Book details
McTeague: A Story of San Francisco
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Stored record
Metadata
- Gutenberg ID
- 165
- Title
- McTeague: A Story of San Francisco
- Language
- en
- Book source
- Project Gutenberg
- Description max 80 words
-
Frank Norris's gritty naturalist novel follows the brutal descent of McTeague, a coarse San Francisco dentist, and his ambitious wife Trina. Set against the vibrant backdrop of the city, the story explores themes of greed, class struggle, and the destructive power of unchecked instinct, culminating in a tragic confrontation in the desert.
- Summary up to 500 words
-
Frank Norris's *McTeague: A Story of San Francisco* is a naturalist tragedy exploring the destructive power of greed and base instincts. The narrative centers on McTeague, a physically imposing but intellectually sluggish dentist in San Francisco, and his wife, Trina. Initially content with his simple life and modest practice, McTeague's existence is upended when Trina inherits a fortune from her uncle. Consumed by an insatiable desire for wealth, Trina abandons her husband to claim the money for herself, leaving McTeague destitute. Haunted by her betrayal and driven by a primitive rage, McTeague takes a job moving pianos and eventually tracks Trina into the desert. The story shifts to a tense standoff in Death Valley involving McTeague, a lawman named Marcus Schouler, and a mule carrying the stolen funds. As the mule bolts and the men run out of water, the two men fight over the money. In the chaos of the scorching heat, McTeague kills Marcus. Locked to the dead body by handcuffs and stranded with no water, McTeague faces his own demise. His fate is sealed by the very greed that drove him to this point, illustrating Norris's theme that human nature, when stripped of civilization, is governed by animalistic instincts that lead inevitably to destruction. The novel concludes with McTeague alone in the vast, indifferent landscape, a victim of his own nature and the harsh environment.
- LLM editorial rating
- 4.2/5
- Download URL
- https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/165.epub.noimages
- Local file path
-
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People
Authors
- Frank Norris
Classification
Categories
- Psychology
- Fiction
- Married People
- San Francisco
- Dentists
- Murderers