The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today

Colonel Beriah Sellers is the story’s antihero. He’s well-liked by the entire Hawkins family, yet his influence is the source of most of their conflicts. Beriah’s manipulative powers are effective enough to convince the other characters that joining his ventures will greatly benefit them, but in truth his motives are purely for personal gain. Beriah is the ultimate dreamer, one who can’t keep up with his own ideas for achieving wealth and who can barely remember what’s true in the midst of all his lies. He doesn’t change in any profound way during the course of the narrative, and his actions are too consistent to be those of a truly round or dynamic character.

Beriah is most significantly defined by his outlook and his speech. His optimism borders on self-delusion, and his verbose speech is notably bombastic. He tells Silas in a letter, “Throw away your traps, if necessary, and come empty-handed. You’ll never regret it. It’s the grandest country—the loveliest land—the purest atmosphere—I can’t describe it; no pen can do it justice” (5). Few people prove immune to the persuasiveness of his silver tongue. The envisioned future city of Napoleon represents Beriah’s most persistent dream and can be seen as embodying the archetypal journey to find the promised land or found the great city. Though this dream is ultimately lost, Beriah never loses his optimism, and by the end of the book he has a new plan to study law, which he believes will carry him to the Supreme Court.

Philip Sterling is a major character whose path becomes intertwined with those of Beriah Sellers and Laura and Washington Hawkins during the course of the narrative. The transformation of his character arc serves to illustrate the allure of Building Castles in the Sky and the work it takes to overcome this harmful mental habit. Early in the story, authorial interpretation and Philip’s successful record as a student at Yale reveal he’s perfectly intelligent and capable. He’s entitled, though, unwilling to commit to a career path or start at the bottom of the ladder and work his way up. This flaw in his character results in his having no job and no way to support the women he wants to marry.

Joining the venture in Missouri creates the impetus for Philip to change, seen in his dedicated study of engineering and railroad science. By the end of his transformation, he’s willing to devote his money, his time, and his own physical labor to the mining operation, and he doesn’t give up even when things seem hopeless. This dedication pays off, making him one of the few characters to achieve financial success.

Philip’s relationship with Ruth forms another important subplot and defines his archetypal journey, the search for love. Ironically, Ruth’s feminist rebellion against gender role limitations turns the “damsel in distress” aspect of the archetype on its head. Philip’s early dissatisfaction with Ruth’s manner toward him comes off as petulant. Flaws like this make Philip a dynamic character. He accepts Ruth’s desire for a career and financial independence, however, aligning with the book’s overall pro-feminist message.

Washington Hawkins is the oldest son of Silas and Nancy Hawkins. He’s ten years old when the family moves to Missouri and his father announces the purchase of land in Tennessee that, he claims, will someday make Washington rich. Frequent reminders of this promised future wealth lead Washington to expect it, even to rely on it, never thinking he’ll need to work or learning any practical skills.

A product of his father’s and Beriah’s influence, Washington becomes a dreamer and a schemer himself, always imagining ways to get rich but never bringing them to fruition. Washington makes a poor soldier in the war and later comes away from one speculation after another with nothing to show for them. He admires Beriah and shapes himself in Beriah’s image. In his adulthood, however, Washington chases wealth as a means to marry the woman he loves, not out of pure greed. His character arc undergoes a considerable transformation, culminating in a moment of epiphany. He vows to stop dreaming of wealth and spending his energy on get-rich-quick schemes, and to devote himself to honest work.

Laura Hawkins is the adopted daughter of Silas and Nancy Hawkins. She is separated from her parents when she’s five years old by a steamboat accident thought to have killed them. Though Laura eventually forgets that Silas and Nancy aren’t her biological parents, her later re-discovery of this fact influences her character arc, instilling a sense that she’s destined for greatness. As an early example of literary realism, the novel comments on how Laura’s expectations have been shaped by the romantic novels she reads.

Laura’s character development is portrayed through her complex family history, her popular and influential social status, her beauty, and her witty banter, which makes great use of the back-handed compliment to call people out for their ignorance or snobbery. Laura is one of the most dynamic characters in the book, and her choices and actions show how her character changes as a result of her experiences. She offers to go to work when the family is in need. She accepts an invitation to enter the social and political scene in Washington, DC. She kills the man who betrays her. She embarks on a lecture tour, seeking stardom. In the end she dies of heart disease, according to doctors, though the reader might see her heart’s disease as the toll of a life of disappointment and failure.

Henry Brierly is a major character most often referred to by his nickname, Harry. Though his character is given nearly equal attention to Philip’s, Harry lacks the complexity of a fully round character and the transformative arc of a dynamic one. Harry’s devotion to his appearance and social reputation portray him as shallow. He creates a facade of wealth and importance for himself rather than doing the work to earn it.

Like Beriah, Harry lies so habitually about his life that he’s managed to delude even himself. His view of his own importance is influenced by what Philip calls “the most buoyant confidence in his own projects” and a “predominance of the imagination over the judgment” (239). Such descriptions suggest Harry’s intentions are not mean or evil, merely self-centered and over-confident. Falling for Laura and being unable to have what he wants for the first time in his life creates an opportunity for transformation, but change is ultimately unrealized in the span of the narrative.

Ruth Bolton is both a romantic interest for Philip and a main character in her own right. Her religious and family histories, physical ailments, and temporary distractions from her goals make her a complex and dynamic character. Ruth’s thoughts and feelings toward Philip are often not revealed directly by the narrators, and must be interpreted by her actions and his perceptions of them. Her feelings about gender norms and limitations placed on women by society, however, are made quite apparent through dialogue between Ruth and her parents or Philip.

Ruth’s motivations—to study medicine in an era when it was rare for women to do so, to break free from the metaphorical cage of gendered oppression, and to achieve financial independence—form the most significant aspects of Ruth’s role in the story. Both her actions and her conversations about women’s status in society develop and support the novel’s pro-feminist message. Additionally, her character creates a reason for Philip to seek financial security, and his belief that only some grand heroism can win a heart like hers motivates him to strive for greatness.

Senator Abner Dilworthy is a significant secondary character most often referred to by his last name. He serves as a sort of mentor to Washington and Laura, initiating them into the schemes and normalized corruption of government and political society. As someone who very publicly proclaims the most honorable intentions and agendas, Dilworthy’s character is likely meant to symbolize hypocrisy. The ambiguity of his intentions and even the details of his actions, however, dilute this effect. His involvement in illegal and unethical actions is suggested rather than proven, and his devotion to the causes he advocates for is not conclusively discredited. Dilworthy is most significant for his role in shaping the fates of Laura and Washington.