“[S]he belonged to him forever and forever. Nothing that he could do (so she told herself)...could change her in this respect.”
This is the quotation I brought up in class. Trina has, at this point, convinced herself that she is in love with McTeague despite liking anything that defines him. She does not like his oafishness. She does not like how sloppy and lazy he is. She does not like how he drinks lowly steam beer over bottled beer. She does not like how he dresses.
It seems as though she is more in love with the idea of the man than she is the man. McTeague, at this point, is dedicated to her and does not seem to be after her money, so perhaps this makes her feel safe with him. (A poor decision, had she been able to possess future sight.)
Not only does she feel safe in that, she feels safe in belonging to someone. She was the property of her parents, then McTeague, then, as pointed out in class, money. She won the lottery, and with the money came greed.
She hoarded money. It became more important to her than even McTeague. After an argument with McTeague where she refused to pay her half of the $35 of rent, she decided it would be nice to give him $10. Then she decided, “I can’t do it. It may be mean, but I can’t help it. It’s stronger than I” (pg 119). She even admits that she’s lost control over her own self.
She then admits, “I didn’t used to be so stingy... Since I won in the lottery I’ve become a regular little miser.” Money changed her. It caused her to become a skinflint. Ultimately, when McTeague becomes an abusive drunk, her stingy ways cause her lose her life. She decided it was more important to have money than to live.
Also, the title of my post is in reference to an amazing Cyndi Lauper song. YouTube it!
It’s sad but Trina honestly could’ve prevented her death and the complete deterioration of her and McTeague’s marriage by simply chilling out and just sharing with the dumb dentist. While the reading the novel what really got me the most, and also helped me to stay interested, were the details Norris used that relate to present day life. The whole idea of her being possessed by her family, then McTeague, and then money I think is simply brilliant because in a way we can all relate to the idea of becoming overly obsessed with something at one point in our lives. And because of that I was really able to enjoy the work while also noting the sad validity it held back then and still does now.
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