Woman's Role in The Rise of Silas Lapham

While I don’t want to be “that girl” that always brings up the topic of woman’s position in a novel, it is interesting to me to note the expectations and particular admirations of women mentioned in The Rise of Silas Lapham.

The first mention of a woman in the book is Colonel Lapham’s mother. He describes her to Bartley as a hard working woman who, much to his amazement, was a wonder in her domestic duties. She was not afraid of work, and she often stayed up through the night finishing her chores. Interestingly, Mr. Lapham refers to his wife in a very similar manner. He remembers their young days when they first started the paint company. She had been a very active part of the company and a close companion when it came to business decisions.  Later in life she had abstained from being involved in the business for the most part. In Chapter four the narrator reveals the thoughts of Mr. Lapham on this topic saying,

 “Mr. Lapham was proud of his wife, and when he married her it had been a rise in life for him…The girl who taught school with a clear head and a strong hand was not afraid of work; she encouraged and helped him from the first, and bore her full share of the common burden. She had health, and she did not worry his life out with peevish complaints and vagaries; she had sense and principle, and in their simple lot she did what was wise and right” (49).

It seems like the author is elevating the image of a hard working, sensible, woman. I have no problem with that, but what might the society of the author’s time think of this woman?

This is perhaps one of the core concerns in the novel. What is the role of an aristocratic woman? Since the Laphams became wealthy, there was then no need for her to employ her worker-bee efficiency. What should Mrs. Lapham do?  It seems like the novel indicates Mrs. Lapham herself did not know the answer to this question. Though she invited people over and did all the womanly things she was supposed to do, she could not quite seem to fit herself into the role of a wealthy woman. 

I cannot quite trace all the implications in her character, however I am interested to learn about the value of work and the value of society's standards in tension here. It will be interesting to learn more about the culture of the time in order to fully evaluate this tension found in the story.