A Lost Lady

“There were then two distinct social strata in the prairie States; the homesteaders and hand-workers who were there to make a living, and the bankers and gentlemen ranchers who came from the Atlantic seaboard to invest money and to ‘develop our great West,’ as they used to tell us.” 

Social stratification is an important theme in this novel, seen in the behavior of the main characters as well as Niel’s childhood friends. The Forresters represent the highest class of pioneer, akin to Western royalty, while most of Sweet Water’s other residents are working-class “commoners.” One of the story’s tragedies involves the Forresters’ fall from elite status when Captain Forrester loses his fortune.

“But later, after the Captain’s terrible fall with his horse in the mountains, which broke him so that he could no longer build railroads, he and his wife retired to the house on the hill. He grew old there—and even she, alas! grew older.” 

This passage foreshadows the changes that occur later in the story. When the main story begins in Part 1, Chapter 2, the reader sees the Forresters, and the original Western pioneer class as a whole, at the height of their prominence. The end of Chapter 1 portends Captain Forrester’s decline as a towering figure, beginning with a literal fall from a horse, and shows that even Mrs. Forrester, seen as an effervescent charmer in Chapter 2, is destined to age as well.

“He had intended to sit down in the biggest leather chair and cross his legs and make himself at home; but he found himself on the front porch, put out by that delicately modulated voice as effectually as if he had been kicked out by the brawniest tough in town.” 

Ivy Peters is the one character who challenges social stratification in the story’s early chapters, as he believes that wealth and power do not make the Forresters superior to him. Part of what makes his character so villainous is his repudiation of the manners and mores of the elite class. At this stage of the story, he has not yet gained enough confidence to completely ignore the dominance of his “betters,” as Mrs. Forrester is able to command him to leave the room simply by asking. That he was not able to “lay claim” to the Forresters’ way of life greatly angers him.

“Compared with her, other women were heavy and dull; even the pretty ones seemed lifeless—they had not that something in their glance that made one’s blood tingle.” 

This is the first indication that Niel is completely taken with Mrs. Forrester, that he has fallen in love with her. He is thrilled that the Forresters are staying for the winter and that he is invited into their inner circle. It is not simply beauty that makes Mrs. Forrester so captivating to Niel; she has some undefinable quality that makes men feel good about themselves. Since he encounters her at such an impressionable age, Mrs. Forrester becomes Niel’s ideal woman.

“Her husband had archaic ideas about jewels; a man bought them for his wife in acknowledgment of things he could not gracefully utter. They must be costly; they must show that he was able to buy them, and that she was worthy to wear them.” 

Captain Forrester is a man of few words who expresses his love and devotion for his wife through other means. The jewels that he gives his wife, particularly the pieces she chooses to wear for special occasions, are his way of showing her that he values her. The fact that they are expensive shows the world that he is a man of means and that his wife, his most prized “possession,” is also of the most excellent quality.

“All our great West has been developed from such dreams; the homesteader’s and the prospector’s and the contractor’s. We dreamed the railroads across the mountains, just as I dreamed my place on the Sweet Water.” 

Captain Forrester’s words here are like the song of the grand pioneer. They all came to the virgin land, many with nothing, and envisioned what the land could become. In doing so, they turned their dreams into substance. Captain Forrester saw a hill on the prairie by a river and envisioned his dream home, and he did not rest until he made that dream a reality. He does not consider that there could have been any other outcome, echoing the pioneers’ sentiment that the settling of the West was an inevitability.

“When he was dull, dull and tired of everything, he used to think that if he could hear that long-lost lady laugh again, he could be gay.”

This is another instance of foreshadowing, indicating that in the future, Niel will look back on his memories of Mrs. Forrester and be cheered. This is important, since Niel becomes so disillusioned and angered by Mrs. Forrester’s behavior later in the story. The reader is therefore reassured that Niel will once again regard Mrs. Forrester with affection. This is also a reference to the title, indicating that Mrs. Forrester becomes “long-lost.”

“From that disparity, he believed, came the subtlest thrill of her fascination. She mocked outrageously at the proprieties she observed, and inherited the magic of contradictions.” 

