Summary
In a searing indictment of social climbing and its corrosive effects on genuine human connection, R. Cecil Smith's narrative unravels the elaborate machinations of Mrs. Drake, a matriarch whose bourgeois aspirations dictate her daughter Millicent's marital destiny. The chosen pawn in this high-stakes societal game is the impeccably pedigreed Van Tyle, a suitor of undeniable social standing but questionable emotional resonance. However, fate, or perhaps the untamed spirit of the American West, intervenes when Millicent, during a sojourn to Van Tyle's rustic mountain lodge, encounters Carson Stewart, a gold miner whose rugged authenticity and unfettered spirit ignite a love that defies the gilded cages of polite society. Their clandestine romance blossoms into a swift, defiant marriage, shattering Mrs. Drake's meticulously crafted plans. Yet, the specter of maternal influence proves tenacious. Mrs. Drake, incapable of relinquishing her hold, injects a venomous discord into the nascent union, subtly but persistently urging Millicent to deny Stewart the progeny he so deeply yearns for. The domestic tyranny culminates in a devastating revelation: Stewart discovers his wife's pregnancy while simultaneously learning of his mother-in-law's abhorrent advocacy for an abortion. This profound betrayal of trust and desire shatters the fragile peace, prompting Stewart to abandon the suffocating confines of their marital home. It is only in his absence that Millicent experiences a profound, agonizing epiphany, shedding the last vestiges of her mother's influence. Embracing her true desires and the burgeoning life within her, she embarks on a redemptive odyssey westward, infant in tow, to reclaim her husband and forge a new life, free from the societal shackles that once bound her, ultimately effecting a tender and hard-won reconciliation.
Synopsis
Millicent Drake's mother, a woman of social ambitions, has decided that her daughter should marry the socially prominent Van Tyle. Millicent thwarts her mother's plans, however, when on a visit to Van Tyle's mountain lodge, she meets gold miner Carson Stewart and falls in love. Soon after, Stewart comes East to see Millicent and the two are married. Marital discord is injected by Mrs. Drake, who attempts to convince her daughter not to give Stewart the child he so desires. Upon learning that his wife is pregnant and his mother-in-law is advocating an abortion, Stewart leaves home in disgust. Millicent, finally realizing the error of her ways, follows her husband out West with the new addition to their family, and a reconciliation is effected.
