The Bulwark

by Theodore Dreiser

A young Quaker finds material success—and moral challenge—after marrying into a wealthy Philadelphia family, in a novel by the author of Sister Carrie.   Rufus and Hannah Barnes are good Quakers, highly respected in their new community of Dukla, Pennsylvania and strictly loyal to their faith. They pass this loyalty on to their children, including Solon Barnes, who must hold on to his Quaker convictions while living in an increasingly materialistic modern society.   After falling for the lovely Benecia—a daughter of the wealthy Wallin family—Solon is given a position at her father’s bank in Philadelphia, poised to work his way up from the bottom. But Solon’s faith is challenged by his position at the bank, as his moral values cause him to butt heads with corrupt executives driven by financial gain. Meanwhile, as his own children grow up, they start rebelling against the strict principles they were raised with. As the weight of the world bears down on the noble foundations at the core of his principles, Solon must struggle to remain a bulwark for his faith.   “The great American novelist.”—Publishers Weekly

Genres: Fiction, Classics, American, Historical Fiction, Novels, American Fiction

382 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1946

About the author

Naturalistic novels of American writer and editor Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser portray life as a struggle against ungovernable forces. Value of his portrayed characters lies in their persistence against all obstacles, not their moral code, and literary situations more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of choice and agency; this American novelist and journalist so pioneered the naturalist school.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore...

Reviews

[Ruthie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dreiser is one of my favorite authors, and this is in my top 5 favorite books. The dialogue is somewhat difficult (they are Quakers, so there is a lot of thees and thous) but it lets you get a feel for their world. It is basically just about a family and the events that shape and change their lives. I think because I found a lot of parallels with my upbringing (5 siblings, grew up Mormon) I was especially touched by it. Its just a good story about growing up and parent and child releationships that I think anyone could relate to on some level. Dresier is such a great storyteller, although may be a little too descriptive and long winded for some, for me I find that it just gets me more ingrossed in the plot and characters.

[A Enwright · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always liked Dreiser's writing. I've always found his books engrossing, easy to read, and I've always enjoyed the clarity of his prose. This book was a little deeper than his other works. He explores religious faith, falling away from faith; family connections broken and restored, the effect of wealth on people; and the choices people make and how these choices reconcile or don't reconcile with their values; it's basically about alienation and reconciliation. His descriptions of Solon's perceptions, emotional turmoil, principles, and view of the world are very well done. His descriptions of some of the more superficial characters are less convincing... especially Dorothy, Cousin Rhoda, Volida, and Stewart, the son who gets into trouble.. However, the last few scenes in the book are very moving and very well done. Dreiser really ties the different threads of the book together very skillfully in these scenes, and I found myself with tears in my eyes while reading some of them.

It's a good meditation on the nature of God, of faith, of family, and of life and death. I wasn't surprised to read that Dreiser died shortly after completing this book. You almost feel the auther's love for the character of Solon, who according to something I read was supposedly an idealized version of his father. I don't know if this is true or not.. but after reading the book, it certainly could be. You also got the feeling reading the book that some of the thoughts put in the mind of Solon could possibly have been Dreiser's own thoughts contemplating the fleetingness of this life.. and some of his own thoughts maybe on the nature of faith, loss, and love. His passsage on God as love are beautiful. The narrative struck me as more personal than any of his other books, but I don't know if this is correct or not, as this is a work of fiction, not of autobiography.

Lastly, it's not a book for kids. There are some purulent parts in it.. which if you were reading this with a teenager could be edited out. Other than these, and some weak characterization in parts, a definite thumbs up.

[Chris Schaffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dreiser is just great. I wish he wrote more books. My ranking of my favorite books by him would be:
1. American Tragedy
2. Sister Carrie
3. The Bulwark
4. The Financier
5. The Titan
6. Jennie Gerhardt

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 3 out of 5]

While in ‘An American Tragedy’ Dreiser stressed on the role of childhood in the shaping one’s personality, in this novel, he asserts that the influence of home environment is not crucial. Nature finally controls all changes in individual and society.

The Bulwark narrates the tale of Solon Barnes, a Quaker. Dreiser’s interest is Quakerism was essentially because of its intrinsic idealism in a grossly materialistic society. Such idealist attitudes are difficult to stay in the material world of temptations.

Solon Barnes is frequently tormented by guilt even as he grows rich in a world in which austerity and sacrifice have no place. The transactions that bring him huge profits cause him mental agony as he also has no will to cut himself off from such a world.

His raising his children in an insular world, away from the temptation of wealth and luxury results in utter failure.

Dreiser follows the varied careers of Solon’s five children, and shows once again that the social environment combined with the innate chewiness of an individual decides his course of life.

[Okenwillow · Rating 5 out of 5]

J’ai découvert Dreiser en 2011 avec Sister Carrie, qui avait été un coup de cœur. L’occasion de lire un autre de ses romans avec Masse Critique était trop belle !