Niel finds Mrs. Forrester enticing, but the greatest depth of his admiration is for her relationship with her husband. Niel thinks that Mrs. Forrester could have chosen any kind of life with a younger, more entertaining man, someone more like herself in personality, but she chose the admirable life she has with Captain Forrester. Niel knows that he himself is not enough for a woman such as Mrs. Forrester, that his “shoulders are not broad enough” for her, but he appreciates that she chose a “mountain” of a man as her husband. This good judgment is another characteristic that makes her his ideal woman.

“In that instant between stooping to the window-sill and rising, he had lost one of the most beautiful things in his life.” 

When Niel discovers that Mrs. Forrester is having an affair with Frank Ellinger, it upends his fantasy about her perfection. To have the woman he idolizes expose herself as so common and sordid devastates Niel. This represents his loss of innocence, his introduction to the ugly and complex nature of the world.

“I can’t see any honourable career for a lawyer, in this new business world that’s coming up. Leave the law to boys like Ivy Peters, and get into some clean profession.” 

Judge Pommeroy is a sad witness to the changes occurring in his world. Seeing how the other directors of the failed bank in Denver, many of whom are lawyers, conducted themselves so shamefully makes the judge realize that the law is no longer an honorable profession. He knows that Niel cannot be an unscrupulous man like Ivy Peters.

“Good deal of bluff about all those old-timers. The panic put them out of the game. The Forresters have come down in the world like the rest.” 

In Part 2, the reader sees the ascendance of the younger generation of opportunists and the decline of the noble pioneers. Ivy Peters, representative of the immoral new Westerners, shows his contempt for the “old-timers,” the class of original pioneers. Ivy never respected the prestigious businessmen Captain Forrester had entertained, nor Captain Forrester himself, and he enjoys a sense of revenge that he has taken over what once belonged to the captain.

“If only he could rescue her and carry her off like this—off the earth of sad, inevitable periods, away from age, weariness, adverse fortune!” 

Niel desperately wishes to save Mrs. Forrester, to be her knight in shining armor. When Niel sees Mrs. Forrester again after living in Boston for two years, something stirs in him. He knows that the Forresters have suffered economic hardship, and he wishes that he could shield Mrs. Forrester from the difficulties of the real world. Niel wants Mrs. Forrester to see him as her protector.

“How can anybody like to see time visibly devoured?” 

There is a great deal of symbolism attached to Captain Forrester’s sun dial. Mrs. Forrester misinterprets her husband’s desire to sit and watch the shadows move across his sun dial all day long. For her, it appears that he wants to watch his remaining time be consumed, that he wants to die. In fact, Captain Forrester is spending his twilight months reflecting on his life, on his accomplishments, now that his prime has passed.

“There was something very sad in his voice, and helpless. From his equals, respect had always come to him as his due; from fellows like Ivy he had been able to command it—to order them off his place, or dismiss them from his employ.” 

Captain Forrester suffers the humiliation of being reduced to an invalid after his stroke. When Ivy Peters ignores him or speaks to him like a simpleton, it is particularly humiliating and frustrating, for Ivy is so clearly his inferior in both social status and moral standing. To have such a low-mannered person deny him the respect that he has earned and expected signals how far down Captain Forrester feels he has fallen.

“I accepted the Dalzell’s invitation with a purpose; I wanted to see whether I had anything left worth saving. And I have, I tell you!” 

When her husband loses his fortune and later passes away, Mrs. Forrester has two choices: to fade quietly away with him, a widow and relic of the pioneer era, or to build a new life of her own, one more suited to her natural inclinations. When Mrs. Forrester goes to Colorado and enjoys herself at the Dalzells’ place, she realizes that she wants to fight for herself, to do whatever it takes to build a life that brings her personal joy. She endures humiliation and scorn in Sweet Water, with her eyes on the prize of her future freedom.

“For once he had been quick enough; he had saved her. The moment that quivering passion of hatred and wrong leaped into her voice, he had taken the big shears left by the tinner and cut the insulated wire behind the desk.” 

Niel regrets that he is repeatedly unable to save Mrs. Forrester from heartache and the loss of her social standing. He tries to warn her not to call Frank Ellinger, since this would expose her to gossip from the townspeople, but she does not listen to him. When she begins her tirade at Ellinger, Niel cuts the phone wire so that the call will not transmit. In the end, the telephone operator hears enough. When Niel sees Mrs. Beasley spreading Mrs. Forrester’s tale around town, he knows that he has failed yet again. He wants so desperately to save Mrs. Forrester, and his continued failure is painful.

