''Jennie Gerhardt'' is a 1911 novel by

Theodore Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalism (literature), naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despi ...

Plot summary

Jennie Gerhardt is a destitute young woman. While working in a hotel in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, Jennie meets George Brander, a United States Senator, 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. He dies before they marry, and Jennie is pregnant. She gives birth to a daughter, Vesta, and moves to Cleveland with her mother. There she finds work as a lady's maid in a prominent family. In this home, 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 in Cleveland and travels to New York with Kane. He does not know of her illegitimate daughter and wants to marry Jennie. But because of their difference in class, he anticipates his family's disapproval and decides to take her as his mistress. They live together successfully in the university neighborhood of

Hyde Park, Chicago Hyde Park is a neighborhood on the South Side, Chicago, South Side of Chicago, Illinois, located on and near the shore of Lake Michigan south of Chicago Loop, the Loop. It is one of the city's 77 community areas of Chicago, community areas. ...

. After three years, Jennie tells him that Vesta is her daughter. Kane does not yield to his family's pressure to leave Jennie. But, after his father's death, he learns that his inheritance of a substantial part of the family business is conditioned on his leaving her. On hearing the will's terms, Jennie demands they separate for his sake. During their trip to Europe, Kane meets Letty Gerald Pace, an affluent widow. Bowing to pressure from Jennie and his family, he decides to marry. After providing financially for Jennie, he marries Letty, resuming his former social status. Jennie loses her daughter to

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...

and adopts two orphans. She continues to love Kane. He becomes seriously ill and tells Jennie he still loves her. She tends him until his death, and mourns secretly at his funeral.

Characters

Theodore Dreiser-Jennie Gerhardt-1911-Illustration

*Jennie Gerhardt, the protagonist. She starts work as a

charwoman Charwoman, chargirl, charlady and char are occupational terms referring to a paid part-time worker who comes into a house or other building to clean it for a few hours of a day or week, as opposed to a maid, who usually lives as part of the ho ...

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 Glassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble (or parison) with the aid of a Blowpipe (tool), blowpipe (or blow tube). A person who blows glass is called a ''glassblower'', ''glassmith'', or ''gaffer'' ...

. He is ill at the outset of the novel. Later, he moves to

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

when his family move to

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

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 Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

and makes a point to baptize Vesta. He dies of old age. *Sebastian Gerhardt, Jennie's brother. He is described as a

dandy A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance and personal grooming, refined language and leisurely hobbies. A dandy could be a self-made man both in person and ''persona'', who emulated the aristocratic style of l ...

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 middle-aged

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

who falls for Jennie and leaves her pregnant. He dies of

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...

before they can marry. *Wilhelmina Vesta, known as Vesta, Jennie and Brander's illegitimate child. Jennie and her mother hide Vesta from Jennie's father until he joins them in Cleveland. Later, she hides Vesta from Lester. The child later dies of typhoid fever. *Doctor Ellwanger, the Gerhardts' practitioner in Columbus. *Pastor Wundt, the Gerhardts' Lutheran pastor in Columbus. *Mrs Bracebridge, Jennie's employer in Cleveland. Her husband is named Henry. *Lester Kane, Jennie's second lover. He meets Jennie as he is visiting his longtime 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, and 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 marries. *Mrs Davis, a fifty-year-old matron who helps Jennie when Vesta dies. *Rose Perpetua and Henry Stover, two orphans whom Jennie adopts after Vesta dies.

Allusions to other works

Dreiser likens Jennie and Lester's relationship to

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' in Chapter 41. At Sandwood, Jennie is said to read

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...

's '' Sketch Book'',

Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his '' Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book '' Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764� ...

's ''

Elia Elia is a name which may be a variant of the names Elias, Elijah, Eli or Eliahu, and may refer to: People * Aelia (gens) or Elia, a ''gens'' of Ancient Rome Mononymic * Elia or Elijah, a biblical prophet * Elia, a pen-name of Charles Lamb Given ...

'', and

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (né Hathorne; July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associat ...

's '' Twice Told Tales'', classics of the nineteenth century.

Literary significance and criticism

Dreiser first entitled his novel ''The Transgressor'', before abandoning it in 1903, because of a nervous breakdown.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 The University of Pennsylvania Press, also known as Penn Press, is a university press affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. History The press was originally incorporated with b ...

, 1995, page 10
Google Books
/ref> He took it up again in 1910 He is believed to have based his character of Jennie on elements of his sisters Mame and Sylvia. Years later in an interview with

Claude Bowers Claude Gernade Bowers (November 20, 1878 – January 21, 1958) was a newspaper columnist and editor, author of best-selling books on American history, Democratic Party politician, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt's ambassador to Spain (1933� ...

, Dreiser said that he did not really like this novel.

H.L. Mencken Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians, ...

wrote to Dreiser of his thought that Jennie was informed by the eponymous character in

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...

's ''

Tess of the d'Urbervilles ''Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman'' is the twelfth published novel by English author Thomas Hardy. It initially appeared in a Book censorship, censored and Serialized novel, serialised version, published by the British illustrated newsp ...

''; Dreiser confirmed his insight. Based on discovered material that had been removed to avoid censorship, a new edition of ''Jennie Gerhardt'', including restored text, was published in the 1990s. This stimulated new critical writing about the novel. Critic Susan Albertine compared Letty Pace to Nettie McCormick. Arthur D. Casciato wrote about Dreiser's representation of German culture. He also suggested that this novel anticipated

Anzia Yezierska Anzia Yezierska (October 29, 1880 – November 20, 1970) was an American novelist born in Plock, Poland, which was then part of the Russian Empire. She emigrated as a child with her parents to the United States and lived in Manhattan's Lower E ...

's ''

Bread Givers ''Bread Givers'' is a 1925 novel by Jewish-American author Anzia Yezierska; the story of a young girl growing up in an immigrant Jewish household on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Her parents are from Poland in the Russian ...

'' (1925), in showing the transition of a young woman away from a traditional immigrant culture.

Film adaptation

The novel was made into a film directed by

Marion Gering Marion Gering (June 9, 1901 in Rostov-on-Don – April 19, 1977 in New York City) was a Russian-born American stage producer and director. He moved to the United States in 1923 as an artist. He became involved in the theatrical community in Chic ...

in 1933.

In popular culture

The novel is referenced by

Harvey Pekar Harvey Lawrence Pekar (; October 8, 1939 – July 12, 2010) was an American underground comic book writer, music critic, and media personality, best known for his autobiographical ''American Splendor'' comic series. In 2003, the series inspired ...

in the film ''

American Splendor ''American Splendor'' is a series of autobiographical comic books written by Harvey Pekar and drawn by a variety of artists. The first issue was published in 1976 and the last one in September 2008, with publication occurring at irregular interv ...

''. The novel is mentioned as one of "several excellent American novels" mentioned by "a critic named Mencken" in the novel ''

This Side of Paradise ''This Side of Paradise'' is the 1920 debut novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. It examines the lives and morality of carefree American youth at the dawn of the Jazz Age. Its protagonist, Amory Blaine, is a handsome middle-class stu ...

'' (1920) by

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940), widely known simply as Scott Fitzgerald, was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and exces ...

References

External links

Full text
* {{Authority control 1911 American novels Novels by Theodore Dreiser Novels set in Columbus, Ohio Novels set in Chicago Harper & Brothers books American novels adapted into films