Stephen stands out as “different” compared to the other mill employees, and Stella recognises that difference. So here’s Stephen, freshly wounded from scandal, far from home and family, working at a mill. With a deep sense of shame, Stephen repaid the stolen (“ borrowed”) funds from the family coffers, left the girl he loved, Helen Dane, and prepared for a modest life far from the public eye. After his death, it was discovered that, as a trustee and advisor, he had embezzled funds from various estates and charities. The Dallases were an eminently respectable Illinois family, until Stephen’s father, a lawyer, committed suicide. Anticipating a drab future, she sets her sights on white-collar mill employee, Stephen Dallas. Stella is the daughter of a Millhampton mill labourer. But while Stella may attain what she sees as social position, she remains an outsider in a judgmental society. Olive Prouty’s novel, Stella Dallas, is the tale of a social climbing woman, driven by her desire for a better life, who marries out of her class.
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