Pervading this work are the pride and cold-hearted obduracy of Mr Paul Dombey Senior, a businessman. Following the death of his first wife, he invests all of his hopes in Paul, their only son, neglecting their daughter, Florence. But the fragile boy dies. Dombey marries again, but his will is thwarted by stubborn resistance and treachery, and he loses his fortune. A broken man, he is eventually reconciled to his daughter who has remained true throughout.