# Lillian Cowperwood — The Financier character guide > Lillian Cowperwood in The Financier by Theodore Dreiser. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Lillian, little Lillian **First appearance:** 0000-i ## Snapshot Frank's gentle first wife, sheltered and conventional, she finds herself married to a man whose appetites she never imagined and cannot hold. ## Who they are Lillian enters the novel as the young woman Frank courts and marries, a wife whose world is domestic and whose husband opens a new and terrifying vista of what life can be. She is not without feeling or dignity, but she is no match for the scale of Cowperwood's ambition or the force of his desire for Aileen, and the public reads his affair as a plan to desert her and the children. Her quiet presence makes his ruthlessness legible: the cost of his rise is measured in the home he leaves behind. ## Relationships ### [Father Michel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/characters/father_michel) _social_ Father Michel interacts with Lillian, Cowperwood's first wife, as part of their overlapping social and political circles. ### [Father Michel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/characters/father_michel) _social_ Father Michel interacts with Lillian, Cowperwood's first wife, as part of their overlapping social and political circles. ### [Father Michel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/characters/father_michel) _social_ Father Michel interacts with Lillian, Cowperwood's first wife, as part of their overlapping social and political circles. ## In the story ### [Chapter VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/chapters/vi) Lillian Semple, married to Alfred Semple, attracts Frank with her placid beauty and artistic form, though she is not intellectually suited to him. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/chapters/vii) Recently widowed, she is the object of Cowperwood's growing passion; described as beautiful and conventional. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/chapters/viii) Initially hesitant due to age difference and societal norms, she is gradually won over by Cowperwood's persistence and passion. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/chapters/ix) Marries Frank Cowperwood; described as beautiful and passive. ### [The Financier's Domestic and Financial Expansion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/chapters/x) Shows little interest in art but accompanies Frank to exhibitions; becomes pregnant and gives birth to two children. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/chapters/xii) Shows support for Cowperwood's plans but is described as run down and depressed. ### [Chapter XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/chapters/xiii) Criticizes Aileen's lack of refinement and pretentiousness, dismissing her family's social standing; unaware of her husband's growing interest in Aileen. ### [The Plan and the New Houses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/chapters/xv) Frank's wife; reacts wanly to his plans for entertaining in the new home. ### [Chapter XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/chapters/xvii) Discusses Aileen's lack of refinement with Anna; involved in planning the reception. ### [The Dance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/chapters/xviii) Mentioned as Cowperwood's wife; he finds her dull and older compared to Aileen. She dances little and is not a central figure in the chapter. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/chapters/xix) Cowperwood views Lillian as dutiful and morally conventional, contrasting her with Aileen's passionate nature. ### [The Blossoming of Illicit Love](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/chapters/xx) Referenced as Cowperwood's wife, whose early romance with him is contrasted with his current passion for Aileen; she is unaware of the affair. ### [The Double Blow](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/chapters/xxx) Receives an anonymous letter about her husband's affair; struggles with shock and indecision amid the financial crisis. ### [The Trial Approaches](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/chapters/xxxix) Cowperwood's wife, aware of his affair with Aileen, but maintains a formal and strained demeanor. ### [Chapter XLIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/chapters/xliv) Frank asks that she not visit him until he is released, sending her a message not to worry. ### [Chapter XLIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/chapters/xlix) Receives the news of her husband's lost appeal with distress and nervous fear, struggling to grasp the situation. ### [Chapter LI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/chapters/li) Has a distant, matter-of-fact talk with Cowperwood; feels jealous of the attention he gives their daughter. ### [LVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/chapters/lvi) Visits Frank in prison but feels reproachful and weary; her devotion is now tinged with suspicion and moral judgment. ### [LIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/chapters/lix) Granted a quiet divorce from Cowperwood; now lives comfortably in West Philadelphia with their children. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/characters/lillian_cowperwood - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_financier_se/characters