Maggie_ A Girl Of The Streets And Other Writings About New York Part 21

-from his Introduction to Volume 11 of The Work of Stephen Crane, The Work of Stephen Crane, edited by Wilson Follett ( 1925-1926) edited by Wilson Follett ( 1925-1926) JOHN BERRYMAN.

No American work of [Maggie's] length had driven the reader so hard; in none had the author remained so persistently invisible behind his creation.

-from Stephen Crane Stephen Crane (1950) (1950) Questions 1. The French phrase nostalgie 1. The French phrase nostalgie de de la la boue boue can be roughly translated as a hankering for the gutter, the lower depths, the slums. Crane seems to have had it. Can you sympathize? Is the attraction to the gutter simply that it stimulates a fantasy of throwing off the burden of respectability? What else motivates this attraction? A strange sense of purity? can be roughly translated as a hankering for the gutter, the lower depths, the slums. Crane seems to have had it. Can you sympathize? Is the attraction to the gutter simply that it stimulates a fantasy of throwing off the burden of respectability? What else motivates this attraction? A strange sense of purity?2. People who read Maggie are not likely to have much direct experience with the lower depths of life in the slums or with the down-and-out. Yet from the beginning, readers have called the novel realistic or naturalistic, even without being able to compare the actual scene to Crane's version of it. How does Crane achieve the effect of realism, whether or not he actually captures a reality in words?3. The nineteenth century was a great period for novels about fallen women. Think of Madame Bovary Bovary and Anna and Anna Karenina. Karenina. What is distinctive about Crane's treatment of this theme? Is there anything fundamentally American about it? What is distinctive about Crane's treatment of this theme? Is there anything fundamentally American about it?4. What att.i.tude do you think Crane wanted to create in the minds of his readers? Righteous indignation? Repugnance? A desire to ameliorate the conditions of the urban poor? A desire to call people like Maggie and her friends to a prayer meeting? Scientific detachment? A sense of superiority? Something else?

FOR FURTHER READING.

Biographies and Related Materials The first biography of Stephen Crane appeared in 1923. It was Thomas Beer's Stephen Crane: A Study in American Letters. Stephen Crane: A Study in American Letters. Almost as soon as it was published, though, there was some doubt about the veracity of much of the book. Nevertheless, for many years it remained the only source of knowledge about Crane. However, as scholars became more interested in Stephen Crane, doubts about Beer's biography increased. As a recent Crane scholar, Christopher Benfey, delicately put it: "In the writing of biography, invention is supposed to play a subsidiary role; in Beer's Almost as soon as it was published, though, there was some doubt about the veracity of much of the book. Nevertheless, for many years it remained the only source of knowledge about Crane. However, as scholars became more interested in Stephen Crane, doubts about Beer's biography increased. As a recent Crane scholar, Christopher Benfey, delicately put it: "In the writing of biography, invention is supposed to play a subsidiary role; in Beer's Stephen Crane Stephen Crane it was primary" it was primary" (The Double Life of Stephen Crane, (The Double Life of Stephen Crane, p. 8). Nevertheless, I include Beer's biography in this bibliography and will let readers draw their own conclusions. p. 8). Nevertheless, I include Beer's biography in this bibliography and will let readers draw their own conclusions.

Beer, Thomas. Stephen Crane: A Study in American Letters. Stephen Crane: A Study in American Letters. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1923. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1923.

Benfey, Christopher. The Double Life of Stephen Crane. The Double Life of Stephen Crane. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. An interesting, unorthodox take on the life of the author. Along with Wertheim and Sorrentino, Benfey did much to discredit Beer's biography. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. An interesting, unorthodox take on the life of the author. Along with Wertheim and Sorrentino, Benfey did much to discredit Beer's biography.

Berryman, John. Stephen Crane: A Critical Biography. Stephen Crane: A Critical Biography. 1950. Revised edition. New York: Cooper Square Press, 2001. As the subt.i.tle suggests, this book focuses on the works of Crane, placing them in literary and historical context. 1950. Revised edition. New York: Cooper Square Press, 2001. As the subt.i.tle suggests, this book focuses on the works of Crane, placing them in literary and historical context.

