The Gilded Age: Why Aunt Agnes Is Right About Mr. Raikes
In HBO’s The Gilded Age, Agnes Van Rijn is correct to distrust her niece Marian’s suitor, Tom Raikes. Agnes is certain Mr. Raikes is an adventurer who is after Marian because he thinks she will inherit money. Marian thinks this is another example of Aunt Agnes's old-money snobbishness, and that she's biased against Mr. Raikes because of his background as a small-town lawyer. However, Agnes’s attitude may be more sensible than Marian gives her credit for.
The Gilded Age episode 2 sees Marian’s father’s lawyer, Mr. Raikes, move to New York. He appeared in a favorable light in episode 1, having waived his fee when Marian’s father died and left her penniless. However, he now professes his love and proposes within days of his arrival, despite the fact that they barely know one another.
Related: The Gilded Age: The Main Characters, Ranked By Power
Fortune hunting forms an important part of the The Gilded Age's old vs. new money dynamic, and has already become a motif within the show. It was also historically of great concern, serving as part of the plot of many pieces of literature written during the actual time period. Mr. Raikes’ behavior, the show’s current trends, and the themes of 19th-century literature that The Gilded Age draws from all suggest that he is indeed an adventurer, and that Marian should stay away from him.
The tension that fortune hunters add to the social structure of Gilded Age New York already shows in the first four episodes of The Gilded Age. The Russells worry Oscar is pursuing Gladys for her fortune. Gladys' future inheritance is also a player in her debut to society which, coupled with her mother Bertha continually holding her back from coming out, makes fortune hunters of central concern to the
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