# Chaffee Thayer Sluss — The Titan character guide

> Chaffee Thayer Sluss in The Titan by Theodore Dreiser.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. Sluss, Sluss, Mr. Chaffee Thayer Sluss, Chaffee Thayer Sluss, Thayer Sluss

**First appearance:** 0034-xxxv-a-political-agreement

## Snapshot

A grandiloquent mayor who mistakes inherited comfort for virtue, Sluss holds the veto that could make or break Cowperwood's street-railway ambitions.

## Who they are

Raised on a harness wholesaler's fortune and married into a pickle manufacturer's family, Sluss preens as an essentially honest man while quietly eyeing plump blondes. His smug certainty that Providence protects his prospects makes him both predictable and purchasable — if Cowperwood's men can find the right lever. As the new mayor whose signature on the elevated-road ordinances will decide the franchise war, he is the pivot on which the entire Chicago campaign turns.

## Relationships

### [Aileen Cowperwood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_titan_se/characters/aileen_cowperwood)

_social_

Aileen interacts with Judge Sluss as part of her social circle, but their relationship is strained by his corruption and her pride.

### [Aileen Cowperwood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_titan_se/characters/aileen_cowperwood)

_social_

Aileen interacts with Judge Sluss as part of her social circle, but their relationship is strained by his corruption and her pride.

### [Aileen Cowperwood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_titan_se/characters/aileen_cowperwood)

_social_

Aileen interacts with Judge Sluss as part of her social circle, but their relationship is strained by his corruption and her pride.

## In the story

### [The New Administration](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_titan_se/chapters/xxxix-the-new-administration)

The new mayor, targeted for compromise by Claudia Carlstadt; he is attracted to her and arranges a position for her.

### [A Franchise Obtained](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_titan_se/chapters/xliv-a-franchise-obtained)

The mayor who publicly opposes Cowperwood but is forced to capitulate after being confronted with his love letters to Mrs. Brandon.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_titan_se/characters/chaffee_thayer_sluss
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_titan_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_titan_se/characters