ABSTRACT
Thorstein Veblen's tampering with the sacrament ruined his academic career, endangered his fragile health, and postponed his finding marital happiness for twenty-six years. Ellen Rolfe, the ailing suitor realized that he was in no position, financially, to marry. Young Thorstein's taste was catholic, everything from penny dreadfuls to hymn books, from Lutheran sermons to novels and poetry. In 1888 Thorstein and Ellen got married. In some ways Thorstein was sincerely fond of Ellen. Ellen took the compliment at face value. But it soon became apparent that the couple were not perfectly suited to each other. Thorstein's paper seemed vaguely to foreshadow many of the points put forth in his Theory of the Leisure Class. He said that the only real token of success in the society is money—the ability to earn, resulting in the possession of a plenitude of dollars.
