Part I
The first section, set mainly in Paterson, New Jersey, is centered on Clarence Wilmot, a minister in his forties who abruptly loses his faith one very hot afternoon shortly before a dinner party. His loss of faith is presented as coinciding with the fainting spell of the 17 year old silent film actress Mary Pickford, who is at local landmark Lambert Castle making a film with D.W. Griffith. His decision to leave the ministry has serious social and financial consequences for his wife and three children, 16 year old Jared, 14 year old Esther and 10 year old Ted. Unable to find work suitable for a man of his education, Clarence is reduced to selling encyclopedias door to door, a job he performs poorly. Growing more and more depressed and withdrawn, he only finds solace in the nickelodeon cinemas of the time and dies prematurely.
Read more about this topic: In The Beauty Of The Lilies
Famous quotes related to part i:
“Two may talk and one may hear, but three cannot take part in a conversation of the most sincere and searching sort. In good company there is never such discourse between two, across the table, as takes place when you leave them open.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)