Abstract:Theodore Dreiser is considered as one of the most influential American novelists in the early 20th century. The novel Jennie Gerhardt was one of his representative works. It tells a story about the tragic fate of Jennie, a girl from a poverty-ridden family at the end of the nineteenth century. Jennie is kind and beautiful; however, she is doomed to be abandoned because of the social environment, religious belief and her own character. 

This paper consists of five chapters. Chapter One presents a brief introduction to Theodore Dreiser and his masterpiece Jennie Gerhardt. Chapter Two introduces the definition of tragedy and Theodore Dreiser’s tragic style. Chapter Three explores Jennie’s tragedy. Chapter Four analyzes the reasons for Jennie’s tragedy. The social environment, people’s religious belief and her character all lead to her tragic fate. And the last chapter is the conclusion.

Key words: Jennie Gerhardt  Jennie  tragic fate  reasons

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Introduction to Theodore Dreiser-1

1.2 Introduction to Jennie Gerhardt-2

1.3 Structure of the Thesis-2

Chapter Two Tragedy-4

Chapter Three Jennie’s Tragedy-6

3.1 Being the Oldest Daughter in a Poverty-Ridden Family-6

3.2 Losing Her Lovers-6

3.3 Losing Her Daughter-8

Chapter Four Reasons for Jennie’s Tragedy-10

4.1 Social Environment-10

4.2 Religion-11

4.3 Jennie’s Character-11

4.3.1 Innocence-11

4.3.2 Vanity-12

4.3.3 Submissiveness-12

Chapter Five Conclusion-14

References-15