The Rise of Silas Lapham

Tom visits the Lapham house to show his respect after Silas’s antics at the party. He meets Penelope while waiting to see Silas. They discuss Tears, Idle Tears, the novel that was so heavily criticized the previous evening. Penelope dismisses the novel’s sentimentality and forced emotion. They discuss the novel’s themes and plot. As their conversation continues, Tom suddenly and unexpectedly declares his love for Penelope. She is taken aback, nearly falling down. She insists that everyone knows that Tom is in love with Irene, not her. Penelope stops herself from talking, claiming that this is “the end of life for [her]” (221). She politely asks Tom to leave without discussing the outburst with Silas, whom Tom passes on the way out.

The following day, Silas complains that the girls never join him for breakfast. Persis seeks out Penelope, who reveals that Tom “offered himself to [her] last night” (225). Persis acknowledges that Irene is no intellectual match for Tom, though Penelope certainly is. Despite this difference in her daughters, she never considered the possibility that Tom might fall in love with Penelope. Penelope explains that she has tried to avoid contact with Tom but confesses that she felt attracted to him and hoped that he felt the same about her.