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The gilded tooth McTeague wants to hang outside his practice to attract patients represents the moral decay McTeague undergoes in his pursuit of wealth. Although a gilded tooth may be attractive and shiny on the outside, a dentist only applies gold to a tooth because the tooth is rotten or decaying. McTeague’s interest in buying this gilded ornament signals his initial obsession with wealth and social status, as well as his desire to appear prosperous and refined to others—he wants the gilded tooth because he believes that its placement outside his dental practice will signal his success and prosperity. McTeague eventually realizes his dream to own the tooth, though it is Trina, not McTeague, who purchases the golden tooth for McTeague as a gift. And it’s not long after he receives the gift that the authorities force McTeague to close down his practice after they learn that he has been practicing dentistry without a license.
As McTeague’s story unfolds, the gilded tooth becomes a symbol of his moral degeneration—or, perhaps, of the base, immoral urges that existed all along behind the thin veneer of respectability his career as a dentist allowed him to have for a time. His increasingly violent and greedy behavior contrasts sharply with the false veneer of success the tooth symbolizes. The gilded tooth—once a source of pride—now underscores the hollowness of McTeague's achievements, the ethical compromises he makes in pursuit of wealth, and the triumph of base, human instinct over learned social norms.
The Gilded Tooth Quotes in McTeague
The McTeague quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Gilded Tooth. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1
Quotes
But for one thing, McTeague would have been perfectly contented. Just outside his window was his signboard—a modest affair—that read: “Doctor McTeague. Dental Parlors. Gas Given”; but that was all. It was his ambition, his dream, to have projecting from that corner window a huge gilded tooth, a molar with enormous prongs, something gorgeous and attractive. He would have it some day, on that he was resolved; but as yet such a thing was far beyond his means.
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Chapter 8
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The dentist circled about that golden wonder, gasping with delight and stupefaction, touching it gingerly with his hands as if it were something sacred. At every moment his thought returned to Trina. No, never was there such a little woman as his—the very thing he wanted—how had she remembered? And the money, where had that come from? No one knew better than he how expensive were these signs; not another dentist on Polk Street could afford one. Where, then, had Trina found the money? It came out of her five thousand dollars, no doubt.
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Chapter 18
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And the tooth, the gigantic golden molar of French gilt, enormous and ungainly, sprawled its branching prongs in one corner of the room, by the footboard of the bed. The McTeague’s had come to use it as a sort of substitute for a table. After breakfast and supper Trina piled the plates and greasy dishes upon it to have them out of the way.
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The Gilded Tooth Symbol Timeline in McTeague
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Gilded Tooth appears in McTeague. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...one goal left to accomplish: next to his signboard, he wants to hang a “ huge gilded tooth ” to attract customers. However, at the moment, he cannot afford it.
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Chapter 5
...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...
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Chapter 8
...to while she has been shopping. McTeague explains that he has been inquiring after the giant gilded tooth he wants to hang outside his practice. However, he has learned that the tooth would...
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...finds a package addressed to him from Trina. He opens it and inside finds the giant golden tooth he has always longed for.
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Chapter 14
...so his presence makes McTeague angry. The Other Dentist asks McTeague if he can buy the gilded tooth now that McTeague is going out of business. McTeague tells the Other Dentist to go...
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Chapter 18
Not long after, McTeague decides to sell his gilded tooth , which he has kept all this time, to the Other Dentist. The Other Dentist...
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