48 pages • 1 hour read
Anderson Cooper, Katherine HoweVanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty
Nonfiction | Biography | Adult | Published in 2021A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Divorce
Divorce is used as a motif in two ways. It enters the tale in 1895, when Alva Vanderbilt divorced her husband, Willie. This was a bold move that was unheard of at the time. Men had so many legal advantages that women risked being alone and penniless if they dared seek a divorce; those in bad marriages typically suffered silently—until Alva came along. She later said she was first to do everything: “I blaze the trail for the rest to walk in. I was the first girl of my ‘set’ to marry a Vanderbilt. Then I was the first society woman to ask for a divorce, and within a year ever so many others had followed my example” (141). Thus, divorce emerges as an emblem of greater freedom and independence for women.
However, the authors also use it to show how the Vanderbilts lost their fortune over time. In the 20th century, both women and men in the Vanderbilt family felt freer to seek divorce as it became more accepted in society at large. Men often did so to marry younger women, sometimes women they had kept as mistresses during their first marriage. Because both parties continued to live in Vanderbilt style, so to speak, the expenditures within a single family would now be roughly the equivalent of two families. If either party had more children with a second spouse, the expenses would be all the greater. In this way, divorce is also a motif for the depletion of the Vanderbilt fortune.
Horse Breeding and Racing
This motif appears when the authors wish to paint a picture of a grand lifestyle. Breeding and racing thoroughbred horses are activities often associated with the wealthy, so this is used as a type of shorthand for the upper class. However, Cooper and Howe mostly employ it to illustrate the misuse of money, as part of the theme of The Use and Misuse of Money. This motif features prominently in the stories of Alfred Vanderbilt and Reggie Vanderbilt, both of whom spent large sums of money on horses. This is especially true of the latter, Cooper’s grandfather, of whom the authors write, “For several years, Reggie lived his life indulgently, showing horses and ignoring his [first] wife and daughter” (211), while also drinking and gambling heavily.
Mansions
This motif is prevalent throughout the text, from start to finish. It is probably the most tangible example of the use of Vanderbilt money, since their fortune was not used to endow great institutions like museums or universities (other than Vanderbilt University in Nashville, which the Commodore himself contributed to back in the mid-19th century). Their grandeur and opulence can be seen in photographs, and every tale the authors tell about Vanderbilt family members includes a rich description of their lavish houses. As Alva Vanderbilt said, “The Vanderbilts must have homes which represent originality, art, and beauty” (142). They must also, of course, be large. The Breakers, Cornelius II and Alice’s summer home in Newport, encompassed just about three White Houses in size. Thus, the authors use their descriptions of Vanderbilt mansions to represent the great wealth of the family and support the theme of The Use and Misuse of Money.
However, mansions tell another tale, one of squandered wealth. The image in the Prologue of The Breakers today is more humbling than awe-inspiring. It remains standing as a showpiece of its former glory, only now as a museum open to the public. Its last Vanderbilt residents long since lacked the ability to maintain The Breakers themselves, selling it to the Preservation Society of Newport County in 1973. Moreover, the image of Gladys, the last Vanderbilt descendant to live there, being forced to leave in 2018 by the Preservation Society is one of a lost empire. This is the cautionary tale that mansions also represent, the flip side of the coin that stands for great wealth.
Cornelius II and Alice’s mansion on Fifth Avenue in New York City required 37 servants to keep it running. In its heyday, this was impressive. After her husband died, however, Alice lived there alone among the servants, hardly able to pay for upkeep—rather a different picture. In 1926, she was forced to sell it to developers, who tore it down and built something else in its place.
The Public
This motif is used to support the theme of The Effects of Fame. Cooper and Howe sprinkle the text with mentions of “crowds,” “gawkers,” and “onlookers.” Such was the life of the Vanderbilts, lived under the gaze of a public endlessly fascinated by them. Sometimes that worked to positive effect, such as in 1883, when Alva held her famous ball. Alva plied the press to whip up public interest, happy for the attention, which aided her plans of contesting Caroline Astor’s iron grip on high society.
Other times, it became a burden. When Alva’s daughter, Consuelo, was married off to the Duke of Marlborough in 1895, the public scrutiny was smothering. The marriage was arranged against Consuelo’s wishes (she pleaded with her mother to marry someone else, to no avail)—and everyone knew it. She felt humiliated and depressed passing before the crowds outside of Saint Thomas Church when she arrived for the ceremony and later departed.
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