McTeague: A Story of San Francisco (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)

Time can be a ruthless judge. Some great novels are soon forgotten, while other novels become landmarks even though they are not necessarily great. _McTeague_ (1899) is an example of the latter. The novel has not aged well. Many of its characters are caricatures, the symbolism is often heavy-handed (the miserly Trina’s teeth click “like the snap of a closing purse”), and like many works of realist/naturalist fiction it tends to portray human beings as mere victims of their environment. And yet, _McTeague_ has many redeeming qualities. The story itself, which is based on a real-life case, is compelling, and it paved the way for later American tragedies such as Dreiser’s _Sister Carrie_ (1900) and Fitzgerald’s _The Great Gatsby_ (1925).If one is to appreciate _McTeague_, one is required to transport oneself to the time when the novel was published, a time when, under the influence of European realism/naturalism, American authors turned to themes that seemed lurid to respectable readers. The gigantic figure of Henry James looms over this epoch, but this is also the age of Kate Chopin and Stephen Crane. _McTeague_ appeared the same year as _The Awakening_. Crane’s _Maggie: A Girl of the Streets_ was published in 1893; _The Red Badge of Courage_, in 1895. The previous decades had seen the appearance of Mark Twain’s _The Adventures of Tom Sawyer_ (1876) and _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_ (1884). Naturalistic tragedies were by no means a new thing (Rebecca Harding Davies’ _Life in the Iron Mills_ was published in 1861), but by the end of the nineteenth century the dark side of the industrial world was simply impossible to ignore. In his brief introduction to American literature, which he co-write with Esther Zemborain, Jorge Luis Borges comments that Frank Norris was a Romantic until he “converted to the naturalism of Zola.” Borges gives credit to Norris, however, for immersing himself in real life (he worked in the fields as part of his research for the “wheat trilogy”) instead of getting his information from libraries._McTeague_ is, at first sight, the story of a self-proclaimed dentist. This simple, bear-like man falls in love with Trina Sieppe, a lady who is a little more sophisticated than he is. Marcus Schouler, Trina’s cousin, completes the love triangle. The plot is set in motion when Trina purchases a lottery ticket and wins $5,000. _McTeague_ is a story of money and what it does to people. (Erich von Stroheim adapted it to film in 1924 under the title of _Greed_.) Norris prefigures the Lost Generation in its criticism of the mindless pursuit of wealth that characterized post-industrial American society.Norris’ world is a gray, dirty place where one must dominate or be dominated. McTeague is not a real doctor, and what he calls his “Dental Parlor” is “cheap and shabby.” Trina is initially his patient, and he finds her particularly arousing when she is lying helpless on the dental chair, under the effect of anesthesia. “Suddenly he leaned over and kissed her,” we are told, “grossly, full on the mouth. The thing was done before he knew it.” One can only imagine how such a scene would have been received at the time the novel was published. Later on, Trina will accept McTeague’s kiss, but this will produce a negative reaction in him. “The instant Trina gave up, the instant she allowed him to kiss her, he thought less of her.” A textbook case of what Freud termed the Madonna-whore complex. According to Norris, “the changeless order of things” consists in “the man desiring the woman only for what she withholds; the woman worshiping the man for that which she yields up to him. With each concession gained the man’s desire cools; with every surrender made the woman’s adoration increases.” And yet Norris knew about the human ability to accept and even become addicted to abuse. Eventually we learn that “in some strange, inexplicable way [McTeague’s] brutality made Trina all the more affectionate; aroused in her a morbid, unwholesome love of submission, a strange, unnatural pleasure in yielding, in surrendering herself to the will of an irresistible, virile power.” An over-the-top, self-indulgent description, perhaps, but the problem described is an unfortunate reality, for both sexes. I was reminded of Charles Dickens justifying his character Nancy from _Oliver Twist_ (1838) to readers who would refuse to believe that a woman would remain with her abuser.Secondary characters, especially “ethnic” ones, are mostly caricatures. Listen to the description of Zerkow, the Polish Jew who runs a “junk shop”: he is “a dry, shriveled old man of sixty odd, [with] the thin, eager, cat-like lips of the covetous; eyes that had grown keen as those of a lynx from long searching amidst muck and debris; and claw-like, prehensile fingers--the fingers of a man who accumulates, but never disburses. It was impossible to look at Zerkow and not know instantly that greed--inordinate, insatiable greed--was the dominant passion of the man.” Maria Macapa, the Mexican maid, is the Other, “a strange woman of mixed race […] unusual, complex, mysterious, even at her best.” Zerkow loves to hear Maria describe the service of gold plate her family supposedly owned. “Were her parents at one time possessed of an incalculable fortune derived from some Central American coffee plantation,” the narrator muses, “a fortune long since confiscated by armies of insurrectionists, or squandered in the support of revolutionary governments?” The (imaginary) Central American fortune is more likely to have been sold to multinational interests, but never mind that…. Trina’s family, the Sieppes, are a stereotypical German family. They only appear in the first third of the novel, but the reader gets the chance to hear about Mr. Sieppe’s brutal treatment of his young son. In the densest darkness, however, a light shines through; this one is provided by Mr. Grannis and Miss Baker, the older residents of the building, who secretly yearn for each other. They suggest that not everybody suffers in this world, but at one point the narrator decides to leave them to themselves.As I noted above, the main problem with naturalism (into which realism quickly degenerated) is that it takes away human free will. Humans are moved by forces beyond their control: money, power, the environment, the struggle to survive. Norris chose to structure his unfinished masterpiece (the trilogy, of which he completed the first two volumes) not around humans, but around a commodity: wheat. There is some truth to this Marxist perspective: the forces around us are important, and they do shape us. They do not, however, abolish our free will. The best proof of this is in the moral variety one may find throughout the socio-economic spectrum. To deny individual freedom is as simplistic as refusing to believe that the environment in which we exist has some effect on our character.It may seem that I have mostly criticized _McTeague_, and yet I have given it four stars. I simply want to make clear that this is not necessarily a great novel. It may be a good novel, or at least a good example of naturalism. It is a good story, and I happen to agree with its thesis: money corrupts. It is also an important novel, a necessary step before Dreiser and the Lost Generation. Few people would deny that _McTeague_ would make it into a list of the ten most influential American novels of the nineteenth century.A final thought. Norris criticized Stephen Crane for paying more attention to style than to “life.” Crane is much more literary than Norris. (He was a poet, after all.) There is still quite a bit of “life” in Crane’s work, if you ask me. As usual, what A says about B tells you more about A than about B.I will give _The Octopus_ (1901) and _The Pit_ (1903) a try someday.Thanks for reading, and enjoy the book!

