Other Fiction Dreiser, Theodore: Jennie Gerhardt. v1. 26 Dec 08

[Dr. Drib]

Theodore Dreiser is an important American writer of the early 20th Century, and a strong representative of Naturalism. This is his second published novel, following Sister Carrie

(NOTE: If you like Dreiser, I have some titles already assembled and available here on MobileRead.)

One quote has this to say about Jennie Gerhardt:

"In the story a young woman, Jennie, is seduced by a senator. She bears a child out of wedlock but sacrifices her own interests to avoid harming her lover's career. A passage in which Jennie's lover Lester Kane, the son of a wealthy family, tells her about contraceptives, was removed by Ripley Hitchcock, the editor at Harper & Brothers."

Another writer states this:

"Most of us know the genius of Dreiser, the lyrical capabilities of this author is astonishing. He humanizes literature, the characters posess complex personalities and physical appearances. He takes the aesthetic beauty of the surreal and the honesty of harsh reality and combines these potent elements into a story of life, almost more believable than our own. This story follows Jennie Gerhardt, a young German girl living with her poor family in Ohio before the turn of the century. Honest but hard work puts her into the path of Senator Brander a benevolent mature man, but his ardent passions soon destroy Jennie, and her life is tainted with shame. She leaves her home, and life take her on many journeys, mostly unpleasant. This story chronicles how one mistake can change your life, and the domino effect takes place, constantly misplacing your life as you try to escape the past."

I discovered Dreiser while in my 20s, and his impact on my appreication of literature was tremendous.

Like all the books I assemble on MobileRead, this too was assembled to reflect human intervention and artistic judgment.

I hope you enjoy it.

Don

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