Jennie Gerhardt: Difference between revisions
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*'''George''', '''Martha''', '''William''', '''Veronica''', '''Jennie's''' other siblings. |
*'''George''', '''Martha''', '''William''', '''Veronica''', '''Jennie's''' other siblings. |
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*'''Senator Brander''', a [[United States Senate|United States State Senator]] who seduces Jennie and gives her a child. He dies of [[typhoid]] before marrying her. |
*'''Senator Brander''', a [[United States Senate|United States State Senator]] who seduces Jennie and gives her a child. He dies of [[typhoid]] before marrying her. |
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*''' |
*'''Wilhelmina Vesta''', known as '''Vesta''', Jennie and Senator Brander's illegitimate child. Jennie hides her from her father until he finds out in Cleveland. Later, she hides her from Lester until he finds out after Vesta dies of [[typhoid]]. |
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*'''Doctor Ellwanger''', the Gerhardt's practitioner in Columbus. |
*'''Doctor Ellwanger''', the Gerhardt's practitioner in Columbus. |
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*'''Pastor Wundt''', the Gerhardt's Lutheran pastor in Columbus. |
*'''Pastor Wundt''', the Gerhardt's Lutheran pastor in Columbus. |
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Revision as of 07:48, 8 April 2010
| File:JennieGerhardt.JPG 1st edition cover | |
| Author | Theodore Dreiser |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers |
Publication date | 1911 |
| Publication place | United States |
Jennie Gerhardt is a 1911 novel by Theodore Dreiser.
Plot summary
Jennie Gerhardt, a destitute young woman,whilst working in a hotel in Columbus, Ohio, Jennie meets Senator George Brander, who becomes infatuated with her. He helps her family and declares his wish to marry her; Jennie, grateful for his benevolence, agrees to sleep with him, but ill fortune intercedes and the Senator dies, leaving her pregnant. She gives birth to a daughter, Vesta, and moves to Cleveland where she finds work as a lady's maid to a prominent family. Consequently, she meets Lester Kane, a prosperous manufacturer's son. Jennie falls in love with him, impressed by his strong will and generosity: she leaves her daughter behind and they visit New York together. Kane, unaware that Jennie has a child, wishes to marry her, but, anticipating his family's disapproval, decides instead that she shall become his mistress. They live together successfully in Chicago, even through Jennie's revelation after three years that Vesta is her daughter. Kane does not yield to his family's pressure to leave Jennie, but after his father's death discovers that he will not inherit a substantial part of the family business unless he discards her. They visit Europe together, where Kane's attention shifts from Jennie to a woman of his own class, Letty Gerald. On hearing the will's terms, it is Jennie who demands that they separate: Kane, after providing for her, marries Letty and resumes his former social status. Jennie loses her daughter to typhoid and adopts two orphans, but through it all, continues to love him. Kane becomes ill, tells Jennie he still loves her, and she tends him until his death, mourning secretly at his funeral.
Characters
- Jennie Gerhardt, the protagonist. She starts work as a cleaning-lady in a hotel in Columbus. Later she works as a maid in Cleveland. After Lester leaves her, she moves to Sandwood, a small town close to Chicago. Full name Genevieve.
- Mrs Gerhardt, Jennie's mother.
- William Gerhardt, Jennie's father. He is German. He works as a glass blower. He is ill at the outset of the novel. Later, he moves to Youngstown, Ohio when his family move to Cleveland, Ohio upon Sebastian's exhortation. Eventually, he moves to Chicago with Jennie and Lester after his other children have left him. He is a staunch Lutheran and makes a point to baptize Vesta. He dies of typhoid.
- Sebastian Gerhardt, Jennie's brother. He is described as a dandy who is ashamed of his family's lack of wherewithal. He is also known as Bass.
- George, Martha, William, Veronica, Jennie's other siblings.
- Senator Brander, a United States State Senator who seduces Jennie and gives her a child. He dies of typhoid before marrying her.
