An American Tragedy (1925)
4.5 Stars out of 5
Theodore Dreiser
859 pages
(Spoiler Alert: this review contains many spoilers.)
“What matter it if a man gaineth
the whole world and loseth his own soul?”
An American Tragedy
Theodore Dreiser’s 1925 novel, “An American Tragedy” might
at times seem to the reader more like an Epic than a tragedy. What happens to
one of the characters, not the central character, in this epic-length novel
(over 800 pages), certainly is tragic. But this book reminds me due its
intimate exploration of the mind of a murderer much more of Edgar Allan Poe’s 1824
short story, “The Tell Tale Heart” than a true tragedy like Leo Tolstoy’s “Anna
Karenina” (1877). It is equally a brilliant study of an immature mind that once
set free from the rigid strictures of its youth makes one bad decision after
another; it is a mind that is always seeking self-gratification and is
simultaneously utterly unaware of the needs of those around him. It might well
be a tragic path that this story’s lead character, Clyde Griffiths takes
through the novel, but for me as a reader, the effects of the supremely
self-centered Clyde’s actions on those around him are the true tragedy.
The first part of this three part book delves into the teen
years of the central character, Clyde Griffiths. We first meet Clyde as an
unhappy twelve year old living in Kansas City. His parents are street
missionaries living in deep poverty. Clyde hates the life and only yearns to
leave it. His mother speaks endlessly in quasi-biblical terms ending most of
her words in "-eth" and mindlessly quoting a Bible she clearly only partially
understands. That Clyde will learn little in terms of a true moral compass from
his mother and this environment will play a key role in his development and the
later events in the novel.
Clyde will work a variety of low-paying jobs, partly to
bring in some income for his family, but mostly to escape to new worlds outside
the cloistered one of his family. He is timid and insecure. He knows only that
he wants something for himself and does not want the life of self-sacrifice his
parents have chosen for themselves and as a consequence for their children.
Clyde’s sister is also unhappy and will end up running away from home and ends up a pregnant teen without
a husband. Clyde will flee shortly thereafter to a local hotel to work as a bell boy and to be
inculcated into the world of feminine allure. Clyde will eventually flee this world too
once he becomes tangentially involved in a hit and run accident. The key point
in this early section is Clyde’s refusal to accept any responsibility to help
his pregnant sister or the victim of the hit and run. Instead, he runs, he
hides, and he feels sorry only for his own misfortunes. He is seventeen as this section
ends, but he has the maturity level of a six year old. He simply wants what he
wants, and too bad for everyone else. Consider Dreiser’s description of him at
age 20:
“For to
say the truth, Clyde had a soul that was not destined to grow up. He lacked
decidedly that mental clarity and inner directing application that in so many
permits them to sort out from the facts and avenues of life the particular
thing or things that make for their direct advancement.”
In part two, Clyde meets and tries to exploit a wealthy
relative, Samuel Griffiths. Samuel is Clyde’s uncle; Asa’s (Clyde’s father) older
brother. Samuel feels lingering guilt over previous family events that led to
Samuel’s wealth and to Asa’s poverty. Samuel will consequently bring Clyde eastward to Lycurgus
NY to work in Samuel’s factory in what will prove to be a very misguided effort of familial compensation. Clyde will start at the literal and administrative
bottom of the Griffiths Shirt Collar Factory, but will after a short while be
promoted to the management of a group of female employees. Here is where the
greatest tragedy will take place. Clyde has been warned not to date any of
these women. Clyde of course, simply throws caution to the wind and ignores this
strict company dictum. He meets a shy new employee, Roberta Alden and quickly
falls in love with her; as she does with him. Dreiser having set the stage with
Clyde’s interest in women and disinterest in the needs of others during the
Kansas City section of the book, will now bring Clyde’s malformed psyche into
full view.
One of the best parts of “An American Tragedy” takes place
after Roberta’s and Clyde’s relationship reaches its sexual zenith; a zenith
that will lead to the Clyde’s consequent moral nadir. Roberta will become
pregnant, and Clyde will fall out of love with her, even as he falls in love
with a wealthy socialite, Sondra. Roberta’s growing demands on Clyde due to her
pregnancy will push Clyde into an intricately described mental meltdown. He is
drawn to Sondra for her beauty and social position, but is “trapped” by Roberta’s
condition. He does not seem to acknowledge in any way that her situation is his
doing, and he certainly does not feel his duty to her extends much beyond
trying to find her a way out of her state. But this is 1925 New York; there might
be a way for some to terminate a pregnancy, but such means are unknown to the poorly
educated Roberta and Clyde. Clyde’s sense of self-pity grows and his tenuous
moral anchor he once had, starts to loosen further. As Clyde searches for an answer, he
sees a newspaper story of an accidental drowning; the female victim is found
but not the male; Clyde is horribly inspired. Dreiser will now explore Clyde’s mind in a manner that really
reminded me of Poe's guilt-ridden protagonist. Clyde can almost be seen with an angel on one shoulder and
a demon on the other as they argue for taking or defending poor Roberta’s life.
Reading this internal dialog, there will be little doubt in the reader’s mind
where this argument will lead.
Clyde will carry out his horrendous plan towards Roberta while
leaving a trail of clues and witnesses that will be his undoing. Clyde will
falter at the end, though his faltering will accidentally rather than intentionally
place Roberta in mortal danger. Clyde could save her, but his self-interest and
the demon on his shoulder will again cause Clyde to make one more bad decision,
and the pathetic Roberta will pay the price. Clyde being Clyde has
a left a trail that is so rife with clues that he finds himself in jail
awaiting trial within mere days of Roberta’s passing. This leads to the second
great part of this book for now Dreiser enters the mindset of the prosecuting
and defending attorneys. In doing so, the reader has an opportunity to learn
quite a lot about how lawyers work to frame the strongest argument for their
legal position. Technically both sides are right: Clyde was not guilty of
murder when he abandoned Roberta to drowning, and yet morally he is abundantly
guilty. Both sides of the ensuing legal confrontation will play fast and loose
with the facts, but it is clear both sides feel they are morally obligated to
do so.
The scenes surrounding the pre-trial and trial parts of the
book really make reading this book a treat. Both sets of lawyers break moral
and legal law as they pursue their case for the presumed “greater good”. Their
behavior and their motivation are a great contrast to Clyde and his rationalizations
for what he planned to do and what he actually did do. And yet, the lawyers and
Clyde always view their transgressions via a prism that is constructed out of
their intentions (if I can be allowed to create a metaphor). Each one of these
characters feels that because their intentions are good (in the case of the
lawyers) or justified (no matter how self-centeredly in the case of Clyde),
their actions are morally acceptable. It is a very clever set piece created by
Dreiser to explore right and wrong.
This book does so many things right: pitch perfect
descriptions of the various characters, their Roaring Twenties vernacular,
their era-appropriate legalisms and class consciousness. This book would have
earned a perfect score from me but for one flaw. This book most definitely is
too long. It could easily be broken into two 400+ page books. The inclusion of
Clyde’s teen years is essential to a full understanding of Clyde’s personality
and how it developed, but by adding it to the climatic relationship between
Roberta and Clyde, and to the resulting trial makes a single book far too long.
That being case, I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in getting
a peak at 1920’s America and more importantly getting a peak into a master
author as he examines the mind of a morally weak, perhaps morally bankrupt
young man. It is also a really fine example of how legal jurisprudence is
planned and put into action. This book is really worth the time it will take to
read.
No comments:
Post a Comment