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Chapter 15
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in McTeague, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Greed and Self-Destruction
Naturalism
Gender Stereotypes
Class Struggle
Isolation vs. Connection
Summary
Analysis
Over the course of the following month, Trina becomes increasingly anxious as McTeague remains unemployed and unable to find work. She convinces him to move to cheaper quarters, although it results in another big fight. McTeague, after failing to secure a position in the shipping department of a toy store due to the job’s requirements, becomes listless and loses ambition. He spends his days idly drinking whiskey at a local saloon, which makes him mean and abusive when he gets home to Trina.
Trina’s anxiety and the couple’s fight over moving to a cheap space underscore the continuous tension and deterioration in their relationship. McTeague’s failure to secure employment and his listlessness illustrate the impact of unemployment on his self-worth. Meanwhile, his turn to alcohol and resulting abuse of Trina emphasize the destructive effects of economic hardship.
Themes
On Thanksgiving Day, McTeague drinks heavily and returns home to demand money from Trina, pinching and hurting her until she complies. Although McTeague rarely drinks to excess, the alcohol exacerbates his viciousness. His dislike for Trina continues to grow as they are forced to live in direr circumstances. McTeague is only violent with Trina when he’s drunk, though their relationship is also terrible when he is sober. They often argue over Trina’s savings, but the result is always the same. Although Trina would never admit it to McTeague, she takes a perverse pleasure in his abuses and in fondling the coins she has saved when he is not around.
This section illustrates the cyclical nature of abuse and the toxic dynamics within McTeague and Trina’s marriage. McTeague’s violent behavior when drunk and the constant arguments over money show that financial matters have ruined his ability to think rationally, which was limited to begin with. His human instinct has taken over.
Themes
During this time, Trina forms a close friendship with Maria, as they bond over their husbands’ abuses. They compare bruises and discuss the best ways to handle their husbands’ aggression. Maria is convinced that Zerkow will never actually kill her because he wants to know where the gold plates are. Maria’s confidence surprises Trina.
Trina and Maria’s discussions about handling aggression and comparing bruises reveal the normalization of violence in their lives. However, Maria’s confidence in her safety due to Zerkow’s obsession is questionable given his past behavior. The reader may wonder if her confidence ironically foreshadows misfortune to come.
Themes
One November morning, after Trina finishes a large Christmas order of Noah’s Ark carvings, she decides to pay Miss Baker a visit. However, she finds Miss Baker is not home. Instead, she talks briefly with Mr. Grannis, encouraging him to propose to Miss Baker since he’s come into money from selling a bookbinding patent. Next, Trina visits Maria, hoping they can get lunch together. However, instead, she finds Maria lying dead with a gash in her throat.
This moment transitions from the ordinary to the horrific, as Maria’s death marks a severe disruption in Trina’s life. Just days before, Maria and Trina were talking about the similarities in their situation. Now, Maria is dead, suggesting that Trina soon meet a similar fate.
Themes
Get the entire McTeague LitChart as a printable PDF.
Trina, horrified, is unable to speak. Eventually, she manages to flag down a local to help her contact the authorities. As Trina struggles to come to terms with what has happened, a crowd gathers, and eventually two policemen arrive to investigate. It seems like everyone on Polk Street has come to see what is going on. Immediately, someone suggests that Zerkow must have killed Maria. Indeed, later the same day, the police find Zerkow’s body in in the bay. He died clutching a sack of old tin dishes. It makes Trina sad to think that both Maria and Zerkow are dead because of a set of golden plates that never existed.
The image of Zerkow dying clutching tin dishes represents his mad obsession with greed, which was ultimately illusory. It’s also another place where the book relies on tired and offensive stereotypes. The old tin dishes Zerkow dies clutching are worth more than any fortune Maria ever possessed. Here, Norris drives home his point about the futility of pursuing wealth at the cost of all else. Not only is one unlikely to succeed, but the psychological consequences are too extreme to bear.
Themes