This is a remarkable book. It is prescient and insightful in dealing with domestic abuse, in particular the psychology of the abused who remains in an abusive relationship. The central theme though is the destructive effect of money and greed.It is a depressing but moving read. It carries some baggage in the form of cultural stereotypes common at the time. It was published in 1899. Three years later the author was dead at the age of 32.

I don't know how to say this other than all superlatives. Norris is such an outstanding writer. This is the only novel of his I've read -- yet. I've read it twice, maybe three times come to think of it. Over. the. top. And Kandinsky's reading on Audible.com is excellent.Here is one of my favorite scenes. For the character insights melded with cultural observation and natural constraints on the species homo sapiens, shot into steps of action. No spoilers -- don't worry about that here:"Not Stanley penetrating for the first time into the Dark Continent, not Napoleon leading his army across the Alps, was more weighted with responsibility, more burdened with care, more overcome with the sense of the importance of his undertaking, than was Mr. Sieppe during this period of preparation. From dawn to dark, from dark to early dawn, he toiled and planned and fretted, organizing and reorganizing, projecting and devising. The trunks were lettered, A, B, and C, the packages and smaller bundles numbered. Each member of the family had his especial duty to perform, his particular bundles to oversee. Not a detail was forgotten-- fares, prices, and tips were calculated to two places of decimals. Even the amount of food that it would be necessary to carry for the black greyhound was determined. Mrs. Sieppe was to look after the lunch, "der gomisariat." Mr. Sieppe would assume charge of the checks, the money, the tickets, and, of course, general supervision. The twins would be under the command of Owgooste, who, in turn, would report for orders to his father."Day in and day out these minutiae were rehearsed. The children were drilled in their parts with a military exactitude; obedience and punctuality became cardinal virtues. The vast importance of the undertaking was insisted upon with scrupulous iteration. It was a manoeuvre, an army changing its base of operations, a veritable tribal migration."On the other hand, Trina's little room was the centre around which revolved another and different order of things. The dressmaker came and went, congratulatory visitors invaded the little front parlor, the chatter of unfamiliar voices resounded from the front steps; bonnet-boxes and yards of dress-goods littered the beds and chairs; wrapping paper, tissue paper, and bits of string strewed the floor; a pair of white satin slippers stood on a corner of the toilet table; lengths of white veiling, like a snow-flurry, buried the little work-table; and a mislaid box of artificial orange blossoms was finally discovered behind the bureau."The two systems of operation often clashed and tangled. Mrs. Sieppe was found by her harassed husband helping Trina with the waist of her gown when she should have been slicing cold chicken in the kitchen. Mr. Sieppe packed his frock coat, which he would have to wear at the wedding, at the very bottom of "Trunk C." The minister, who called to offer his congratulations and to make arrangements, was mistaken for the expressman." (pp. 78-79)

This is another early natural realism novel by American author Frank Norris in around 1899. His writing style was inspired by Emile Zola (my favourite author). There was some controversy regarding the content at the time but to be honest compared to Zola the realistic incident (child wetting himself) most discussed in the press at the time is very mild in comparison.This is the dark, nasty tale of McTeague, a slow witted dentist; his girlfriend Trina and their mutual friend (Trina's cousin) Marcus. The basic storyline being that Marcus wants Trina but gives way to McTeague. The dynamic occurs when Trina wins a fortune and Marcus regrets his magnanimity and falls out with McTeague.An interesting angle with the construction of the story is another couple Maria (McTeague's housemaid) and Zerkow (a Jewish merchant) also get together but based on his belief that Maria has a hidden fortune in a gold dinner service. The dynamic of both couples rotating around both a real or imagined fortune is clever - suffice is to say brutal murder is the outcome.This is a very slow burn sinister story with the build-up of the relationship of McTeague and Trina taking far too long I found. The depiction of the late 1800s America is very appealing but the realistic thrust of the story is just too meandering overall. Trina's miserliness dominates and steers the McTeague downfall. The extremely dramatic cowboy/western style ending, though worth the read of the book for, is the finale of about the last 10th of the book and appears somewhat out of place and perhaps overly contrived.I found also that a significant event which lays McTeague low also mis-placed in that I'm sure (give the circumstances, which I won't state as it could be a spoiler) he could have found someway to carry on his profession.In summary a good read but not nearly as enthralling as The Wheat.

I read this years ago and loved it, but the kindle edition is riddled with typos and errors. It spoiled it totally and I gave up in the end. It’s not just the odd typo, but whole sentences just don’t make sense.

This is one of my favourite stories of all time. I love the family saga aspect of it and how blossoming love can turn to hate and bitterness, due to money. This is real writing for me. A perfect American Classic.

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Gives a good idea of life in San Francisco around the turn of the last century and is surprisingly gripping, although the characters are drawn a little simply but a very good read and I would certainly recommend it.