# Class, Wealth, and Social Standing in The Man in Lower Ten

> Theme guide for The Man in Lower Ten by Mary Roberts Rinehart.

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.

## Where it surfaces

- [I Go to Pittsburg](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_man_in_lower_ten_se/chapters/i-i-go-to-pittsburg): The contrast between the wealthy John Gilmore, a millionaire industrialist, and the gritty industrial landscape of Pittsburg highlights themes of class and prosperity.
- [XXX: Finer Details](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_man_in_lower_ten_se/chapters/xxx-finer-details): Sullivan's fall from grace—from marriage to an heiress to doing 'dirty work' for Bronson—highlights class anxiety.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_man_in_lower_ten_se/themes/class_and_social_status
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_man_in_lower_ten_se/themes