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     ,    ,      .       ,    :     .     ,    ,     .       1906       ,    ,     .    ,    ,       .

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 . - 













      ?

   :       .         .         .

     ,    ,      .       ,    :     .     ,    ,     .       1906       ,    ,     .    ,    ,       .

  ,    .  ,       .



  .., 2026.



Theodore Dreiser  

American Tragedy  



Book One  



1

Summer evening, twilight.  , .

The commercial center of an American city, where no less than four hundred thousand inhabitants live, tall buildings, walls... Someday, perhaps, it will seem incredible that such cities existed.    ,      ,  ,  -, ,   ,    .

And in the wide street, now almost silent, a group of six people:    ,   ,    : a man of about fifty, short, fat, with a thick mane of hair sticking out from under a round black felt hat - a very nondescript person;   , , ,    ,  -    , -   ; on a strap thrown over his shoulder, a small organ, such as are usually used by street preachers and singers.  ,   ,  ,       . With him a woman, about five years younger than him, not so plump, strongly built, dressed very simply, with an unattractive, but not ugly face;   ,     ,   ,  ,   ,  ,    ; she is leading a boy of about seven by the hand and carrying a Bible and books of psalms.             . Following them, a little further away, walk a girl of about fifteen, a boy of twelve and another girl of about nine;   ,  ,    ,       ; all of them obediently, but apparently without much desire, follow their elders.   , , -,      .

It's hot, but there's a pleasant languor in the air. ,      .

The main street they were walking along was crossed at right angles by another street, which resembled a gorge;  ,    ,     ,   ; crowds of people, cars and trams were scurrying along it, constantly ringing their bells, making their way in the rapid flow of general traffic.     ,   ,   ,        . The small group, however, seemed indifferent to everything and was only trying to make its way between the oncoming streams of cars and pedestrians that were overwhelming it...   , ,               

When they reached the corner where the next street crossed their path - or rather, just a narrow gap between two rows of tall buildings, now devoid of any signs of life - the man put the organ down on the ground, and the woman immediately opened it, lifted the music stand and opened a wide, thin book of psalms.   ,      , - ,        ,     , -     ,     ,        . Then, handing the Bible to the man, she stood next to him, and the older boy placed a small folding chair in front of the organ. ,   ,    ,         . The man - it was the father of the family - looked around with feigned confidence and proclaimed, as if not at all caring whether he had an audience:  -     -      ,       ,     :

- First we will sing a hymn of praise, and anyone who wishes to praise the Lord may join us. -     ,  ,    ,    . Play for us, please, Esther.  , , .

The eldest girl, slender, though not yet fully formed, had tried until now to behave as indifferently and aloofly as possible;  , ,      ,          ; now she sat down on a folding chair and, turning the handle of the organ, began to leaf through the book of psalms, until her mother said:       ,   ,    ,    :

- I think we will begin with the twenty-seventh psalm: -  ,      : "How sweet is the balm of Christ's love." "    ".

Meanwhile, people of various professions and positions, heading home, noticing the group with the organ, hesitantly slowed down their pace and glanced at it sideways or stopped to find out what was going on.          ,    ,         ,  ,  . This hesitation, interpreted as attention, the man at the organ immediately took advantage of and proclaimed, as if the audience had gathered there specifically to listen to him:  ,   ,       ,       :

- Let us all sing together: -    : How sweet is the balm of Christs love. "    ".

The girl began to play a melody on the organ, producing weak but faithful sounds, and began to sing;      ,  ,   ,  ; her high soprano merged with her mother's soprano and her father's rather dubious baritone.            . The other children, a girl and a boy, each taking a book from the stack lying on the organ, squeaked weakly after their elders.   -   ,     ,   ,     . They sang, and the faceless and indifferent street crowd stared in bewilderment at this nondescript family, who had raised their voice against the general skepticism and indifference.  ,             ,       . In some, the shy girl at the organ aroused interest and sympathy, in others - the impractical and pitiful appearance of the father, whose pale blue eyes and languid figure, dressed in a cheap suit, betrayed a loser.          ,   -     ,  -    ,    ,  . Of the whole family, only the mother possessed that strength and determination which - no matter how blind and false they were directed contribute, if not to success in life, then to self-preservation.           ,  -               ,  . In her, more than in anyone else, one could see a conviction, although ignorant, but still commanding respect.  ,    -  ,   ,   ,     . If you saw her standing with a book of psalms in her lowered hand, gazing into space, you would say:    ,         ,    ,   : "Yes, here is someone who, with all her shortcomings, undoubtedly strives to do only what she believes in." ",      , ,    ,   ". Stubborn, steadfast faith in the wisdom and mercy of that all-seeing, powerful force to which she was now appealing, was read in her every feature, in every gesture. ,        ,  ,     ,     ,   .

