The Titan · Chapter
Man and Superman explained
After Aileen's violent public attack on Rita Sohlberg, Cowperwood confronts Harold Sohlberg at the sanitarium.
What happens
After Aileen's violent public attack on Rita Sohlberg, Cowperwood confronts Harold Sohlberg at the sanitarium. He first denies the affair, then admits it and offers Sohlberg a bribe of five thousand dollars a year to leave Chicago or remain silent, threatening to kill him if he makes trouble. Sohlberg, intimidated by Cowperwood's cold resolve and the sight of revolvers, capitulates and leaves.
Themes in this chapter
Ambition and Power
Cowperwood wields financial power and personal intimidation to control the situation, demonstrating his relentless drive to protect his reputation and ambitions.
Corruption and Morality
The chapter exposes the moral decay beneath polite society: adultery, bribery, and threats are used to cover up scandal, with Cowperwood rationalizing his actions as necessary.
Love and Betrayal
The affair between Cowperwood and Rita Sohlberg is revealed, leading to betrayal of trust between spouses and the collapse of romantic illusions.
Characters to notice
- Frank A. Cowperwood
Confronts Harold Sohlberg at the sanitarium, first denying then admitting the affair, and uses a combination of bribery and intimidation to secure Sohlberg's silence.
- Rita Sohlberg
Recovering in the Lake Shore Sanitarium after Aileen's attack; she feels humiliated and wishes to avoid both Sohlberg and Cowperwood.
- Harold Sohlberg
Confronted by Cowperwood; initially blustering and threatening, but quickly intimidated by Cowperwood's coolness and the offer of money, ultimately agreeing to leave.
- Aileen Cowperwood
Referenced as having attacked Rita Sohlberg; Cowperwood claims she was temporarily insane, though he later admits the affair was true.
Key passages
“It is a sad commentary on all save the most chemic unions—those dark red flowers of romance that bloom most often only for a tragic end—that they cannot endure the storms of disaster that are wont to overtake them.”
Only the rarest, most elemental relationships survive disaster; most romantic bonds, like fragile flowers, are destroyed by the storms of misfortune.
The narrator reflects on the fragility of romantic relationships when faced with scandal and crisis.
“If you want to leave Chicago and stay away three years or more, I will see that you are paid five thousand dollars every year on January first—on the nail—five thousand dollars!”
Cowperwood offers Sohlberg an annual payment of five thousand dollars to leave Chicago for at least three years, or a reduced amount if he stays silent in the city.
Cowperwood uses his wealth to buy Sohlberg's silence and remove him from the scene.