identity The social desert of Cambridge and the constraints of being labeled a 'professor' highlight class and identity tensions. ### The Failure of Leadership Adams sees failure in both academic and editorial leadership, preferring Congressmen to professors. ## Character check-ins ### Henry Adams Narrator and protagonist; reflects on his failure as a professor and editor, and his education. ### James Russell Lowell Mentioned as one of the brilliant men in Cambridge who tried to make society lively but were constrained by their roles as professors. ### Charles Eliot President of Harvard College who hints at recognizing Adams's services and initiates reforms. ### John Fiske Noted for his personal regard for Adams, writing that Henry left a great reputation at Harvard. ### Francis Turner Palgrave Helped Adams keep the North American Review literary. ### Charles Francis Adams Brother whose railway articles sustained the North American Review. ## Key lines > The same failure marked the society of a college. Several score of the best-educated, most agreeable, and personally the most sociable people in America united in Cambridge to make a social desert that would have starved a polar bear. The social life at Harvard was so barren that even the most brilliant and sociable individuals could not create a stimulating environment. _Adams emphasizes the failure of academic society to foster genuine social connection._ > A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. A teacher's impact is immeasurable and lasts forever. _Adams reflects on the profound responsibility of teaching, despite his own doubts._ > The degree of Harvard College is worth money to me in Chicago. A Harvard degree has practical financial value in the Midwest. _A student's pragmatic view of education contrasts with Adams's more idealistic struggles._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_education_of_henry_adams_se/chapters/xx-failure-1871 - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_education_of_henry_adams_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_education_of_henry_adams_se/chapters