Strolling in the American Literature Garden [Part 12]

Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (1871-1945) was an American novelist with naturalistic tendencies. He was born in Terre Haute, Indiana; the ninth child of 10 children in a poor, German-Catholic working-class family and was raised as a Catholic.

American novelist Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (1871-1945).

Dreiser's childhood was very poor, his father was a strict believer, a man of authority but short-sighted. He had little education, then worked as an unskilled worker, a journalist, wrote cheap novels, and had a moderately successful publishing career. His later novels reflect these experiences.

The lavish life of his older sister, a courtesan who became a stage star, inspired him to write Sister Carree (1900), a story about a young woman who flees rural life for the city (Chicago), cannot find a job that pays a living wage, falls prey to a number of men, and eventually achieves fame as an actress. The work caused a scandal, met with public opposition, censorship intervened, and the author fought back, having to remain silent for 11 years.

In 1911 he returned to the issue of “marginalized” women in Jenny Gerhardt, this time with critical support and popular approval.

The book An American Tragedy (1925) brought glory to the author. The public had matured and accepted the bitter truth. At the age of 56 (1928), Dreiser went to the Soviet Union and wrote a travelogue about the Soviet Union, Dreiser Looks at Russia (1928). He also wrote an essay , Tragic America (1931), describing American society during the Great Depression , mentioning reform measures to move towards a more equitable social order. The short story Ernita in the collection Women's Portrait Gallery (1929) built the image of a true female communist fighter.

Dreiser's two masterpieces are An American Tragedy and Jenny Gerhardt.

An American tragedy about a murder in suburban New York, a crime that attracted widespread press attention. Although the novel was a bestseller, it was also criticized for its depiction of an unscrupulous man committing a sordid murder. The work shattered the illusion of American achievement. This is an important work of American critical realism. In a modern America with a traditional idealistic paint, the author discovers a corrupt capitalist society: an ordinary citizen, seduced by lust and vanity, becomes a murderer. Dreiser has a pessimistic, cynical and depressing view.

He based his stories and characters on real events and people. Sometimes he followed the events exactly, and sometimes he reflected on personal details of himself, for example, his childhood.

Clyde was the son of a poor, wandering, and fanatical pastor. He endured a strict, fanatical upbringing since childhood. The boy lived in poverty, and his parents had no time to take care of him. He had a cute face and was not a cruel person. Clyde was just indecisive, easily pursued material pleasures, and liked to show off. He worked for a shady inn since childhood, so he picked up many bad habits. He got involved in a messy affair and had to leave. Luckily, he met a relative who asked him for a job in a factory making white collars in a big city.

The new world of wealth dazzled the young man who wanted to rise at all costs. He conquered a female employee named Roberta; when she became pregnant, he planned to leave her for a rich, aristocratic, and capricious girl. Roberta demanded that he marry her.

Gradually, the idea of ​​killing her arose in Clyde's subconscious. He did not have the courage to carry out his plan while inviting her out on a boat trip; unexpectedly, the boat capsized, he left her to drown, and quietly rowed back. There was no evidence, but a detective found out the truth. During the trial, Clyde's mother came to her son and brought him back to God.

The work analyzes a social and psychological phenomenon in a pathological way. American industrial society is responsible for presenting an attractive image of the dream of wealth, dazzling the weak souls.

Jenny Gerhardt tells the story of young women who were the protagonists of the social changes of urbanization, as young people moved from the countryside to the city.

This is a thesis novel written in the time of extreme Puritanism, it proposes a rough concept of life as a black and white struggle between Good and Evil. Dreiser's realistic pen dared to address taboo issues at that time such as love and illegitimate birth. Overcoming polemics, he succeeded in creating the gentle and kind image of Jenny.

The story takes place in a small town in Ohio. Jenny, the eldest daughter in a large, poor, German Puritan family, met a wealthy, middle-aged senator named Brander, who loved her like a daughter and helped her and her family. Gradually, he fell in love with her and planned to marry her, but died suddenly. When he found out she was pregnant, her father kicked her out of the house.

After giving birth to a daughter, she went to work for the wealthy and dynamic Kane family. Kane found Jenny a woman who suited his personality. At first, Jenny refused to listen to his confession, but later, because of her sympathetic personality, she agreed to live secretly as his mistress for many years. Kane's family found out and tried every way to separate the two. Jenny herself did not want Kane to sacrifice his social status for her.

Eventually, he got fed up and married a classmate of his. But he could not forget Jenny and when he fell seriously ill, he called for her. She secretly came to take care of him until he died. She had to secretly attend the funeral, not daring to meet her real wife and family.

After that, Jenny returned to loneliness. Her parents passed away, her daughter died, she lived with the memory of her deceased lover, enduring as before.

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