with Letty. Besides that, his father has passed away. Later we know that Vesta also dies of Typhoid. Now let us have a look at the cottage:
“The cottage which was finally secured at Sandwood was only a story and a half in height, but it was raised upon red brick
piers between which were set green lattices and about which ran a veranda. The house was a long and narrow; its full length
– some five rooms in a row – facing the lake. There was a dining room with windows open even with the floor, a large
library with built–in shalves for books, and a parlor whose three large windows afforded air and sunshine at all times. The
plot of the ground in which this cottage stood was one hundred feet square and ornamented with a few trees. The former owner
had laid out flower beds, and arranged green hardwood for the reception of various hardy plants and vines. The house was
painted white, with green shutters and green shingles.” Dreiser, 1963: 154-5
By reading these details, we feel as if we were standing in front of the cottage and then we came into it.
3.6 About Common People
Another characteristic or element of naturalistic writing is that the character, especially the main characters usually come from the common people or the lower
level society. Caroline Meeber in Dreiser’s Sister Carrie is a poor girl headed for the big city and some kind of new life materially better than the one she is leaving
behind. Clyde Griffits in his An American Tragedy is also a poor boy and the son of a priest who tries to find a better life materially in a big city. In Jennie Gerhardt,
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Jennie, the leading character, is a poor girl who happens to be trapped in a sophisticated world.
Jennie is helpless and defenseless in fighting for her better life in the fierce world. Actually, it is better for her to live in her own low class society, but she does
not feel secure. She longs for earthly pleasure, wealth, and fame. Here, Dreiser describes the human society as the animal society where every species of animal has
its own limited community.
“A fish, for instance, mat not pass out of the circle of the seas without courting annihilation; a bird may not enter the domain
of the fishes without paying for it dearly. From the parasites of the flowers of the monsters of the jungle and the deep we see
clearly the circumscribed nature of their movements – the emphatic manner in which life has limited them to a sphere;
and we are content to note the ludicrous and invariable fatal results which attend any effort on their part to depart from their
environment….And yet so well defined is the sphere of social activity that he who departs from it is doomed. Born and bred
in this environment the individual is practically unfitted for any other state. He is like a bird accustomed cannot live density of
atmosphere, and which cannot live comfortably at either higher or lower level.”
Dreiser, 1963: 236-7
When we read the quotation above, we can understand that Dreiser indicates that a certain class of people cannot live in the other class of society. Jennie, who comes
from a poor family, will never be in accordance with the life of the high class people. On the other hand, Lester, who is rich and comes from the high level class. It seems
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impossible for him to get along with such a poor, uneducated girl. They are different in status. Dreiser’s theory is that “a bird may not enter the domain of the fishes.” Of
course, we can argue his theory, but is his theory. He then applies it in his works. It seems to us that in this novel, the two young couple, Jennie and Lester must be
separated in the end of the story, for they do not match to each other. Lester must get married with a woman of the same level. In consequence, he has t leave Jennie.
Jennie herself is trying to be the member of his high-class society by getting along with two high – class gentlemen: Brander and Lester. Brander suddenly dies
from Typhoid; Lester has to leave her since his status has caused him to abandon her. Here, we can see that a person has to live accordingly in his own society. If Brander
were alive, he would probably face a very difficult problem in getting married with Jennie. His family, relatives, and friends would get angry with him if he gets married
with a poor girl. On the other hand, Jennie’s family would also be angry with her because she got married with an old and married man.
3.7 Sexual Desire
