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Chapter 4
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
A few days later, on Washington’s Birthday (a national holiday), McTeague shaves while singing a song about loneliness. Once he is dressed and ready, he meets Marcus out in the hallway, and the two prepare to call on the Sieppes. In the hallway, McTeague hears Maria telling Zerkow more stories about her family’s wealth. Together, McTeague and Marcus make their way to the Sieppes’ home. On the way, McTeague worries that the Sieppes will turn him away at the door.
Washington’s Birthday is what contemporary readers would call President’s Day. Notably, no one in the novel cares about the political significance of the holiday; they are simply happy that they have a day off work. Maria and Zerkow’s conversation demonstrates the transactional nature of their relationship; Zerkow does not fancy Maria for who she is as a person. He simply wants to hear about her riches.
Themes
However, before Marcus and McTeague even make it to the Sieppes’ place, they run into the entire family at a nearby train stop. Marcus introduces McTeague to Trina’s mother, Mrs. Sieppe, who is happy to meet him. Meanwhile, Mr. Sieppe, a stern, militaristic man, is busy barking orders at his sons. McTeague is both surprised and pleased to find that Trina seems happy to see him.
Another chance meeting drives McTeague and Trina closer together. Trina’s reaction to seeing McTeague suggests that she is fonder of him than their previous interaction suggested. Mrs. Sieppes’s reaction to seeing McTeague and Marcus suggests she takes an active interest in ensuring her daughter marries a good man. Meanwhile, Mr. Sieppe focuses on raising and disciplining his sons.
Themes
Trina and McTeague walk and talk together as the Sieppes family makes their way to a nearby park for a picnic. Trina tells McTeague that the family has a picnic once every week and is surprised to learn that McTeague has never attended a picnic in his life. McTeague and Trina briefly talk about the period of McTeague’s childhood when he worked in a mine, as well as a variety of other topics ranging from politics to a new dog Marcus recently acquired.
This scene underscores the theme of social isolation, as it hints at McTeague’s rough upbringing and his detachment from conventional social experiences. Trina’s surprise at McTeague’s lack of experience suggests that such communal experiences have always been an important part of her life.
Themes
Everything goes well until McTeague reaches the park gates and realizes he does not have enough money to get in. McTeague panics because he knows it would be rude to ask the Sieppes for money. Instead, he asks Marcus to help him out, which Marcus happily does. After a great day at the park, the Sieppes invite Marcus and McTeague for dinner at their home. Following dinner, everyone goes to bed early, as they are worn out from a long day. Mrs. Sieppe invites McTeague to stay over and McTeague sleeps by himself in Trina’s room. McTeague feels strange sleeping where Trina normally stays, but he finds the room charming and cozy. Before going to bed, McTeague looks through Trina’s closet and smells her clothes because he finds that they give off an intoxicating scent.
McTeague’s panic at not having enough money to enter the park highlights insecurity about his social status. Meanwhile, McTeague’s strange feelings about sleeping in Trina’s room and his strange behavior suggest that he neither understands his sexuality nor has the ability to control it. While McTeague’s attachment to Trina and his integration into her family life mark a transition away from his isolated ways, his actions in Trina’s room suggest an underlying intensity that spells trouble for the future of their relationship.
Themes
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McTeague begins visiting Trina regularly and soon the Sieppes realize that he is her new suitor. One day, McTeague and Trina go for a walk together along the train tracks. There, McTeague plays his concertina and tells Trina about dentistry. McTeague also shares with Trina his dream of placing a large, gilded tooth outside his practice. Moments later, it begins raining. Suddenly, McTeague changes the subject and once again asks Trina if she will marry him. Trina says no but cannot tell McTeague why.
Although this is a courtship scene that is largely sweet and innocent, it is fraught with ominous symbols. Walking along train tracks suggests that danger is coming, and the sudden rain is similarly portentous. Again, McTeague asks Trina to marry him as if it is an urge he cannot control and Trina, who similarly does not understand her motivations, rejects him.
Themes
Then, McTeague grabs Trina, “crushing down her struggle with his immense strength” until she gives in and allows him to kiss her. As soon as McTeague kisses Trina, he finds that he likes her less because she gave up too easily. Trina pushes herself away from McTeague and begins to cry. She goes home alone, upset, though she tells McTeague he can call on her again the following Sunday. As she leaves, McTeague suddenly feels ecstatic because he thinks he has won her over.
McTeague’s instant shift in feelings after the kiss exposes his superficial understanding of affection. The novel suggests that Trina gives into McTeague because of her biological disposition to respect the physical dominance of men. This is yet another instance of the novel’s oversimplified gender essentialism.
Themes
Trina, still crying, returns home to Mrs. Sieppe, who is setting up a mouse trap in the kitchen. Trina explains what happened, and Mrs. Sieppe asks if she loves McTeague. Trina says she does not know. Mrs. Sieppe asks Trina why she would kiss McTeague if she did not love him. Again, Trina says she does not know. As Mrs. Sieppe asks these questions, the mousetrap she is setting up violently snaps shut.
Mrs. Sieppe sees love in a socially conditioned way, as she suggests that only people who love each other would have any sort of sexual contact. Although Trina cannot explain why (because she does not understand the social and biological factors that drive her), she knows the power dynamics at play in her relationship with McTeague are more complicated than how her mother is presenting it. The mousetrap violently snapping shut implies that Trina is about to get caught in a trap.
Themes