Love of Christ, be my support, Love of Jesus is my righteous path, she sang loudly and a little nasal - barely noticeable among the huge buildings.  ,    ,   -   ,       -     .

The boy, his eyes downcast, shifted restlessly from foot to foot and sang along, not very enthusiastically. ,  ,           . Tall, but not yet strong, with an expressive face, white skin and dark hair, he seemed the most observant and, undoubtedly, the most sensitive in this family; ,    ,   ,     ,     , ,     ; it was clear that he was dissatisfied with his situation and even suffered from it.  ,          . He was more attracted to the pagan than to the religious in life, although he was not yet fully aware of this.      ,  ,        . Only one thing was certain:      : he had no calling for what he was forced to do.       ,    . He was too young, his soul was too responsive to any manifestation of beauty and joy, so alien to the abstract and foggy romance that possessed the souls of his father and mother.    ,   -        ,      ,      .

And indeed, the material and spiritual life of the family of which he was a member did not convince him of the reality and power of what his mother and father apparently so ardently believed in and preached.    ,     ,    ,        ,  , ,          . On the contrary, they were constantly troubled by all sorts of worries, and above all material ones. ,     ,    . His father always read the Bible and preached in various places, and mainly at the mission located not far from here, which he directed together with his mother.           ,     "",   , -      . At the same time, as far as the boy understood, they collected money from various businessmen interested in missionary work or inclined to charity and, apparently, sympathized with the activities of his father.    ,   ,       ,        , ,   . And yet the family had a hard time:      : they were always poorly dressed, deprived of many of the comforts and pleasures available to other people.     ,     ,   . And his father and mother constantly glorified the love, mercy and care of God for them and for everyone in the world.       ,           . There was clearly something wrong here so.   -  . The boy did not know how to understand this, but still treated his mother with involuntary respect;      ,         ; he felt the inner strength and seriousness of this woman, as well as her tenderness.          ,    . Despite the hard work of the mission and the worries of the family, she knew how to remain cheerful, or at least did not lose her cheerfulness;           ,     ,   ,   ; she often exclaimed with deep conviction:      : "The Lord will take care of us!" "   ! or: " : "The Lord will show us the way!" "   ! especially at such times when the family was in great need. "    ,     . And, however, both he and the other children understood this - God did not show them any way out even when his beneficial intervention in family affairs was extremely necessary. , ,       , -        ,          .

That evening, wandering along the main street with his sisters and little brother, the boy ardently wished that all this would end once and for all, or at least that he himself would not have to take part in it anymore.   ,         ,   ,        ,   ,         . After all, other boys do not do such things; there is something pathetic and even humiliating about it.       ,   -    . More than once, even before they began to lead him through the streets like this, other children teased him and laughed at his father for always talking publicly about his faith and convictions.  ,          ,           ,           . His father began every conversation with the words:     : "Praise be to God," - and all the children in the neighborhood of the house where they lived when the boy was seven years old, when they saw his father, shouted: " ", -       ,   ,     , ,  :

- Griffiths, Griffiths! - , ! Praise the Lord Griffiths! " " !

Or they shouted after the boy:    :

- That one's sister plays the organ! -       ! What else does she play?      ?

And why does father always repeat his praise be to God everywhere!        " "! Others dont do that.    .

In him, as in the boys who teased him, spoke the eternal human desire for complete similarity, for a standard.  ,      ,       ,  . But his father and mother were not like everyone else;        ,  ; they had always been too much involved in religion, and now they had finally made it their profession.      ,       .

That evening, on the big street with the tall buildings - noisy, busy, full of movement - the boy felt shamefully torn from normal life and exposed to ridicule.   ,      , - , ,  , -             . Magnificent cars rushed past, idle pedestrians hurried to activities and amusements that he could only vaguely guess at, cheerful young couples passed with laughter and jokes, little children stared at him - and everything stirred the feeling of something different, better, more beautiful than his life, or rather, the life of his family.    ,       ,       ,        ,    , -     - , ,  ,   , , ,   .

