Class, Wealth, and Social Standing

The story contrasts the comfortable, prosaic life of the lawyer-narrator with the desperate motives of poorer characters like Sullivan, whose marriage to an heiress is thwarted by her wealthy father.

The contrast between the wealthy John Gilmore, a millionaire industrialist, and the gritty industrial landscape of Pittsburg highlights themes of class and prosperity.

Sullivan's fall from grace—from marriage to an heiress to doing 'dirty work' for Bronson—highlights class anxiety.