The Financier: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Financier" is a novel that explores the complexities of ambition, relationships, and the moral ambiguities of financial success through its major characters. Central to the narrative is Frank Algernon Cowperwood, a determined and skillful financier who begins his career in his teenage years and quickly rises in the business world. His pursuit of wealth leads him to engage in risky ventures, including city railways and municipal loans, ultimately resulting in his imprisonment following a scandal.
Cowperwood's personal life is equally tumultuous; his marriage to Lillian Semple becomes strained as he embarks on an affair with Aileen Butler, the daughter of a contractor. Lillian's passive nature contrasts with Aileen's loyalty to Cowperwood, even in the face of family opposition. The story weaves through the lives of various characters, including Cowperwood's supportive yet overshadowed family members and the corrupt politicians who contribute to his downfall.
Through these relationships and conflicts, the novel delves into themes of power, betrayal, and the quest for personal fulfillment, offering readers a gripping portrait of ambition in the face of societal and personal challenges.
The Financier: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Theodore Dreiser
First published: 1912; revised, 1927
Genre: Novel
Locale: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Plot: Naturalism
Time: About 1871 to 1874
Frank Algernon Cowperwood, the “financier,” primarily interested in acquiring a fortune. Energetic and skillful, he begins by dealing successfully in soap when he is about thirteen years old. His uncle gets him a job in a grain commission house. Cowperwood's skill leads him into the brokerage business. He then marries Lillian Semple, the attractive widow of a business associate, five years older than he. Branching out into city railways and loans, he becomes involved with local politicians in Philadelphia. The daughter of a contractor becomes Frank's mistress. When his speculations in municipal railways and city loans are brought to light in the turmoil following the Chicago fire of 1871, he is apprehended and sent to jail. Released in thirteen months, he rebuilds his fortune during the panic of 1873. He then decides to move to Chicago.
Lillian Semple Cowperwood,hiswife.Abeautiful,passive woman, she becomes inadequate for Cowperwood. She knows of his affair with Aileen Butler but tolerates it until he decides to go to Chicago. Then she divorces him.
Henry Worthington Cowperwood, Frank's father, who began as a bank clerk, later becoming teller, head cashier, and finally president. He is forced to resign when his son becomes involved in the City Treasury scandal.
Edward Malia Butler, a Philadelphia contractor. For a time, Cowperwood is his financial adviser, thereby meeting his daughter Aileen. When Butler discovers, through an anonymous letter, that his daughter is Frank's mistress, he hires detectives to trail his daughter, but he is unable to break up the affair. Through powerful political friends, he helps to ruin Cowperwood and send him to jail.
Aileen Butler, his daughter, strongly attracted by Cowperwood's personal and financial magnetism. She remains loyal to him despite her awareness of her father's objections. She visits him in jail and goes to Chicago as his mistress.
George W. Stener, the city treasurer, appointed because he could easily serve as a dupe for the politicians. Through weakness and fear, he refuses to lend Cowperwood the additional city money necessary to cover his speculations.
Nancy Arabella Cowperwood, Frank's mother, happy with the elegant house he builds for her.
Seneca Davis, her wealthy brother, a former planter in Cuba. He encourages his nephew early in his career.
Anna Adelaide Cowperwood, Frank's sister. She becomes a clerk in the city water office.
Joseph Cowperwood, Frank's brother, whom he hires to work in the brokerage business.
Edward Cowperwood, another brother and a faithful employee.
Frank Cowperwood, Jr., Frank's son.
Lillian Cowperwood, Frank's daughter and favorite child.
Mrs. Edward Butler, Aileen's religious mother, who never knows of her daughter's affair.
Nora Butler, Aileen's younger sister.
Owen Butler, the older brother of Aileen, a hard, cruel man who is a member of the state legislature.
Callum Butler, his younger brother, a clerk in the city water office and an assistant to his father.
Harper Steger, Frank's friend and defense counsel.
Alfred Semple, Lillian's first husband.
Henry A. Mollenhauer, a rich coal dealer, the most vicious politician in Philadelphia. A city profiteer, he opposes Cowperwood bitterly during the scandal in order to get his railway shares.
Edward Strobik, president of the Philadelphia city council, a henchman of Mollenhauer.
Senator Mark Simpson, a state senator who joins Mollenhauer and Strobik in their financial dealings.
Albert Stires, Stener's secretary, the city clerk who issues the check that later gets Frank in legal trouble.
Van Nostrand, the state treasurer.
Senator Terence Relihan, another crooked politician.
Judge Wilbur Payderson, the judge at Cowperwood's trial. To please the politicians, he hands down the maximum sentence.
Dennis Shannon, the district attorney who prosecutes Frank.
Mary Calligan (Mamie), Aileen's school friend, now a teacher, with whom Aileen lives when she leaves her family.
Mrs. Katherine Calligan, Mary's mother, a widow and a dressmaker.
Alderson, the Pinkerton detective who uncovers Aileen's and Frank's trysting place.
Judge Rafalsky, the jurist who writes the dissenting opinion, in Frank's favor, at the appeal.
Judge Marvin, another dissenting judge.
Stephen Wingate, who acts financially for Frank while the latter is in prison.
Warden Desmas, warden at the Philadelphia prison in which Frank is kept. He treats Frank very well.