A Business Man by Edgar Saltus
Kate Duncan, the low-breasted young beauty who has hosted her father's brilliant Fifth Avenue gathering, collapses to the floor after her guests depart, ashen and seemingly touched by death, because the man she loves, Effingham, was absent that night. Her father, the astute financier Duncan, catches her before he can reach her, then summons Dr. Sturgis. Left alone in his bookless library, furnished with pieces from the Grand Canal and a Cellini Mercury, Duncan reflects on Kate's history: the previous year's debut, the aspirants Jack Scarlet, Solférino, Hohenzolras and Finsbury, and her repeated refusals of titles and coronets in favor of simply wanting to be happy. He recalls exposing Scarlet's scheme of using a supposed engagement to Kate to extract Wall Street tips. When Sturgis reports nothing abnormal but declines to prescribe anything "at present," Duncan grasps the implication. Upstairs, sleepless, Kate recalls falling in love with Effingham at Newport. Effingham is a widower in all but fact, his wife alive but insane; Kate has felt for their affair the same vertige as the embracing couple in a painting she once saw, aware that eventually the screen hiding them must fall. Her father's telephone call interrupts her reverie with the image of an outraged Victorian patriarch banishing a daughter. Below, Duncan pieces together the truth from his own gallery of memories of Kate, and Sturgis's evasiveness confirms his suspicion. He goes to bed, then descends the next morning determined to act, canceling his usual early trip to Wall Street and sending for Kate instead. When Kate appears, Duncan tells her that mistakes should be forgiven, then abruptly proposes she marry Scarlet, whom he calls a scoundrel, precisely so that Scarlet will mistreat her, allowing Duncan to secure her a divorce and eventual happiness with someone else, paid off in cash if necessary. Kate, mortified at being handled like a business transaction, tries repeatedly to protest. A footman interrupts with a card: Effingham has called and is waiting in the drawing room. Duncan leaves Kate with Poor's Manual and confronts Effingham, whose look he meets with cold appraisal. Effingham explains that Mrs. Effingham died the day before, and, though a year's customary mourning delay would be usual, he has come at once to ask for Kate's hand. Duncan interrogates him sharply, first suspecting Kate had already encouraged him, which Effingham denies, crediting his hope instead to the possibility opened by the death. Duncan, who already knows precisely Effingham's financial worth from his late father's estate, presses him on his ability to support Kate. Effingham begins to qualify his answer with an "if," but Duncan cuts off the thought, privately resolving there will be no conditions. He tells Effingham he does not believe in interfering with his daughter's choices and that Effingham will find Kate in the library. Checking his watch and noting the lateness of the stock market's opening, Duncan takes his leave, remarking that he is, after all, a business man.
By Edgar Saltus · First published 1914 · Genre: Literary Fiction, Domestic Drama, Social Satire · 2,971 words
First lines
In the ornate and brilliant room, when the songbirds had flown, the musicians had departed and the last guest had gone, Duncan dropped into a chair, lit a cigar and looked at his daughter -- a slim, low-breasted beauty.
To all New York, to all at least that counts, which numerically is not enormous, she had been hostess that night. Only Effingham had been absent. At thought of him a dizziness seized her, and as Duncan lit and looked, silently she crumpled. In that ornate and brilliant room she fell to the floor, her arms outstretched. It was as though death had touched her. She was ashen.
What this Textopian page supports
A Business Man is listed on Textopian as a short story by Edgar Saltus, dated 1914 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Edgar Saltus
- Date: 1914 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Literary Fiction, Domestic Drama, Social Satire, Victorian Literature, Society Novel
- Length: 2,971 words
- Structure: 1 section, 86 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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- Work identity for A Business Man by Edgar Saltus
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- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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Genres
- Literary Fiction — The ornate, sophisticated prose style, complex characterization, and philosophical depth demonstrate artistic ambition beyond mere storytelling. The narrative technique and thematic sophistication are hallmarks of literary fiction.
- Domestic Drama — The narrative centers on a family crisis involving romantic entanglement, suspected pregnancy, and the consequences of moral transgression within a household, constituting the core conflict of domestic drama.
- Social Satire — Saltus employs satire to critique how Duncan, a successful businessman, applies commercial and pragmatic logic to deeply personal and moral matters, exposing the absurdity of reducing human relationships to business transactions.
- Victorian Literature — Set in late 19th century New York, the work reflects Victorian concerns with propriety, morality, social position, and the tension between personal desire and social obligation within a rigid hierarchical society.
Tags
satire · fiction · decadence · commerce · capitalism · greed · ambition · American literature · 19th century · irony · cynicism · social commentary