An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser

spite of the fact that he had made such drastic resolutions

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in regard to the help who were beneath him, still it was not

always possible for him to keep his mind on the mere

mechanical routine of the work or off of this company of

girls as girls, since at least a few of them were attractive.

For it was summer—late June. And over all the factory,

especially around two, three and four in the afternoon,

when the endless repetition of the work seemed to pall on

all, a practical indifference not remote from languor and in

some instances sensuality, seemed to creep over the

place. There were so many women and girls of so many

different types and moods. And here they were so remote

from men or idle pleasure in any form, all alone with just

him, really. Again the air within the place was nearly always

heavy and physically relaxing, and through the many open

windows that reached from floor to ceiling could be seen

the Mohawk swirling and rippling, its banks carpeted with

green grass and in places shaded by trees. Always it

seemed to hint of pleasures which might be found by idling

along its shores. And since these workers were employed

so mechanically as to leave their minds free to roam from

one thought of pleasure to another, they were for the most

part thinking of themselves always and what they would do,

assuming that they were not here chained to this routine.

And because their moods were so brisk and passionate,

they were often prone to fix on the nearest object. And

since Clyde was almost always the only male present—and

in these days in his best clothes—they were inclined to fix

on him. They were, indeed, full of all sorts of fantastic

notions in regard to his private relations with the Griffiths

and their like, where he lived and how, whom in the way of

a girl he might be interested in. And he, in turn, when not

too constrained by the memory of what Gilbert Griffiths had

said to him, was inclined to think of them—certain girls in

particular—with thoughts that bordered on the sensual. For,

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in spite of the wishes of the Griffiths Company, and the

discarded Rita or perhaps because of her, he found himself

becoming interested in three different girls here. They were

of a pagan and pleasure-loving turn—this trio—and they

thought Clyde very handsome. Ruza Nikoforitch—a

Russian-American girl—big and blonde and animal, with

swimming brown eyes, a snub fat nose and chin, was very

much drawn to him. Only, such was the manner with which

he carried himself always, that she scarcely dared to let

herself think so. For to her, with his hair so smoothly parted,

torsoed in a bright-striped shirt, the sleeves of which in this

weather were rolled to the elbows, he seemed almost too

perfect to be real. She admired his clean, brown polished

shoes, his brightly buckled black leather belt, and the loose

four-in-hand tie he wore.

Again there was Martha Bordaloue, a stocky, brisk

Canadian-French girl of trim, if rotund, figure and ankles,

hair of a reddish gold and eyes of greenish blue with puffy

pink cheeks and hands that were plump and yet small.

Ignorant and pagan, she saw in Clyde some one whom,

even for so much as an hour, assuming that he would, she

would welcome—and that most eagerly. At the same time,

being feline and savage, she hated all or any who even so

much as presumed to attempt to interest him, and despised

Ruza for that reason. For as she could see Ruza tried to

nudge or lean against Clyde whenever he came sufficiently

near. At the same time she herself sought by every single

device known to her—her shirtwaist left open to below the

borders of her white breast, her outer skirt lifted trimly

above her calves when working, her plump round arms

displayed to the shoulders to show him that physically at

least she was worth his time. And the sly sighs and

languorous looks when he was near, which caused Ruza to

exclaim one day: “That French cat! He should look at her!”

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And because of Clyde she had an intense desire to strike

her.

And yet again there was the stocky and yet gay Flora

Brandt, a decidedly low class American type of coarse and

yet enticing features, black hair, large, swimming and

heavily-lashed black eyes, a snub nose and full and

sensuous and yet pretty lips, and a vigorous and not

ungraceful body, who, from day to day, once he had been

there a little while, had continued to look at him as if to say

—“What! You don’t think I’m attractive?” and with a look

which said: “How can you continue to ignore me? There are

lots of fellows who would be delighted to have your chance,

I can tell you.”

And, in connection with these three, the thought came to

him after a time that since they were so different, more

common as he thought, less well-guarded and less sharply

interested in the conventional aspects of their contacts, it

might be possible and that without detection on the part of

any one for him to play with one or another of them—or all

three in turn if his interest should eventually carry him so far

—without being found out, particularly if beforehand he

chose to impress on them the fact that he was

condescending when he noticed them at all. Most certainly,

if he could judge by their actions, they would willingly

reward him by letting him have his way with them

somewhere, and think nothing of it afterward if he chose to

ignore them, as he must to keep his position here.

Nevertheless, having given his word as he had to Gilbert

Griffiths, he was still in no mood to break it. These were

merely thoughts which from time to time were aroused in

him by a situation which for him was difficult in the extreme.

His was a disposition easily and often intensely inflamed by

the chemistry of sex and the formula of beauty. He could

not easily withstand the appeal, let alone the call, of sex.

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And by the actions and approaches of each in turn he was

surely tempted at times, especially in these warm and

languorous summer days, with no place to go and no single

intimate to commune with. From time to time he could not

resist drawing near to these very girls who were most bent

on tempting him, although in the face of their looks and

nudges, not very successfully concealed at times, he

maintained an aloofness and an assumed indifference

which was quite remarkable for him.

But just about this time there was a rush of orders, which

necessitated, as both Whiggam and Liggett advised, Clyde

taking on a few extra “try-out” girls who were willing to work

for the very little they could earn at the current piece work

rate until they had mastered the technique, when of course

they would be able to earn more. There were many such

who applied at the employment branch of the main office

on the ground floor. In slack times all applications were

rejected or the sign hung up “No Help Wanted.”

And since Clyde was relatively new to this work, and thus

far had neither hired nor discharged any one, it was agreed

between Whiggam and Liggett that all the help thus sent up

should first be examined by Liggett, who was looking for

extra stitchers also. And in case any were found who

promised to be satisfactory as stampers, they were to be

turned over to Clyde with the suggestion that he try them.

Only before bringing any one back to Clyde, Liggett was

very careful to explain that in connection with this temporary

hiring and discharging there was a system. One must not

ever give a new employee, however well they did, the

feeling that they were doing anything but moderately well

until their capacity had been thoroughly tested. It interfered

with their proper development as piece workers, the

greatest results that could be obtained by any one person.

Also one might freely take on as many girls as were needed

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to meet any such situation, and then, once the rush was

over, as freely drop them—unless, occasionally, a very

speedy worker was found among the novices. In that case

it was always advisable to try to retain such a person, either

by displacing a less satisfactory person or transferring some

one from some other department, to make room for new

blood and new energy.

The next day, after this notice of a rush, back came four

girls at different times and escorted always by Liggett, who

in each instance explained to Clyde: “Here’s a girl who

might do for you. Miss Tyndal is her name. You might give