A Doomed Tragedy

Theodore Dreiser's novel Jennie Gerhardt depicts a tragic character Jennie, who is a kind and honorable woman with many virtues. Complicated causes lead to her doomed tragedy. The present thesis makes a comprehensive study of Jennie's tragedy from the perspectives of naturalism, Patriarchal culture and her own character.This thesis consists of three parts, plus the introduction and conclusion.The introduction gives a brief account of Theodore Dreiser and his literary achievements, followed by some related information about Jennie Gerhardt. At the end of the introduction, the present author points out the research purpose of this thesis.Chapter one focuses on the naturalistic study of Jennie's tragedy. The first part of this chapter is about the naturalism and its influences on Dreiser. Then, the present author analyzes Jennie's tragedy according to the main contents of naturalism. Because Jennie, Brander and Lester belong to different classes, their relationship will be a predetermined tragedy.Chapter two studies Jennie's tragedy from the angle of Patriarchal culture. At first, the present author introduces women's situation in Dreiser's age. After that, the present author parses Jennie's tragedy by her relationship with Old Gerhardt, Senator Brander and Lester. The last one who affects Jennie's fate mostly is Dreiser, who created this character. In short, Jennie is a victim of patriarchal culture.The third chapter investigates the relationship between Jennie's character and her tragedy. By the analysis, it is obvious that the flaws in her character, such as self-absence, vanity and desire for material life, flaccidity and submissiveness, are crucial causes for her tragedy.The last part of this thesis is the conclusion. Through a comprehensive analysis, the present author concludes that Jennie's fate is a doomed tragedy.