| McTeague | |
|---|---|
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| Author | Frank Norris |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Doubleday & McClure |
| Publication date | 1899 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) (Paperback) |
| ISBN | N/A |
McTeague is an 1899 novel by Frank Norris. The book describes the life of a turn-of-the-century dentist in San Francisco, named McTeague. The narrator never reveals McTeague's first name; he is referred to only as "Mac" by the other characters in the novel. The book was the basis for Erich von Stroheim's film, Greed.
Plot summary
McTeague is a man of limited intellect from a poor miner's family, who works as a dentist in San Francisco. His best friend is a man named Marcus, who is dating a young woman named Trina, whom he brings by McTeague's parlor for dental work. McTeague becomes infatuated with her while working on her teeth, and Marcus graciously steps aside. McTeague successfully woos Trina. Shortly after McTeague and Trina have kissed and declared their love for each other, Trina discovers that she won $5000 from a lottery ticket. In the ensuing celebration Trina's mother, Mrs. Sieppe, announces that McTeague and Trina are getting married, even though Trina has previously declined to marry McTeague and Trina was unsure of her love for him. Marcus feels jealous, believing he would have gained from Trina's win had he not stood aside.
Trina and McTeague are married, and Trina proves to be a parsimonious wife. Mrs. Sieppe, along with the rest of her family, move away, leaving her alone with McTeague. She insists that McTeague never touch the principal of her $5000. She demands that they live on the earnings from McTeague's dental practice and a small amount of money she earns from carving small toy arcs for sale in her uncle's shop. Secretly, she accumulates savings in a locked trunk. Though the couple is happy, the friendship between Marcus and Mac deteriorates. Marcus demands "his share" of Trina's money, and a fight ensues in which he throws a knife at McTeague.
Catastrophe strikes the McTeagues when Marcus reports McTeague to the City for practicing dentistry without a license or degree. McTeague loses his practice and the couple is forced to move into successively poorer quarters as the former dentist drifts through a series of menial jobs. Trina becomes more and more miserly, the couple's life deteriorates, and, finally, McTeague leaves. Meanwhile, Trina falls completely under the spell of her money and withdraws it in gold from her uncle's firm so she can admire and handle the coins in her room, at one point spreading them over her bed and rolling around in them.
When McTeague returns, she refuses to give him any money. An enraged McTeague beats her to death, takes the money and flees to a mining community he had left years before. Fearing pursuit, he makes his way south towards Mexico. Meanwhile, Marcus hears about the murder and goes after McTeague, finally catching him in Death Valley. In the middle of the desert, the two fight over McTeague's remaining water and Trina's $5,000. McTeague kills Marcus, but as he dies, Marcus handcuffs himself to McTeague. The book ends with McTeague helplessly stranded in Death Valley, handcuffed to Marcus's corpse.
Other media
The book was adapted into Erich von Stroheim's film, Greed. McTeague was also the basis of an opera by Robert Altman, William Bolcom, and Arnold Weinstein.
External links
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Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
- McTeague at Internet Archive (scanned books)
- McTeague at Project Gutenberg (plain text)
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