Tout d’abord la quatrième de couverture n’est pas tout à fait fidèle au récit, les pratiques de la banque où travaille Solon n’entrent pas “rapidement” en conflit avec ses valeurs, loin de là, on a l’impression qu’il s’agit là du clou du spectacle, mais pas du tout, il s’agit d’un élément de la toile de fond, qui intervient clairement très tardivement. Le vrai sujet du livre, c’est Solon et son fanatisme, la façon dont ses enfants s’éloignent de la foi quaker tandis que le monde autour d’eux évoluent.
[...]
[Vous pouvez lire la suite sur mon blog, merci :)]

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of Dreiser's lesser known novels. It's a powerful story of a stalwart Quaker (a bulwark of the faith) who must deal with rebellious children, and materialism in his community. I've read it twice now and still think it's a great story.

[Lera · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked how many topics were touched upon: parenting, religious beliefs, family relationships, family traditions and social foundations.
The story of the Barnes family really shocked me. Despite the good moments, they were all mostly when everyone was apart from the family. Together, they were surrounded by misunderstanding, which became a bone of contention.
I am not a religious person, not a believer, but the inner tossing of the head of the family, despite a certain primness, still responded in some places in my soul, especially at the end of the book. The realization of their mistakes came too late and this is perhaps the saddest and bitterest feeling.
It makes you think about the struggle of generations, between the future and the past, the struggle of freedom and stagnation.
The Bulwark for me is the highest state of mind, beauty, love and inner strength.

[Chrisangel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Theodore Dreiser was never known for bright and cheerful scenarios, so don't look for one here. It's just the story of a married couple who raise a family, have high hopes for the children they brought up to have good morals and values, and how, each in their own way, their sons and daughters disappoint them, but they love them, nonetheless.

Be warned: one part of the story is really heartbreaking.

[Lynette Ostrander · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sad but realistic view of life

Overall the book was interesting but the outcome was very sad. Some of the writing was confusing as they moved from person to person to explain their particularly life situation.

[Esterina Terpollari · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read.

As a reader, if you want to live another life, then the life of Solon Barns will be one to remember forever.
This life is made of faith, love, honesty, family and friends as well as of pain, suffering, different viewpoints, death and what hurts the most.

[Natalia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Очень рассудочная книга - автор проторил своим героям тропинки, и запрещал с них сворачивать. Хотя и есть несколько прелестных поэтичных моментов.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been mildly obsessed with Dreiser for the past two years, working my way through his books. I found an original edition of of this in my local library and had to check it out. (Pun intended.)

If you are reading this book, it's probably not your first Dreiser so I recommend The Last Titan. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... , which gives great context around when and why he wrote his various works. I believe The Bulwark was started early in his career but his progress stalled so much that it was finally completed and published posthumously decades later. That's probably why the first half feels more contemporary to the Sister Carrie / Jennie Gerhardt stories with a straightforward and almost predictable coming of age in the modernizing world narrative and the later chapters display various surprising turns and he seems to be using the children to explore different thoughts. His personal experience and viewpoints on life obviously changed him throughout his career so this is an interesting book to see it all together. Although to me he always seems to be trying to rationalize religion, freedoms of capitalism, and appeal of different lifestyles. I wonder if that is why he chose a Quaker subject? But even then had to put him in some of the same settings as The Financier, albeit making different decisions.

The book itself is a good read. I liked the characters and different directions it takes. Although I'm still not sure exactly what he was trying to say with the ending.

[Dinmukhamed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Не плохая книга.
Читается просто и в целом занятно. Поднимаются идеи и проблематика смены поколений, но довольно легко и без каких либо открытий.
Может быть интересна для ознакомления с жизнью того времени, и в частности с бытом квакеров.
Роман довольно средний, особых чувств не зацепил.

[Maria Velb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was deeply amazed by the faith which supported the main character through his life. It seems to me that nowadays you can hardly come across such faith and devotion to religious ideas. I used the word "religious" but it doesn't fit here. As concerns Solon it wasn't religion, it was his way, lifestyle.
Unfortunately when we are into something important and worthy in our opinion, sometimes we miss something even more significant and crucial. Solon was stuck in a way. He refused to admit that his children lived in a different world, that they had different viewpoints and desires.
This novel shows how blind a person can be if his faith exclude his continuation, his offsprings.

[Roger Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting primarily for the depiction of Quaker home and religious life. Does not bring characters alive. For example Solon Barnes , the protagonist, as a child is described as robust twice, sturdy 3 times, and healthy. The fact that he has gray eyes is not revealed until page 40. We do not get any more physical details until page 78 where we get "squat nose," while on page 82 we get "broad shouldered." Conflict in the novel comes very late in its development. The lives of the Barnes family are largely idyllic. Things start to fall apart in Chapter 53 (of 67). Then things go downhill rapidly.
The result a sense of imbalance in the narrative,

[Julie Cohen]

I'd read An American Tragedy, and this work was so different from that one. It is the account of one man's belief system and his struggle to maintain that system throughout his life and in the raising of his family. It gives a glimpse into a very different culture, and for that, it's interesting, but it's not an exciting read in general.

[Masha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read it many years ago but as I remember it's a wonderful description of family life.

[Julie Mercer · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED IT!

[Greynomad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good insight of the Quaker life style and beliefs.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of Dreiser's better works.

[Katherine Hebert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazingly relevant now.