''The Stoic'' is a novel by

Theodore Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalism (literature), naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despi ...

, written in 1945 and first published in 1947. It is the conclusion of his '' Trilogy of Desire'', which includes '' The Financier'' (1912) and '' The Titan'' (1914). This series of novels depicts Frank Cowperwood, a businessman based on the real-life

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

tycoon

Charles Yerkes Charles Tyson Yerkes Jr. ( ; June 25, 1837 – December 29, 1905) was an American financier. He played a part in developing mass-transit systems in Chicago and London. Philadelphia Yerkes was born into a Quaker family in the Northern Libertie ...

. After many years of preparatory work, Dreiser commenced writing the third volume of his Cowperwood trilogy in April 1932. By August 1932 he had completed fifty-five chapters (representing about two-thirds of the work). But he then broke-off, until resuming in mid-1945. He completed a further thirty-four chapters plus an `epilogue` by October 1945. Having circulated the draft among friends and advisors, he decided to delete the epilogue and to rewrite the final chapter. He died before he could finish the manuscript, and his widow Helen assembled the novel's final pages. Helen also acquiesced to the novel being cut from 90 chapters of 921 pages to 78 chapters with 510 pages. A number of Dreiser`s characters in The Stoic are based on persons associated with Yerkes during his London years. For example "Elverson Johnson" was based on Robert William Perks; and "Berenice Fleming" was based on Emilie Busbey Grigsby.

Plot summary

Cowperwood, still married to his estranged wife Aileen, lives with Berenice. He decides to move to London, England, where he intends to take over and develop the underground railway system. Berenice becomes close to Earl Stane, while Frank has an affair with Lorna Maris, a relative of his. Meanwhile, he tries to fix Aileen up with Tollifer, but she becomes enraged when she finds out it was a ruse. Finally, Cowperwood dies of

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine. It was frequently accompanied ...

. His inheritance is squandered in lawsuits. Aileen dies shortly after. Berenice travels to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, where she is moved by poverty. Back in the United States, she realises there is poverty there too, and decides to set up a hospital for the poor, as Cowperwood intended.

Cultural allusions

*Cowperwood is said to own paintings by

William-Adolphe Bouguereau William-Adolphe Bouguereau (; 30 November 1825 – 19 August 1905) was a French Academic art, academic painter. In his realistic genre paintings, he used mythological themes, making modern interpretations of Classicism, classical subjects, with a ...

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot ( , , ; 16 July 1796 – 22 February 1875), or simply Camille Corot, was a French Landscape art, landscape and Portraitist, portrait painter as well as a printmaking, printmaker in etching. A pivotal figure in ...

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

, Meindert Hobbema, Teniers, Jacob Isaakszoon van Ruisdael,

Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; ; – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a German-Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He ...

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of ...

, Reynolds, and J. M. W. Turner, among others.

References

ЬрУп Novels by Theodore Dreiser 1947 American novels Novels published posthumously Doubleday (publisher) books {{1940s-novel-stub