In the idle and unstable street crowd that was constantly flowing around, some seemed to sense that a psychological error was being made in relation to these children:      ,    , , , ,        : some nudged each other with their elbows, the more sophisticated and indifferent raised an eyebrow and smiled contemptuously, and the more sympathetic or experienced said that the presence of children here was unnecessary.     ,         ,      ,     .

- I see these people here almost every evening - two or three times a week, at least. -         - -   ,    . - This is said by a young clerk. -    . He has just met his girlfriend and is taking her to a restaurant.            . - Probably some kind of charlatanism under the guise of religion, - he adds. - , -    , -  .

- The older boy doesn't like it. -      . He seems to feel out of place. ,       . It's not right to put such a boy on display if he doesn't want to.      ,   . He doesn't understand anything about these things, - says an idle tramp of about forty, one of the peculiar regulars of the city's shopping center, turning to a good-natured-looking passerby who has stopped nearby.        , -     ,       ,        .

Yes, I think so too, he agreed, interested in the boys original face. - ,    , -  ,    . Confusion and awkwardness were visible on the boys face when he raised his head;        ,    ; it was easy to understand that it was useless and heartless to force a creature with an unsettled character, incapable of comprehending the psychological and religious meaning of what was happening, to participate in such public performances, more suitable for mature and thoughtful people.   ,           ,       ,      ,       .

And yet he had to obey.      .

The two younger children, a girl and a boy, were too young to really understand what they were doing there, and they didnt care.    -    -   ,  - ,    ,     . The eldest girl at the organ apparently even enjoyed the attention of the spectators and their comments on her appearance and singing, since not only strangers, but even her father and mother more than once assured her that she had a charming, sweet voice, although this was not entirely true.     , ,            ,      ,        ,    ,  ,      . The voice was not so good, but none of them understood music well.      ,       . The girl - weak, thin - did not stand out in any way;  - ,  -    ; there were no signs of spiritual strength or depth noticeable in her.           . It is not surprising that singing turned out to be her only opportunity to stand out at least a little and attract attention.  ,               .

And the parents firmly decided to contribute, as much as possible, to the spiritual purification of society, and when the first psalm was finished, the father began to speak about the joy that descends upon sinners who are freed from the grave torments of conscience by the will of the Lord, thanks to his mercy and the love of Christ.     ,  ,   , ,     ,      ,    ,        ,      .

All people are sinners before the Lord, he declared. -   -    , -  . Until they repent, until they accept the Savior, his love and forgiveness, they will not know happiness, spiritual purity and innocence. -    ,    ,    ,    ,    . My friends!  ! If you only knew what peace and rest descends on the one who with all his heart understands that Christ lived and died for us all, that he accompanies us daily and hourly, in light and in darkness, at dawn and at dusk, in order to support and strengthen us for the labors and cares that eternally stand before us.    ,       ,    ,        ,       ,     ,      ,         ,    . Yes, snares and traps await us at every step! ,         ! But how comforting is the consciousness that Christ is always with us, to advise us and help us, to encourage us, to heal our wounds and ease our torments!    ,     ,     ,  ,       ! What peace and contentment the good thought!        !

- Amen! - ! - the wife concluded solemnly. -   .

And the eldest daughter, Esther - her family called her Esta - feeling how important it was for them to attract the public's attention, echoed after her mother:     -    , - ,      ,    :

- Amen! - !

Clyde, the eldest boy, and the two younger children looked at the ground and only occasionally glanced at their father; ,  ,             ; Perhaps, they thought, everything he said was true and important, but still not as significant and attractive as many other things in life.  ,  , ,    ,    ,        ,     . They had already heard enough of all this, and their young and ardent minds craved more from life than these sermons on the street and in the mission.     ,          ,         .

Finally, after the second psalm, and after a short speech in which Mrs. Griffiths mentioned the mission they ran in the next street, and their service to the cause of Christ in general, the audience was treated to a third psalm and presented with tracts about the saving labors of the mission, while Asa Griffiths, the head of the family, collected some voluntary donations.          ,         ,    ,       ,            ,   ,  ,  -  . The organ was closed, the folding chair was folded up and handed to Clyde, the Bible and hymn books were collected by Mrs. Griffiths, and with the organ slung over the shoulder of Griffiths senior, the family set out for the mission.  ,      ,       , ,         -,    .

