A loss of touch with society can affect social relationships in many unexpected ways leaving a

lasting effect on a person. Two sisters, the eldest named Irene and youngest named Penelope,

experience life protected by their parents and show the lack of societal intelligence (street

smarts) these young women endure as they age. In the novel The Rise of Silas Lapham, William

Dean Howell portrays how complete isolation dictates a person’s future and the obstacles they

will encounter with it.

 The two sisters live a rich but private life with their parents that have no intention of

sharing life lessons with them. Irene, the older of the two is known as “stylish, and spent hours

on her toilet everyday” however, Penelope had a “simpler taste”(7). The two sisters have very

different personalities and grew up on opposite sides of the looks spectrum. Sadly, Irene

complained how she “scared away the young men … at the dancing school” (20). Her

personality has developed into a socially awkward woman when faced with other people and

having to interact with them. This is from isolation and not knowing how to communicate with

anyone other than her parents and sister. The young men she dances with probably find her shy

and unenjoyable to dance with. Their parents were also not into following present day trends

would often stay in the mountains for trips rather than the city. The girls when asked to get the

attention of the clergyman struggled “not knowing how to put themselves forward” and “lurked

helplessly” (40). The young women clearly have trouble speaking to people even when needing

to ask for help or assistance with a simple task. Their complex experiences are developed as they

try to outgrow their parents' ways of life but overall fail because of the forever growing trends of

aging and societal norms.

However, when it came to growing up and different lifestyle wants, Irene and Penelope

differed. Irene “did not care for society” but Penelope “was not quite old enough to be ambitious

of it” (50). Their two different looks on society ultimately determine their experiences and goals

for their future. Penelope was innocent with her views on life but her identity soon “bloomed and

glowed with the unconsciousness of a flower” (55). She aged beautifully into an accepting

society wanting to learn and experience all types of social life. Penelope knew how to dress for

the occasion and many other things learned with time. She was able to escape her family's

pressing values and form her own identity especially when she met a kind young man. He taught
her how to “form ideas” for the first time “which she had not derived from her family”. They

were her own lessons and she learned them because “they were often mistakes'' (70). Penelope

was able to remove herself from her originally isolated lifestyle luckily and find someone to help

her grow. The two sisters, while alike with their upbringing differ as they came to grow and age

into adulthood. Their family pressed their way of living and Penelope was able to move on and

find her own through self exploration, mistakes, and needed life lessons.

Irene and Penelope grow into two very different women despite their complex

experiences and isolating family life. The awkward social life and inability to speak to other

people make Penelope choose a different lifestyle than her parents while her sister decided to

remain the same alone. William Dean Howells’ novel The Rise of Silas Lapham compares two

young women with similar upbringings but different personalities that have the choice to move

on alone or stay trapped in the same lifestyle they’ve always known.