The Rise of Silas Lapham · Chapter
XII explained
Mrs.
What happens
Mrs. Corey returns from her summer travels and, concerned about her son Tom's involvement with the Laphams, pays a formal call on Mrs. Lapham and Penelope. The visit is tense and awkward; Mrs. Lapham is flustered and self-conscious, while Penelope responds with a mixture of defiance and irony. After Mrs. Corey leaves, Irene returns and is puzzled by Penelope's emotional outburst. Mrs. Corey reports to her husband that she believes the Laphams are aware of Tom's attachment to one of the daughters.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Mobility
The chapter vividly illustrates the social chasm between the established Corey family and the newly wealthy Laphams, as Mrs. Corey's visit is fraught with class anxiety and condescension.
Appearance vs. Reality
Mrs. Corey's polite exterior masks her critical scrutiny and suspicion, while Mrs. Lapham's outward composure hides deep insecurity; Penelope's ironic demeanor conceals her true emotional turmoil.
Marriage and Family Dynamics
The Corey family's concern over Tom's potential marriage reveals the complex loyalties and fears within a family when an outsider threatens to disrupt established bonds.
Characters to notice
- Mrs. Lapham
Receives Mrs. Corey's call with visible anxiety and embarrassment, feeling guilty and inadequate despite her earlier confidence.
- Penelope Lapham
Sits in on the visit, responds with ironic detachment, but later breaks down in tears, revealing deep emotional distress.
- Irene Lapham
Returns home after the call ends; is confused by Penelope's reaction and questions her mother about the visit.
- Mrs. Corey
Pays a formal call to the Laphams, observing their behavior with a critical eye and later reporting her suspicions to her husband.
- Bromfield Corey
Listens to his wife's report of the visit and offers a dry, skeptical commentary on her interpretation.
- Tom Corey
Mentioned as the subject of Mrs. Corey's concern; his involvement with the Laphams and his interest in one of the daughters is the focus of the visit.
Key passages
““I presume I’ve got to see her,” she gasped. “Well, don’t look so guilty, mother,” joked the girl; “you haven’t been doing anything so very wrong.” “It seems as if I had . I don’t know what’s come over me.””
Mrs. Lapham dreads meeting Mrs. Corey and feels inexplicably guilty, though Penelope teases her that she has done nothing wrong.
Highlights Mrs. Lapham's anxiety and the ironic contrast between her feelings and the reality of the situation.
““Oh, it seems to have been going on, and your father has never written a word about it,” she said, shaking her head.”
Mrs. Corey laments that her husband never informed her about Tom's involvement with the Laphams.
Reveals the lack of communication between Mr. and Mrs. Corey regarding their son's affairs.
““If she came to make us say and do the wrong thing, she must have gone away happy; and it’s a pity you weren’t here to help, Irene. I don’t know that I aimed to make a bad impression, but I guess I succeeded—even beyond my deserts.””
Penelope sarcastically remarks that Mrs. Corey's visit was designed to make them blunder, and that she likely succeeded in making a poor impression.
Shows Penelope's bitter awareness of the social game being played and her own defiant but painful role in it.