Jennie Gerhardt

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name = Jennie Gerhardt
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author = Theodore Dreiser
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country = United States
language = English
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genre = Novel
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release_date = 1911
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"Jennie Gerhardt" is a 1911 novel by Theodore Dreiser.

Plot summary

Jennie Gerhardt, a destitute young woman, meets Senator Brander in Columbus, Ohio. He seduces her and gives her money to tide them over. Her father disapproves of the relationship. The Senator dies shortly after proposing to her. She is left with his illegitimate baby, Vesta. Later, she meets Lester Kane, a scion. They move to Chicago, though they don't get married. Lester's father finds out about the relationship, and he disinherits him before he dies. Lester leaves Jennie and marries an affluent widow, Lenny Pace, whereby his father's will entitles him to his inheritance. Before Lester's death, he calls on Jennie, thus demonstrating that he loves her. Lester is to be buried in New York City, where he lived with Lenny. Meanwhile, Jennie will look after her two adopted orphans.

Characters

*Jennie Gerhardt, the protagonist. She starts work as a cleaning-lady in a hotel in Columbus. Later she works as a maid in Cleveland. After Lester leaves her, she moves to Sandwood, a small town close to Chicago.
*Mrs Gerhardt, Jennie's mother.
*William Gerhardt, Jennie's father. He is German. He works as a glass blower. He is ill at the outset of the novel. Later, he moves to Youngstown, Ohio when his family move to Cleveland, Ohio upon Sebastian's exhortion. Eventually, he moves to Chicago with Jennie and Lester after his other children have left him. He is a staunch Lutheran and makes a point to baptise Vesta. He dies of typhoid.
*Sebastian Gerhardt, Jennie's brother. He is described as a dandy who is ashamed of his family's lack of wherewithal. He is also known as Bass.
*Genevieve, George, Martha, William, Veronica"', Jennie's other siblings.
*Senator Brander, a United States State Senator who seduces Jennie and gives her a child. He dies of typhoid before marrying her.
*Wilhemina Vesta, known as Vesta, Jennie and Senator Brander's illegitimate child. Jennie hides her from her father until he finds out in Cleveland. Later, she hides her from Lester until he finds out after Vesta dies of typhoid.
*Doctor Ellwanger, the Gerhardt's practitioner in Columbus.
*Pastor Wundt, the Gerhardt's Lutheran pastor in Columbus.
*Mrs Bracebridge, Jennie's employer in Cleveland. Her husband is called Henry.
*Lester Kane, Jennie's second lover. He meets Jennie as he is visiting his old friend Mrs Bracebridge.
*Archibald Kane and Mrs Kane, Lester's parents. Archibald is a manufacturing magnate.
*Robert Kane, Lester's brother. He is described as a shrewd businessman. Although the two men part ways after their father's death, Robert apologises by the end of the novel.
*Amy, Imogene, Louise, Lester's sisters.
*Mrs Jacob Stendhal, Mr & Mrs Carmichael Burk, Mrs Hanson Field, Mrs Timothy Ballinger, Mrs Crag, Mrs Sommerville, neighbours of Jennie and Lester's in South Hyde Park.
*Samuel E. Ross, a real estate dealer Lester works with. He ends up losing losing a lot of money in the deal.
*Lenny Pace, an affluent widow whom Lester ends up marrying.
*Mrs Davis, a fifty-year-old matron who helps Jennie when Vesta dies.
*Rose Perpetua and Henry Stover, two orphans Jennie adopts after Vesta dies.
*Louis Berdot, Lester's chef.

Allusions to other works

*Jennie and Lester's relationship is compared to William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" in Chapter 41.
*At Sandwood, Jennie is said to read Washington Irving's "Sketch Book", Charles Lamb's "Elia", and Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Twice Told Tales".

Film adaptation

The novel was made into a film in 1933 [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024193/ imdb] ] .

References

External links

* [http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0300701.txt Full text]