All this time Clyde told himself that he did not want to do this anymore, that he and his family were ridiculous and not like other people;      ,       ,            ; "street clowns," he would have said, if he could fully express his annoyance at being forced to participate in these performances. " " -   ,             . He would try never to take part in them again.        . Why did they drag him along with them?       ? This life was not for him.     . Other boys did not have to do such things.       . More determined than ever, he thought about rebellion, which would help him get rid of all this. ,  -,    ,        . Let his older sister walk the streets with an organ - she likes it.        , -   . His younger sister and brother are too young, they do not care.      ,   . But he  

"The public seemed to be a little more attentive than usual this evening," remarked Griffiths, walking beside his wife. - ,      ,  , -  ,    . The charm of the summer evening had a calming effect on him and made him interpret favourably the usual indifference of the passers-by.              .

- Yes, on Thursday only eighteen people took the brochures, and today twenty-seven. - ,       ,    .

The love of Christ will do its work, said the father, trying to encourage himself as much as his wife. -     , -  ,     ,   . Worldly pleasures and cares possess a great many people, but when sorrow visits them, some of the seeds now sown will bear fruit. -        , ,    ,       .

- I am sure of it. -    . This thought always supports me.     . Sorrow and the weight of sin will eventually force some to understand that their path is false.          ,    .

They turned into the narrow side street from which they had previously come, and, passing several houses, entered a yellow, one-story wooden building, the wide windows of which and the two panes of the front door were covered with light gray paint.      ,    , ,   ,      ,           - . Across both windows and the panels of the double door was written:         : "Gate of Hope. " . Dissident Mission.  . Prayer meetings Wednesday and Saturday from 8 to 10 o'clock in the evening.        8  10  . Sundays - at 11, 15 and 20 o'clock.   -  11, 15  20 . Doors open to all."    ". Below this inscription on each window were the words:         : "God is love," and below this, in smaller letters: "  ",    : "How long has it been since you wrote to your mother? "      ?" "

A small group entered the yellow, nondescript door and disappeared.         .



2

It may well be supposed that the family which has been so briefly introduced to the reader must have its own history, distinct from the others;   ,   ,     ,   ,   , ; and so it was in reality.     . This family was one of those mental and social anomalies - its motives and actions could only be understood by the most skilled psychologist, and then only with the help of a chemist and physiologist.          , -            ,         . Let us begin with Asa Griffiths - the head of the family.     -  . He was an unbalanced and not very gifted man - a typical product of his environment and religious ideas, incapable of independent thought, but receptive, and therefore very sensitive, and besides, devoid of any insight and practical sense.         -       ,   ,  ,     ,         . In fact, it was difficult to understand what his desires were and what, in fact, attracted him in life.  ,   ,     , ,    . His wife, as has already been said, was firmer in character and more energetic, but hardly possessed a more correct or more practical idea of life.  ,   ,     ,            .

The story of this man and his wife is of interest to us only insofar as it concerns their son, twelve-year-old Clyde Griffiths.           ,     ,   . More from his father than from his mother, this teenager inherited a certain sensitivity and romanticism;   ,   ,       ; at the same time, he was distinguished by an ardent imagination and a desire to understand life and constantly dreamed of how he would get ahead in life if he were lucky, about where he would go, what he would see and how differently he could live if everything were not like this, but like that.                ,      ,    ,  ,   ,      -   ,      ,  . Until the age of fifteen, Clyde was especially tormented (and then for a long time it was hard for him to remember) that the calling or, if you like, the profession of his parents was in the eyes of other people something pitiful and unworthy.       (         ),   ,  ,         -   . His parents preached on the streets and led a dissident mission in various cities - in Grand Rapids, Detroit, Milwaukee, Chicago, and recently in Kansas City;            -  -, , , ,      -; and everywhere around him - at least the boys and girls he met - looked with obvious contempt on both him and his brother and sisters - the children of such parents!   , -      ,   , -              -   ! More than once - to the displeasure of his father and mother, who never approved of such displays of character - he got into a fight with one of the boys.   -     ,       , -      -  . But always, defeated or victorious, he was clearly given to understand that others did not respect the work of his parents, considered their occupation pitiful and worthless.  ,   ,    ,       ,      . And he was constantly thinking about what he would do when he got the opportunity to live on his own.      ,   ,     .