“Under the care of him, now that he was helpless, Mrs. Forrester quite went to pieces.” 

Mrs. Forrester struggles to maintain an outward appearance of refinement and strength during her husband’s tribulations, but when he suffers a second stroke and she must nurse him herself, it is the last straw, and she cannot take any more. She has no choice but to allow the townswomen to cross the social barrier and help her, like they would a “common” neighbor. The mystique and elite status the Forresters had always enjoyed is stripped away, opening Mrs. Forrester up to petty criticism and mockery. Past caring, she spends her time drinking, exhausted by her futile attempts to keep up appearances amid her husband’s decline.

“As he put in the night hours, sitting first in one chair and then in another, reading, smoking, getting a lunch to keep himself awake, he had the satisfaction of those who keep faith.” 

Even though it costs a year of his life and progress toward his degree, Niel chooses to stay and care for the Forresters. He feels good about his decision because he sees great value in maintaining his loyalty to people he views as surrogate parents. Niel takes pride in putting their needs above his own, exhibiting the nobility and high moral values that he always saw in Captain Forrester. Niel admires the original pioneers so highly but has no opportunity to live the kind of life they led, so in this way he can feel on par with his heroes.

“I think I will have Mr. Forrester’s sun-dial taken over and put above his grave. […] It seems more appropriate for him than any stone we could buy. And I will plant some of his own rose-bushes beside it.” 

Following her husband’s death, Mrs. Forrester shows that she truly did love and understand what was important to him. She has come to understand that the sun dial symbolizes the great achievements of his life and his towering status as a founder of the settled West. Placing the sun dial on his grave is much more meaningful than a grave stone with merely his name and dates. Mrs. Forrester’s statement also shows her understanding of her husband’s love for his roses, which provided him a bond with the land he loved so dearly.

“I guess all we fellows are getting older, whether we like it or not. It made a great difference when Daniel Forrester went.” 

This statement by Mr. Ogden signifies Captain Forrester’s importance within the class of prominent pioneers. He was a giant among them, and his passing symbolizes the end of the pioneer era. It is common for older men to feel the passage of time and their own ephemeral nature when their contemporaries die, so the death of Captain Forrester looms large for Mr. Ogden.

“For years Niel and his uncle, the Dalzells and all her friends, had thought of the Captain as a drag upon his wife; a care that drained her and dimmed her and kept her from being all that she might be.”

Since Mrs. Forrester is 25 years younger than her husband, and has such a fun-loving, effervescent personality, everyone who knows her assumed that Captain Forrester held her back from living the life she wanted. She could have had any man, and perhaps a younger, more ebullient person more like herself would have made her happier. After Captain Forrester’s death, however, it seems to Niel that Mrs. Forrester depended so much on her husband’s stability that without him, she does not know what to do with herself. Captain Forrester was her anchor, and without him she is unmoored and adrift, making poor decisions and ruining her life.

“She was still her indomitable self, going through her old part—but only the stage-hands were left to listen to her. All those who had shared in fine undertakings and bright occasions were gone.” 

After Mrs. Forrester tells the story of how she met the captain, Niel thinks that perhaps he has been too harsh on her, that perhaps she is not yet truly lost. He thinks that the right man could still save her from dissolution. However, Niel also thinks that no one in this time and place, not him nor any of the young men invited to the disastrous dinner party, are capable of being that right man. The fine class of gentlemen who settled the West are all gone, and those who have taken their place are not adequate for her.

“It was what he most held against Mrs. Forrester; that she was not willing to immolate herself, like the widow of all these great men, and die with the pioneer period to which she belonged; that she preferred life on any terms.” 

Niel completely loses his idealized conception of Mrs. Forrester when he realizes that she has been intimate with Ivy Peters. Niel had admired her so greatly, even after learning of her affair with Frank Ellinger (which her husband seemed to have sanctioned), so it is a tremendous blow to learn that she is willing to stoop so low to get what she wants in her new life. Niel wants Mrs. Forrester to remain a member of the pioneer class, to fade quietly away along with Captain Forrester, and feels betrayed when she refuses to do so.