The Rise of Silas Lapham

Persis tells Penelope about the “real trouble” (281) in which Silas now finds himself. The scale of the problem helps Penelope put her issue in perspective. For the moment, she puts aside the issue of Tom, herself, and Irene. Penelope writes a note to Tom and asks him to stay away until further notice. Silas’s anxieties are temporarily calmed as Rogers fails to produce the English buyers. As a way to distract themselves, the family goes to the theater.

The following night, Silas sits down with Penelope and tries to find a way out of their commercial difficulty. They untangle the situation and give a frank appraisal of where the business stands. Silas does not want to tell his wife everything that has happened, even though she is typically better than him at dealing with such matters. Silas invites Penelope to work on his books as a way to keep her distracted. As they have put away their papers for the evening, Persis happens to find a list of payments made by Silas to a person referred to only as “Wm. M.” (285). She intends to return the paper to Silas but places it in her sewing box and forgets about it.