Jennie Gerhardt
Encyclopedia
Jennie Gerhardt is a 1911 novel by Theodore Dreiser
.
in the film American Splendor
.
Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm moral code, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of...
.
Plot summary
Jennie Gerhardt is a destitute young woman. While 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. He 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 blowerGlassblowingGlassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble, or parison, with the aid of a blowpipe, or blow tube...
. He is ill at the outset of the novel. Later, he moves to Youngstown, OhioYoungstown, OhioYoungstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
when his family move to Cleveland, OhioCleveland, OhioCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
upon Sebastian's exhortation. Eventually, he moves to ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
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 dandyDandyA dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of Self...
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 SenatorUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
who seduces Jennie and gives her a child. He dies of typhoid before they can marry. - Wilhelmina Vesta, known as Vesta, Jennie and Senator Brander's illegitimate child. Jennie hides Vesta from Jennie's father until he finds out in Cleveland. Later, she hides Vesta from Lester until he finds out after Vesta dies of typhoid.
- 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 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 ParkHyde Park, ChicagoHyde Park, located on the South Side of the City of Chicago, in Cook County, Illinois, United States and seven miles south of the Chicago Loop, is a Chicago neighborhood and one of 77 Chicago community areas. It is home to the University of Chicago, the Hyde Park Art Center, the Museum of Science...
. - Samuel E. Ross, a real estateReal estateIn general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
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 chefChefA chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
.
Allusions to other works
- Jennie and Lester's relationship is compared to William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's Romeo and JulietRomeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
in Chapter 41. - At Sandwood, Jennie is said to read Washington IrvingWashington IrvingWashington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
's Sketch BookThe Sketch Book of Geoffrey CrayonThe Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., commonly referred to as The Sketch Book, is a collection of 34 essays and short stories written by American author Washington Irving. It was published serially throughout 1819 and 1820...
, Charles Lamb's EliaEssays of EliaEssays of Elia is a collection of essays written by Charles Lamb; it was first published in book form in 1823, with a second volume, Last Essays of Elia, issued in 1833 by the publisher Edward Moxon....
, and Nathaniel HawthorneNathaniel HawthorneNathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
'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. He took it up again in 1910
- Jennie Gerhardt, the character, was influenced by Dreiser's sisters, Mame and Sylvia.
- Dreiser admitted he didn't like Jennie Gerhardt in an interview with Claude BowersClaude BowersClaude Gernade Bowers was an American writer, Democratic politician, and ambassador to Spain and Chile.-Biography:...
. - Letty Pace has been compared to Nettie McCormickNancy “Nettie” Fowler McCormickNancy Fowler McCormick , was an American philanthropist, after inheriting part of what is now International Harvester corporation.-Life:...
. - In a letter, H.L. Mencken asked Dreiser if Jennie was informed by the eponymous character in Thomas HardyThomas HardyThomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
's Tess of the d'UrbervillesTess of the d'UrbervillesTess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented, also known as Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman, Tess of the d'Urbervilles or just Tess, is a novel by Thomas Hardy, first published in 1891. It initially appeared in a censored and serialised version, published by the British...
, and Dreiser confirmed it. - It has been argued that Jennie Gerhardt anticipates Anzia YezierskaAnzia YezierskaAnzia Yezierska was a Polish-American novelist born in Maly Plock, Poland.- Personal life :Anzia Yezierska was born in the 1880s in Maly Plock to Bernard and Pearl Yezierski. Her family immigrated to America around 1890, following in the footsteps of her eldest brother Meyer, who arrived to the...
's Bread GiversBread GiversBread Givers is a 1925 novel by Anzia Yezierska.-Synopsis:Bread Givers, a Jewish-American female coming-of-age story written by Anzia Yezierska, begins with a 10-year old Sara Smolinsky...
.
Use in Popular Culture
The novel is referenced by Harvey PekarHarvey Pekar
Harvey Lawrence Pekar 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 a critically acclaimed film adaptation of the same name.Pekar described American Splendor as "an...
in the film American Splendor
American Splendor (film)
American Splendor is a 2003 American biographical comedy-drama film about Harvey Pekar, the author of the American Splendor comic book series. The film is also in part an adaptation of the comics, which dramatize Pekar's life...
.