The Stoic
 First edition | |
| Author | Theodore Dreiser |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | A Trilogy Of Desire |
| Publisher | Doubleday & Company |
Publication date | 1947 |
| Preceded by | The Titan |
| Followed by | NA |
The Stoic is a novel by Theodore Dreiser, first published in 1947. It is the conclusion to A Trilogy of Desire, his series of novels about Frank Cowperwood, a businessman based on the real-life streetcar tycoon Charles Yerkes. Dreiser completed The Stoic only days before his death in 1945 and the book was published posthumously.
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. His inheritance is squandered in lawsuits. Aileen dies shortly after. Berenice travels to India, 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, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Rembrandt, Meindert Hobbema, Teniers, Jacob Isaakszoon van Ruisdael, Hans Holbein the Younger, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Reynolds, and J. M. W. Turner, among others.