An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser

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Chapter 9

APART from the momentary thrill and zest of this, the effect

was to throw Clyde, as before, speculatively back upon the

problem of his proper course here. For here was this girl,

and she was approaching him in this direct and suggestive

way. And so soon after telling himself and his mother that

his course was to be so different here—no such

approaches or relationships as had brought on his downfall

in Kansas City. And yet—and yet——

He was sorely tempted now, for in his contact with Rita he

had the feeling that she was expecting him to suggest a

further step—and soon. But just how and where? Not in

connection with this large, strange house. There were other

rooms apart from the kitchen to which Dillard and Zella had

ostensibly departed. But even so, such a relationship once

established! What then? Would he not be expected to

continue it, or let himself in for possible complications in

case he did not? He danced with and fondled her in a

daring and aggressive fashion, yet thinking as he did so,

“But this is not what I should be doing either, is it? This is

Lycurgus. I am a Griffiths, here. I know how these people

feel toward me—their parents even. Do I really care for

her? Is there not something about her quick and easy

availability which, if not exactly dangerous in so far as my

future here is concerned, is not quite satisfactory,—too

quickly intimate?” He was experiencing a sensation not

unrelated to his mood in connection with the lupanar in

Kansas City—attracted and yet repulsed. He could do no

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more than kiss and fondle her here in a somewhat

restrained way until at last Dillard and Zella returned,

whereupon the same degree of intimacy was no longer

possible.

A clock somewhere striking two, it suddenly occurred to

Rita that she must be going—her parents would object to

her staying out so late. And since Dillard gave no evidence

of deserting Zella, it followed, of course, that Clyde was to

see her home, a pleasure that now had been allayed by a

vague suggestion of disappointment or failure on the part of

both. He had not risen to her expectations, he thought.

Obviously he lacked the courage yet to follow up the proffer

of her favors, was the way she explained it to herself.

At her own door, not so far distant, and with a conversation

which was still tinctured with intimations of some future

occasions which might prove more favorable,—her attitude

was decidedly encouraging, even here. They parted, but

with Clyde still saying to himself that this new relationship

was developing much too swiftly. He was not sure that he

should undertake a relationship such as this here—so soon,

anyhow. Where now were all his fine decisions made

before coming here? What was he going to decide? And

yet because of the sensual warmth and magnetism of Rita,

he was irritated by his resolution and his inability to proceed

as he otherwise might.

Two things which eventually decided him in regard to this

came quite close together. One related to the attitude of the

Griffiths themselves, which, apart from that of Gilbert, was

not one of opposition or complete indifference, so much as

it was a failure on the part of Samuel Griffiths in the first

instance and the others largely because of him to grasp the

rather anomalous, if not exactly lonely position in which

Clyde would find himself here unless the family chose to

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show him at least some little courtesy or advise him

cordially from time to time. Yet Samuel Griffiths, being

always very much pressed for time, had scarcely given

Clyde a thought during the first month, at least. He was

here, properly placed, as he heard, would be properly

looked after in the future,—what more, just now, at least?

And so for all of five weeks before any action of any kind

was taken, and with Gilbert Griffiths comforted thereby,

Clyde was allowed to drift along in his basement world

wondering what was being intended in connection with

himself. The attitude of others, including Dillard and these

girls, finally made his position here seem strange.

However, about a month after Clyde had arrived, and

principally because Gilbert seemed so content to say

nothing regarding him, the elder Griffiths inquired one day:

“Well, what about your cousin? How’s he doing by now?”

And Gilbert, only a little worried as to what this might bode,

replied, “Oh, he’s all right. I started him off in the shrinking

room. Is that all right?”

“Yes, I think so. That’s as good a place as any for him to

begin, I believe. But what do you think of him by now?”

“Oh,” answered Gilbert very conservatively and decidedly

independently—a trait for which his father had always

admired him—“Not so much. He’s all right, I guess. He may

work out. But he does not strike me as a fellow who would

ever make much of a stir in this game. He hasn’t had much

of an education of any kind, you know. Any one can see

that. Besides, he’s not so very aggressive or energetic-

looking. Too soft, I think. Still I don’t want to knock him. He

may be all right. You like him and I may be wrong. But I

can’t help but think that his real idea in coming here is that

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you’ll do more for him than you would for someone else,

just because he is related to you.”

“Oh, you think he does. Well, if he does, he’s wrong.” But at

the same time, he added, and that with a bantering smile:

“He may not be as impractical as you think, though. He

hasn’t been here long enough for us to really tell, has he?

He didn’t strike me that way in Chicago. Besides there are a

lot of little corners into which he might fit, aren’t there,

without any great waste, even if he isn’t the most talented

fellow in the world? If he’s content to take a small job in life,

that’s his business. I can’t prevent that. But at any rate, I

don’t want him sent away yet, anyhow, and I don’t want him

put on piece work. It wouldn’t look right. After all, he is

related to us. Just let him drift along for a little while and see

what he does for himself.”

“All right, governor,” replied his son, who was hoping that

his father would absent-mindedly let him stay where he was

—in the lowest of all the positions the factory had to offer.

But, now, and to his dissatisfaction, Samuel Griffiths

proceeded to add, “We’ll have to have him out to the house

for dinner pretty soon, won’t we? I have thought of that but I

haven’t been able to attend to it before. I should have

spoken to Mother about it before this. He hasn’t been out

yet, has he?”

“No, sir, not that I know of,” replied Gilbert dourly. He did

not like this at all, but was too tactful to show his opposition

just here. “We’ve been waiting for you to say something

about it, I suppose.”

“Very well,” went on Samuel, “you’d better find out where

he’s stopping and have him out. Next Sunday wouldn’t be a

bad time, if we haven’t anything else on.” Noting a flicker of

doubt or disapproval in his son’s eyes, he added: “After all,

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Gil, he’s my nephew and your cousin, and we can’t afford to

ignore him entirely. That wouldn’t be right, you know, either.

You’d better speak to your mother to-night, or I will, and

arrange it.” He closed the drawer of a desk in which he had

been looking for certain papers, got up and took down his

hat and coat and left the office.

In consequence of this discussion, an invitation was sent to

Clyde for the following Sunday at six-thirty to appear and

participate in a Griffiths family meal. On Sunday at one-

thirty was served the important family dinner to which

usually was invited one or another of the various local or

visiting friends of the family. At six-thirty nearly all of these

guests had departed, and sometimes one or two of the

Griffiths themselves, the cold collation served being

partaken of by Mr. and Mrs. Griffiths and Myra—Bella and

Gilbert usually having appointments elsewhere.

On this occasion, however, as Mrs. Griffiths and Myra and

Bella decided in conference, they would all be present with

the exception of Gilbert, who, because of his opposition as

well as another appointment, explained that he would stop

in for only a moment before leaving. Thus Clyde as Gilbert

was pleased to note would be received and entertained

without the likelihood of contacts, introductions and

explanations to such of their more important connections

who might chance to stop in during the afternoon. They