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Chapter 1
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
The following day, Miss Baker, a retired dressmaker, comes to McTeague’s practice. Miss Baker lives in the same building as McTeague, which is owned by a man named Old Grannis. Old Grannis and Miss Baker have adjoining rooms in the flat, and there are rumors that they are in love with each other. Some suspect it is the first romance for both of them. Miss Baker talks about Old Grannis regularly, seemingly unaware that there are rumors about the two of them. McTeague quietly sees to Miss Baker. She needs fillings, and McTeague performs the operation easily and without any sense of nervousness.
The relationship between Miss Baker and Old Grannis, characterized by its timidity and innocence, contrasts sharply with the darker themes of obsession and possession that emerge later in the book. Meanwhile, McTeague’s work on Miss Baker demonstrates that, although he lacks training and his methods are unorthodox, he is a capable dentist at least when it comes to routine operations.
Themes
While McTeague is tending to Miss Baker, Marcus walks in with Trina. While McTeague is working, Marcus talks to Trina about Maria Macapa, who works as the building’s maid. Marcus says that Maria is a strange woman who is missing some of her mental faculties. Maria is currently cleaning McTeague’s office, so Marcus takes the opportunity to introduce her to Trina. Maria tells Trina her name and then says, “Had a flying squirrel an’ let him go.” Marcus informs Trina that this is something Maria always says after saying her name. No one know why—it simply comes out. Maria also insists that Trina buy a lottery ticket from her, which Trina does, but only because she wants Maria to go away.
The phrase Maria repeats after saying her name is another example of Norris showing how people are not in control of their behavior. The phrase itself is nonsensical and never receives a deeper explanation. For Marcus, Maria is a source of entertainment, which is why he introduces her to Trina in the first place. Meanwhile, the lottery ticket Trina buys represents another force people have no control over: luck. Trina buys it simply to make Maria go away. Although Trina does not know it yet, the lottery ticket will significantly alter the course of her life.
Themes
McTeague finishes up with Miss Baker. Marcus introduces McTeague to Trina and then leaves the two alone. At first, McTeague does not like Trina, as he tends to stay away from women in general. However, the more he talks to her, the more he likes her. McTeague decides to use a complicated solution that he has never used before on Trina’s teeth—which are quite a mess. This solution involves multiple visits, which means Trina and McTeague begin spending a lot of time together.
One day, while McTeague is working on Trina, he notices she is in a great deal of pain, which makes him nervous. He offers her ether, and Trina accepts it. While Trina is passed out, McTeague feels sexual urges arising from deep within him. He has to walk away from Trina for a minute to calm himself. However, even when he returns to her, he feels that he cannot help but kiss her on the mouth. Kissing Trina calms McTeague down enough to return to his work.
Here, McTeague’s internal conflict and burgeoning obsession with Trina come to the forefront. His administration of ether and the ensuing kiss he forces on Trina mark a significant violation of ethical boundaries, which Norris suggests McTeague is helpless to resist. Moments like this highlight the issue with Norris’s naturalism, as his characters are not granted any resolve to overcome their base instincts.
Themes
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Eventually, McTeague finishes working on Trina, and she wakes up. Once she is awake, McTeague asks Trina to marry him. Trina, confused, asks McTeague to repeat himself. McTeague asks the question again and Trina tells him no. Trina finds herself suddenly feeling scared of McTeague, and a wave of sickness floods her body. Trina warns McTeague that she needs to vomit. McTeague, thinking her sickness is the result of ingesting ether, gives her a common remedy to drink.
Just like McTeague, Trina reacts based entirely on instinct rather than thinking the situation through. Her responses are just as immediate and “natural” as the sickness that rises within her. While McTeague assumes Trina is sick from the ether, Norris is suggesting that the thought of marrying McTeague literally sickens her. This perhaps reflects the unnatural and potentially harmful effects of invented social norms, like marriage, which go against natural human impulses.
Themes
