A Well-Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts

Alva dreams of a man kissing her. She awakes to find Mary in her room with the morning’s paper reporting Alva’s successful ball. She wants to share the news with Lady C., but her friend cannot be found. A little later, Lady C. comes in, and Alva shares the good news with her. They talk about the ball, but Lady C. seems somewhat distracted and out-of-sorts. She tells Alva that her marriage is not a happy one. She tells Alva, “I’m no saint” (256). She asks Alva if she has a secret, and Alva blushes.

News of Alva’s ball is published across the country. She receives letters from admirers—and critics, who accuse her of spending lavishly when “so many are going hungry” (257). Alva also receives a letter from Oliver, along with a bunch of gardenias, connoting “secret love.” In the letter, he confesses his love for her.

Mary tells Alva that Oliver and Sallie never consummated the marriage. When Sallie announced she was pregnant from an affair, Oliver decided to sue for divorce on the grounds of desertion. Alva is shocked. She writes a reply to Oliver’s letter, firmly but kindly insisting that there was no possibility of a romantic relationship because she “would lose everything” if she risked having an affair (261).

A few days later, after perfunctory sex, William thanks Alva for helping win his family’s place in society with her ball. Alva is surprised and flattered by his attention.

That December, Alva, now 30 years old, discovers she is once again pregnant.

Two years later, Alva’s father-in-law, Mr. Vanderbilt, dies suddenly of a heart attack. Alva sits in Alice’s overstuffed salon while their husbands meet with the lawyers to learn what their father has left them in the will. Their daughters, young Consuelo and Gertrude, talk in German in a corner. Alva tells Alice she wants to find a new governess for Consuelo; she wants Consuelo’s German to improve more rapidly, as she might marry Consuelo off to a German speaker. Alice retorts that she would not marry her daughters to a foreigner and tells Alva she is expecting again. Alva wonders, “[W]hen Corneil was striving above her, was Alice lying there feeling virtuous?” (270). They speculate on how Mr. Vanderbilt has divided his fortune. Gertrude intervenes to complain about how unfair it is that “the men are the ones who manage everything” (271). Alice reprimands her, and the girls are sent away.

A few hours later, the men emerge from their meeting with the lawyer. George, the youngest son, is upset and storms out. He feels that he was not left a fair proportion of the estate, as he was only willed the farm in Staten Island. William tells Alva that he was given $65 million. Alva is stunned. However, despite having one of the largest fortunes in the world, Alva is still not content.

William buys an enormous yacht that he christens Alva. On their maiden voyage, they pass the Statue of Liberty. When Alva tells the children, Consuelo, William (“Willie”), and young Harold that “it’s the people’s statue” representing equality, William grows annoyed that she is talking about “politics” (281).

That evening at a dinner party, Ward McAllister tells Alva that he is writing a book about the rules of society. He invites her to a party to celebrate the publication on October 21.

The day of Ward’s party, Alva receives a copy of his book. William tells her that the book was poorly reviewed in the New York Times. The critic mocks Ward for his role as a socialite and party planner. William tells Alva that she is forbidden to attend Ward’s party, as Ward is now seen as a “laughingstock.” Alva argues and tells him that she is going to stand by her friend.

That evening, Alva goes down to get the carriage to the party, but the coachman says he has been forbidden to drive her there. William forces Alva to go to dinner at his brother Corneil’s house instead. He tells her that his youngest brother, George, has an announcement to make. Alva reluctantly concedes.

George Vanderbilt is 28 and unmarried. He devotes himself to running the family farm and caring for their mother. He tells the family that he intends to build an enormous estate in Asheville, North Carolina, complete with a castle (later known as the Biltmore estate). The family is shocked, but Alva admires his ambition.

Ward’s social standing plummets after the publication of his book. Mrs. Astor tells Alva they have to cut him out of their social circle because he “sold [them] out for his personal gain” (304). Alva reluctantly follows suit for her own “self-preservation.”