The Financier · Chapter
Chapter L explained
Cowperwood prepares for his imprisonment, managing his financial affairs and seeking support from influential friends to secure a pardon.
What happens
Cowperwood prepares for his imprisonment, managing his financial affairs and seeking support from influential friends to secure a pardon. He meets with Aileen for a final time before his sentence, where she passionately vows to wait for him and insists on finding ways to visit him despite the risks.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Betrayal
Aileen's passionate, unwavering love for Cowperwood contrasts with the betrayal by her father and society.
Survival and Resilience
Cowperwood actively plans his legal and financial survival, seeking allies and a pardon.
Deception and Self-Justification
Cowperwood and Aileen plan secret visits, justifying their actions despite the risks.
Characters to notice
- Frank Algernon Cowperwood
Cowperwood arranges his affairs, meets with financial allies, and comforts Aileen before his imprisonment.
- Aileen Butler
Aileen meets Cowperwood secretly in Camden, expressing fierce devotion and determination to visit him in prison.
- Harper Steger
Steger brings news about the sheriff's delay and handles legal matters for Cowperwood.
- Henry Worthington Cowperwood
Cowperwood's father is informed of the situation and helps with moving to smaller houses.
- Walter Leigh
Leigh agrees to head a petition for Cowperwood's release.
- Terrence Relihan
Relihan is asked to approach newspapers to improve Cowperwood's public image.
Key passages
“The arrival of Steger with the information that no move of any kind would be made by the sheriff until Monday morning, when Cowperwood could present himself, eased matters.”
Steger's news that the sheriff would not act until Monday gave Cowperwood a reprieve.
Cowperwood gains time to organize his affairs before surrendering to prison.
“Only once in three months! she exclaimed, with rising emphasis, as he began this explanation. Oh, Frank, no! Surely not! Once in three months! Oh, I can't stand that! I won't!”
Aileen was outraged at the prospect of only one visit every three months.
Aileen's fierce reaction shows her determination to defy prison rules.
“She was desperately downcast at the last moment, as was he, over their parting; but she pulled herself together with her usual force and faced the dark future with a steady eye.”
Both were sad to part, but Aileen gathered her strength and looked ahead resolutely.
Aileen's resilience mirrors Cowperwood's own pragmatic outlook.