Jennie Gerhardt (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Theodore Dreiser
- First Published: 1911
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Naturalism
- Time of Work: Last two decades of the nineteenth century
- Setting: Chicago, Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati
- Principal Characters: Jennie Gerhardt, William Gerhardt, Mrs. Gerhardt, Sebastian Gerhardt, Senator Brander, Vesta, Mrs. Bracebridge, Lester Kane, Robert Kane, Mrs. Letty Pace Gerald
- Genres: Long fiction
- Subjects: Family or family life
- Locales: Chicago, IL
The Story:
Jennie Gerhardt, a beautiful and virtuous eighteen-year-old, was one of six children of a poor, hard-working German family in Columbus, Ohio, in 1880. Her father, a glassblower, was ill, and Jennie and her mother were forced to work at a local hotel in order to provide for the younger children in the family. Jennie did the laundry for the kind and handsome Senator Brander (he was fifty-two at the time) and attracted his eye. Senator Brander was kind to Jennie and her family. When he was able to keep Jennie’s brother Sebastian out of jail for stealing some needed...
[The entire page is 2628 words long]
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