Pauline Dobrejcak Character Analysis in Out of This Furnace

Pauline is Mike and Mary’s second child and the sister of Mikie, Dobie, and Agnes. She is a thin, sickly child but has a vivid imagination, and she enjoys reading novels, comics, and romance stories. When Mary contracts consumption and/or Spanish Influenza, Pauline also displays symptoms of the disease and goes to the sanitarium to live with her mother. Before reaching adulthood, she dies of her illness a year after Mary succumbs to the disease.

Pauline Dobrejcak Character Timeline in Out of This Furnace

The timeline below shows where the character Pauline Dobrejcak appears in Out of This Furnace. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...the company announces a wage cut just as Mary gives birth to their second child, Pauline Dobrejcak. During the November presidential election, Mike also casts his first vote, for the Republican... (full context)

...down to a steaming pot of soup, and Mary chastises Mikie for making a mess. Pauline, meanwhile, stops eating. She is “a very thin, big-eyed child,” and Mike tells her stories... (full context)

Immigration and American Identity Theme Icon

The children generally enjoy the Hollow more than the dirty First Ward. Johnny and Pauline start attending school in Munhall, and the former gets a job delivering wallpaper on Saturdays... (full context)

Industrialization and Destruction Theme Icon

Johnny does not like school. In early April, Pauline reports that he got into a fight in the schoolyard. He has also stopped attending... (full context)

...Shortly after New Year’s, Mary begins to feel unusually tired and soon finds herself bedridden. Pauline insist that they send for Dr. Kralik, who diagnoses Mary with Spanish Influenza and urges... (full context)

...in houses “away from the mill where there [are] grass and trees.” She hopes that Pauline will eventually find a husband but cherishes having her around to help with the housework.... (full context)

...and looking for work.” Frank has been “sitting pretty” for several years at this point. Pauline had died a year after Mary. Both were buried near Alice’s house, but a family... (full context)

The group buries Kracha beside Pauline. The burial reminds Dobie of the many times “he had stood on that hillside beside... (full context)

...people who gave their lives to the steel mills, people like Mike Dobrejcak, Mary Dobrejcak, Pauline, Joe Dubik, and Kracha, as well as “all the thousands of lives the mills had... (full context)