Davis, Linda H. Badge of Courage: The Life of Stephen Crane. Badge of Courage: The Life of Stephen Crane. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. This is the most recent and most comprehensive biography of Stephen Crane. Davis was relentless in ferreting out heretofore unknown facts about Crane, and the volume includes a number of photographs not previously published. Although a piece of serious scholars.h.i.+p, it is not dry but very readable and entertaining. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. This is the most recent and most comprehensive biography of Stephen Crane. Davis was relentless in ferreting out heretofore unknown facts about Crane, and the volume includes a number of photographs not previously published. Although a piece of serious scholars.h.i.+p, it is not dry but very readable and entertaining.

Gandal, Keith. The Virtues of the Vicious: Jacob Riis, Stephen Crane, and the Spectacle of the Slum. The Virtues of the Vicious: Jacob Riis, Stephen Crane, and the Spectacle of the Slum. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. An interesting study of fact and fiction about the nineteenth-century slum. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. An interesting study of fact and fiction about the nineteenth-century slum.

Linson, Corwin. My Stephen Crane. My Stephen Crane. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1958. An anecdote-filled memoir of Crane written by a close friend. Although written shortly after Crane's death, it lay unpublished for fifty years. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1958. An anecdote-filled memoir of Crane written by a close friend. Although written shortly after Crane's death, it lay unpublished for fifty years.

Stallman, R. W Stephen Stephen Crane: Crane: A A Biography. New York: George Braziller, 1968. A good, solid piece of scholars.h.i.+p, Stallman published the first biography of Crane after Beer. Biography. New York: George Braziller, 1968. A good, solid piece of scholars.h.i.+p, Stallman published the first biography of Crane after Beer.

Wertheim, Stanley, and Paul Sorrentino. The Crane Log: A Doc.u.mentary Life of Stephen The Crane Log: A Doc.u.mentary Life of Stephen Crane, 1871-1900. American Author's Log Series. New York: G. K. Hall, 1994. A thorough investigation of Stephen Crane's life, this book went far toward discrediting much of the Beer biography. Crane, 1871-1900. American Author's Log Series. New York: G. K. Hall, 1994. A thorough investigation of Stephen Crane's life, this book went far toward discrediting much of the Beer biography.

Selected Critical Studies Bergon, Frank. Stephen Crane's Artistry. Stephen Crane's Artistry. New York: Columbia University Press, 1975. New York: Columbia University Press, 1975.

Berryman, John. Stephen Crane. Stephen Crane. New York: Sloane, 1950. New York: Sloane, 1950.

Cady, Edwin H. Stephen Crane. Stephen Crane. Revised edition. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1980. Revised edition. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1980.

Campbell, Donna M. Resisting Regionalism: Gender and Naturalism in American Fiction Resisting Regionalism: Gender and Naturalism in American Fiction, 1885-1915. Athens: Ohio Athens: Ohio University Press, 1997. University Press, 1997.

Dooley, Patrick K. The Pluralistic Philosophy of Stephen Crane. The Pluralistic Philosophy of Stephen Crane. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1993. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1993.

LaFrance, Marston. A Reading of Stephen Crane. A Reading of Stephen Crane. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971.

Nagel, James. Stephen Crane and Literary Impressionism. Stephen Crane and Literary Impressionism. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1980. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1980.

Pizer, Donald, ed. Critical Essays on Stephen Critical Essays on Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1990. Crane's The Red Badge of Courage. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1990.

