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Hughie Erskine is the story’s protagonist, a young man in 1880s London society. His soft-hearted, romantic personality stands in contrast to the hardheaded social realities of his day, where romance is a privilege of the rich. Charming, attractive, and broadly popular, Hughie is a simple soul whose gentle nature has made him useless at all the jobs he’s tried. His resulting poverty stands in the way of his one desire: to marry his love, Laura Merton. Laura’s Father, the Colonel, is as fond of Hughie as everyone else, but he insists that Hughie have his own fortune before marrying Laura. Hughie’s character exposes a paradox in London society: his simplicity and generous personality, for which he is so widely admired, impede his ability to succeed economically in a cutthroat society, thus barring him from enjoying all its privileges—like romance. His painter friend Alan Trevor, by contrast, adopts a cynical stance in his art and is paid handsomely for it. Yet, Hughie’s generosity ultimately saves him: a beggar modelling for Alan, to whom Hughie gives one of his precious last coins, turns out to be the millionaire Baron Hausberg in disguise. The Baron is touched by Hughie’s generosity and gives him all the money he needs to marry Laura. Hughie’s fate thus disproves his society’s dismissal of lofty emotion as useless for the non-wealthy: Hughie’s outsized generosity is precisely what wins him fantastic wealth.
Hughie Erskine Quotes in The Model Millionaire
The The Model Millionaire quotes below are all either spoken by Hughie Erskine or refer to Hughie Erskine. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The Model Millionaire
Quotes
Unless one is wealthy there is no use in being a charming fellow. Romance is the privilege of the rich, not the profession of the unemployed. The poor should be practical and prosaic […]. These are the great truths of modern life which Hughie Erskine never realised.
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He had gone on the Stock Exchange for six months; but what was a butterfly to do among bulls and bears?
“Poor old chap!” said Hughie, “how miserable he looks! But I suppose, to you painters, his face is his fortune?”
“Certainly,” replied Trevor, “you don’t want a beggar to look happy, do you?”
“It’s all very well, Hughie, for you to talk, but I assure you that there are moments when Art almost attains to the dignity of manual labour […].”
“Poor old fellow,” he thought to himself, “he wants it more than I do, but it means no hansoms for a fortnight”; and he walked across the studio and slipped the sovereign into the beggar’s hand.
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“An artist’s heart is his head,” replied Trevor; “and besides, our business is to realise the world as we see it, not to reform it as we know it. A chacun son métier”
“I suppose he has come for an apology,” said Hughie to himself; and he told the servant to show the visitor up.
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Hughie Erskine Quotes in The Model Millionaire
The The Model Millionaire quotes below are all either spoken by Hughie Erskine or refer to Hughie Erskine. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The Model Millionaire
Quotes
Unless one is wealthy there is no use in being a charming fellow. Romance is the privilege of the rich, not the profession of the unemployed. The poor should be practical and prosaic […]. These are the great truths of modern life which Hughie Erskine never realised.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
He had gone on the Stock Exchange for six months; but what was a butterfly to do among bulls and bears?
“Poor old chap!” said Hughie, “how miserable he looks! But I suppose, to you painters, his face is his fortune?”
“Certainly,” replied Trevor, “you don’t want a beggar to look happy, do you?”
“It’s all very well, Hughie, for you to talk, but I assure you that there are moments when Art almost attains to the dignity of manual labour […].”
“Poor old fellow,” he thought to himself, “he wants it more than I do, but it means no hansoms for a fortnight”; and he walked across the studio and slipped the sovereign into the beggar’s hand.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“An artist’s heart is his head,” replied Trevor; “and besides, our business is to realise the world as we see it, not to reform it as we know it. A chacun son métier”
“I suppose he has come for an apology,” said Hughie to himself; and he told the servant to show the visitor up.
