An Analysis of the Disillusionment of Jennie Gerhardt’s American Dream

【Abstract】Jennie Gerhardt was one of the most famous work of Theodore Dreiser and the leading role in the novel is a representative of the disillusionment of many people’s American dream. Therefore， this paper will focus on the reasons of Jennie’s tragedy and reveal the importance of women’s independence.

【Key words】Jennie Gerhardt; American dream; disillusionment; independence

【作者簡介】王蘇（1991-），女，漢族，四川眉山人，四川大學(xué)錦江學(xué)院，助教，碩士研究生，研究方向：英語語言文學(xué)。

I. Introduction

Theodore Dreiser was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. In the second half of the 19th century， American capitalist economy flourished and people all lived for existence， especially those who lived in the lower society， all felt depression and disillusion. Then， Dreiser wrote Jennie Gerhardt to expose the disillusionment of many people’s American dream.

II. Jennie’s Disillusionment of her American Dream

Jennie’s American dream is very simple： to live with her love and daughter peacefully and happily. However， it is only an illusory dream for her， and she can never make it come true. There are four major misfortunes in Jennie’s life. Her adventures began with Senator Brander， a middle-aged bachelor. However， before they get married， Brander was suddenly died of an illness. But she could not be accepted by her families because she was pregnant. This is the first time her dream broke.

In order to make a living， Jennie and her family moved to Cleveland， and she found a job at a rich family. Again， Jennie was captured by a wealthy and high status man ?Kane. However， Lester got married with a rich and graceful upper class woman-Letty to keep his social status and wealth. Jennie sacrificed herself for the second time for her lover. And her simple dream broken again.

Lester gave her enough money to start a new life with her daughter.Vesta was fourteen at that time and she was beginning to show the combined traits of her mother and father–Jennie’s gentle， speculative turn of mind， combined with Brander’s vivacity of spirit and innate executive capacity. Unfortunately， Vesta got typhoid in the autumn and it took her life for a short time. The death of her daughter was the third time that her dream broken.

After Vesta died， it was another blow for her when the news that Lester was seriously ill came into her ears. More tragically， she didn’t have an appropriate identity to attend his funeral and had to send him in ?a long distance. All the people she loved had left her and she had to struggle with her life. The death of Lester had took her last hope and her dream was ruined thoroughly at last.

III. Reasons for Jennie’s Tragedy

The tragedy of Jennie is a representative of many American women of lower class. There are three major reasons for Jennie’s tragedy： the crucial environment， Religion and Jennie’s character. As the core theory of Darwinism， the survival of living is “struggle for existence” and the “survival of the fittest”. Jennie’s family was too poor and she had to struggle for the existence and her life became more and more tragic. Religion also plays an important role in Jennie’s tragedy. At that time， people could not accept Jennie and Brander’s feelings for each other and Jennie’s pregnance before marriage. She was expelled by her father and this was the direct reason for her tragedy in the future. Jennie’s own characteristic was the last reason. Her weak character made her loose her own thoughts and judgment. In the fiction， it said love was not enough in this world–that was so plain. One needed education， wealth， training， the ability to fight and scheme， she did not want to do that. She could not⑧. Jennie could not be independent because she was lack of education training and the ability to fight. So her life will definitely be a tragedy.

IV. Conclusion

If a woman is kind and beautiful， but is uneducated and has no skills to support herself， she has to rely on men and has no dignity. And She has to fellow others direction and try her best to make men happy. The world is crucial， everyone has to fight for his life， especially women. So， women should have the sense of independence and have our own thoughts. When we can totally be independent， we can say “no” to all the things we dislike， and we can live with dignity.

References：

[1]Theodore Dreiser[J]. Jennie Gerhardt，p278.

[2]康春艷.珍妮姑娘的悲劇成因——解析德萊塞小說《珍妮姑娘》[D].東北林業(yè)大學(xué)碩士學(xué)位論文，2008.

[3]Theodore Dreiser[J]. Jennie Gerhardt，p281.