Solomon, Eric. Stephen Crane: From Parody to Realism. Stephen Crane: From Parody to Realism. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1966. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1966.

a Derogatory term for Irish people.

b Street urchins.

c Fellows, chaps; from the British slang word "bloke."

d Run away fast.

e Hit or beat up; short for "lambaste."

f Time of unemployment or being "in the red"; probably Crane's invention.

g Fine clothing.

h Person of no consequence.

i Drayman, teamster.

j Nonsense.

k Rube; person with no experience of city life.

l Derogatory term for someone of Mediterranean descent; from the Spanish name Diego.

m Heavy cotton or linen fabric, usually brightly colored or patterned.

n Ornamental drape for a mantle.

o Very small, rose-shaped drinking gla.s.s, typically holding one ounce of liquid.

p Open gas flames used for lighting.

q Poem meant to be sung, not recited.

r Fool or dolt; victim of a trickster.

s Kid- or dove-skin gloves favored by upper-cla.s.s women of the era.

t Traditional sign of a p.a.w.nbroker's shop.

u Freak show.

v Museum security guards.

w Traitor or sneak; from the name Judas.

x An insult; the derivation is unclear.

y To get drunk and maudlin, or drunk and belligerent.

z A dandy and a ladies' man.

aa Mock, make fun of.

ab Short and stumpy; squashed.

ac Slang for money, bank notes.

ad Having the qualities of a lion.

ae Heavy piece of machinery used for stamping out coins.

af Frothy dessert consisting of custard and sponge cake.

ag Horse-drawn omnibus.

ah Nomadic people indigenous to southwestern Africa, particularly the Kalahari Desert.

ai Smooth yarn spun from wool, similar to silk but not as fine.

aj The Woman's Christian Temperance Union, the most prominent prohibition league at the time.

ak Short for "chromolithograph"; cheap colored pictures, distributed free of charge by newspapers and churches, that usually depict patriotic or religious themes.

al Pillars supporting a banister rail on a staircase.

am Old-fas.h.i.+oned name for a harmonica.

an Term for a prizefight or wild brawl; from "windmill."

ao Potent c.o.c.ktail made from a mixture of bourbon whiskey and sweet vermouth.

ap The term "guy" rendered in Irish dialect; it means to mock or make fun of someone.

aq A c.o.c.ky, arrogant, violent sword-for-hire of the Italian Renaissance.

ar Platform that supports a coffin during a funeral while the deceased is lying in state.

as Metal chisel used for making holes (bungs) in barrels of beer.

at Greek G.o.d of wealth.

au Leave; depart.

av Brooklyn Bridge Street in lower Manhattan located at the foot of City Hall Park.

Confluence of several major thoroughfares in lower Manhattan; today Chatham Square is the heart of Chinatown.

aw Holy (dialect).

ax Small park at Fifth Avenue and East Twenty-third Street in Manhattan; the original home of Madison Square Garden.

ay Neighborhood in northern Manhattan; in Crane's day Harlem was a middle-cla.s.s neighborhood.

az Picturesque chain of rocky hills stretching from central New Jersey into New York State.

ba Spit of land on the Atlantic sh.o.r.e of Brooklyn, famed for its amus.e.m.e.nt parks and honky-tonks.

bb Low hills on the New Jersey side of Lower New York Bay.

bc Inexpensive form of photography; the picture is printed on a thin sheet of tin instead of paper.

bd Ferris wheels.

be Merry-go-rounds.

bf Large island located between Upper New York Bay and New Jersey.

bg Entrance to Upper New York Bay; the Narrows are just north of Coney Island.

bh Irritable person.

bi Ferryboat linking Bay Ridge, in Brooklyn, with Manhattan.

bj Ferryboats that carried pa.s.sengers between Brooklyn and Manhattan even after the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.

bk Long, sharpened shaft used for holding opium over an open flame prior to smoking it.

bl Street in lower Manhattan; in Crane's day it was where the headquarters of the New York City Police Department was located.

bm Slang for a beer truck.

bn Name of a notoriously bloodthirsty gang in nineteenth-century New York.

bo Nickname for the Manhattan House of Detention; the original structure was said to resemble an Egyptian tomb.

bp Neighborhood policemen under the control of the local politico known as the "ward boss."