Individual vs. Society

Where it surfaces

• The New City

  Cowperwood feels ostracized by Philadelphia society and decides to forge his own path in the West, alone and unaided.

• A Reconnoiter

  Cowperwood's hidden prison record and plans to defy social conventions (divorce and remarriage) highlight his conflict with societal norms as he seeks personal freedom.

• Concerning a Wife and Family

  Cowperwood's rejection of social expectations and his determination to dictate terms to society highlight his individualistic, anarchistic nature.

• An Overture to Conflict

  Aileen's social failure and fear of losing Cowperwood highlight the tension between personal desires and societal expectations of marriage and status.

• XVIII: The Clash

  Rita Sohlberg's pagan indifference to social morality contrasts with Aileen's conventional anguish.

• The Coming of Stephanie Platow

  Stephanie Platow's exploration of her artistic and sexual desires outside conventional social norms, as seen in her affair with Knowles.

• XXVII: A Financier Bewitched

  Stephanie's free, artistic lifestyle clashes with Cowperwood's conventional expectations of loyalty and possession.

• A Family Quarrel

  Aileen's private anguish contrasts with the public gossip and social scrutiny she faces.

• XXXVII: Aileen’s Revenge

  Aileen's defiance of social norms and Cowperwood's public battles reflect the tension between personal desires and societal expectations.

• XLI: The Daughter of Mrs. Fleming

  Berenice's disdain for the boarding-school's conventions and her superior attitude reflect her struggle against societal expectations and her desire to assert her own identity.

• Mount Olympus

  Cowperwood stands alone against the collective might of Chicago's financial establishment, embodying the conflict between the individual financier and the societal power structure.

• LIII: A Declaration of Love

  Berenice's desire to leave society and teach dancing clashes with her mother's and Cowperwood's expectations of a suitable marriage.

• LVI: The Ordeal of Berenice

  Berenice struggles between her desire for personal fulfillment through art or dance and the societal expectations that demand she marry for security and status.

• LVII: Aileen’s Last Card

  Aileen's struggle against societal expectations and her own desires, as she grapples with her husband's infidelity and her own actions in a judgmental social world.

• LX: The Net

  Both Cowperwood and Berenice stand against societal norms—Cowperwood through his contempt for the masses, Berenice through her determination to carve her own path despite ostracism.

• LXI: The Cataclysm

  Cowperwood stands against the mobilized populace and reformist press, embodying the conflict between corporate power and democratic will.

• In Retrospect

  The central theme of the chapter: the eternal struggle between the individual (Cowperwood) and the mass, with the balance shifting between them.