Lake Geneva Estate Symbol Analysis

The Lake Geneva estate symbolizes the values of inheritance and lineage in modern America—and the distinction between these values. The estate, which is in Wisconsin and originally belonged to Beatrice Blaine’s father, becomes Amory’s sole inheritance after Beatrice dies. Mr. Barton, the family’s lawyer, reveals to Amory that Amory will not be able to make any money from the estate: any rent he collects will barely cover the costs of maintaining the house. Therefore, while Amory comes from a family with a good background, he has no money to show for it. This phenomenon—of having good lineage but no substantial inheritance—is especially possible in modern, capitalist America, where fortunes are (somewhat) easily made and lost within generations—as evidenced by characters such as Dick Humbird.

The Lake Geneva estate also reflects the Blaine family’s ties to the Midwest. Early in the novel, the narrator claims that the Blaine family was “attached to no city” and were instead “the Blaines of Lake Geneva.” But despite Amory’s Midwestern origins, he later moves to the East Coast, literally and symbolically distancing himself from his family. Such mobility reflects the increasingly possible feat of upward mobility in modern American society. However, though a person can reinvent themselves to a degree, they can never truly leave their past behind. Though Amory moves to the East Coast and tries to make a new life for himself there, the insubstantial inheritance of the Lake Geneva estate prevents Amory from leaving his past behind: he is tied to his family’s legacy and place of origin, though he’s lost all that makes it luxurious.