- Wilhelmina Vesta, known as Vesta, Jennie and Senator Brander's illegitimate child. Jennie hides her from her father until he finds out in Cleveland. Later, she hides her from Lester until he finds out after Vesta dies of typhoid.
- Doctor Ellwanger, the Gerhardt's practitioner in Columbus.
- Pastor Wundt, the Gerhardt's Lutheran pastor in Columbus.
- Mrs Bracebridge, Jennie's employer in Cleveland. Her husband is called Henry.
- Lester Kane, Jennie's second lover. He meets Jennie as he is visiting his old friend Mrs Bracebridge.
- Archibald Kane and Mrs Kane, Lester's parents. Archibald is a manufacturing magnate.
- Robert Kane, Lester's brother. He is described as a shrewd businessman. Although the two men part ways after their father's death, Robert apologizes by the end of the novel.
- Amy, Imogene, Louise, Lester's sisters.
- Mrs Jacob Stendhal, Mr & Mrs Carmichael Burk, Mrs Hanson Field, Mrs Timothy Ballinger, Mrs Crag, Mrs Sommerville, neighbours of Jennie and Lester's in South Hyde Park.
- Samuel E. Ross, a real estate dealer Lester works with. He ends up losing a lot of money in the deal.
- Letty Pace, an affluent widow whom Lester ends up marrying.
- Mrs Davis, a fifty-year-old matron who helps Jennie when Vesta dies.
- Rose Perpetua and Henry Stover, two orphans Jennie adopts after Vesta dies.
- Louis Berdot, Lester's chef.
Allusions to other works
- Jennie and Lester's relationship is compared to William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in Chapter 41.
- At Sandwood, Jennie is said to read Washington Irving's Sketch Book, Charles Lamb's Elia, and Nathaniel Hawthorne's Twice Told Tales.
Literary significance and criticism
- The novel was first entitled The Transgressor, though Dreiser abandoned it in 1903 because of a nervous breakdown.[1]. He took it up again in 1910[1]
- Jennie Gerhardt, the character, was influenced by Dreiser's sisters, Mame and Sylvia.[2]
- Dreiser admitted he didn't like Jennie Gerhardt in an interview with Claude Bowers.[3]
- Letty Pace has been compared to Nettie McCormick.[4]
- In a letter, H.L. Mencken asked Dreiser if Jennie was informed by the eponymous character in Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles, and Dreiser confirmed it.[5]
- It has been argued that Jennie Gerhardt anticipates Anzia Yezierska's Bread Givers.[6]
Film adaptation
The novel was made into a film directed by Marion Gering in 1933.[7]
Use in Popular Culture
The novel is referenced by Harvey Pekar in the film American Splendor.
References
- ^ a b Richard Lingeman, 'The Biographical Significance of Jennie Gerhardt ', in Dreiser's "Jennie Gerhardt": New Essays on the Restored Text, James L. W., III West (ed), Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995, page 10, [1]
- ^ M.C. Rintoul, Dictionary of Real People and Places in Fiction, Routledge, 1993, p. 374 [2]
- ^ Claude Bowers, My Life: The Memoirs of Claude Bowers, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1962, p. 156
- ^ Susan Albertine, 'Triangulating Desire in Jennie Gerhardt ', in Dreiser's Jennie Gerhardt: New Essays on the Restored Text, James L. West III (ed.), Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995, pp. 70-71
- ^ Theodore Dreiser, H.L. Mencken, Dreiser-Mencken Letters: The Correspondence of Theodore Dreiser & H.L. Mencken, Thomas P. Riggio (ed.), 2 vols., Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986, pp. 229; 234
- ^ Arthur D. Casciato, 'How German is Jennie Gerhardt ', in Dreiser's Jennie Gerhardt: New Essays on the Restored Text, James L. West III (ed.), Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995, pp. 177-178
- ^ imdb