Clyde's parents proved to be completely incapable of providing for the future of their children.          . They did not understand that each of the children needed to be given some practical or vocational knowledge;   ,       -    ; on the contrary, absorbed in one idea - to bring people the light of the gospel truth, they did not even think of arranging for the children to study in any one city. ,    -     ,         -  . They moved from place to place, often in the middle of the school year, in search of a wider field for their religious activity.      ,     ,         . Sometimes this activity did not bring in any income at all, and since Asa was not able to earn much working as a gardener or a salesman for novelties - the only two activities in which he knew something - at such times the family lived from hand to mouth, dressed in rags, and the children could not go to school.       ,         ,       , -       - , -      ,   ,       . But whatever the children themselves thought about this situation, Asa and his wife remained unwaveringly optimistic;          ,         ; at least they they assured themselves that they were preserving it, and continued to unwaveringly believe in God and his protection.   ,     ,   ,         .

The Griffiths family lived in the same place where the mission was located.     ,   . Both the apartment and the mission were gloomy enough to depress any young creature.       ,       . They occupied the entire ground floor of an old and unsightly frame house in that part of Kansas City that lies north of Independence Boulevard and west of Trust Avenue;              -,            -; the house stood on a short road called Bickel, leading to Missouri Avenue, a longer street, but equally unsightly.        ,   -, -  ,    . And the whole neighborhood gave off a very faint, but still not pleasant, spirit of the busy commercial life whose center had long since moved southwest of this area.      ,          ,      -   . The Griffiths mission was located about five blocks from the intersection where these enthusiasts preached in the open air twice a week.         ,             .

The other side of the house looked out onto the gloomy backyards of equally gloomy houses.            . From the street, a door led into a vast hall measuring forty by twenty-five feet:             : here were arranged in rows about sixty folding wooden chairs and in front of them a pulpit;             ; the walls were decorated with a map of the Holy Land of Palestine and about twenty sayings and texts printed on cardboard of approximately the same kind:                   :

"Wine is a deceiver; " - ; to drink is to fall into madness;  -    ; whoever is deceived is not wise."    -   ".

"Take up shield and armor and rise up to help me." "        ". Psalm 34, 2.  34, 2.

And what are you, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture? "   -  ,   ; You are men, and I am your God, says the Lord God.  - ,    ,   ". Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, 34, 31.   , 34, 31.

"O God, You know my folly, and my sins are not hidden from You." "    ,       ". Psalm 68:6.  68, 6.

"If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "           : 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; "  ", -   ; and nothing will be impossible for you."       ". Matthew 17:20.  , 17, 20.

"For the day of the Lord is near" Book of the Prophet Obadiah, 1, 15. "   "   , 1, 15.

"The wicked have no future." "   ". Proverbs 24:20. , 24, 20.

Do not look at wine when it is red It bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. "   ,     ,    ,  ". Proverbs 23:31-32. , 23, 31-32.

These all-powerful spells were hung on the dirty walls like silver and gold tablets.        ,     .

The rest of the apartment was a complex and ingenious combination of rooms and small rooms;            ; there were three small bedrooms, a living room with windows overlooking the back yard and the wooden fences of other similar yards, then a kitchen and dining room, exactly ten feet square, and a small storeroom where the mission property was stored:     , ,            ,  ,    ,      ,   ,     : tracts, hymn books, chests, boxes and all sorts of other things that might not be needed every day, but were of some value in the eyes of the family. ,  , ,     ,      ,       . This storeroom adjoined directly to the hall where prayer meetings were held, and here Mr. and Mrs. Griffiths retired for reflection and prayer before the sermon, or after it, or in those cases when they needed to consult about something.  -    ,    ,              ,   ,    ,      - .

Often Clyde and his sisters and younger brother would see their mother or father, or both, admonishing some lost or half-repentant soul who had come to ask advice or help (usually help).  ,      ,  ,  ,      -    ,      ( ). And here, in times of greatest financial difficulty, their father and mother would sit and ponder, or, as Asa Griffiths sometimes said helplessly, pray to God to show them a way out.               ,      ,       . As Clyde later came to think, this did little to help them find a way out.     ,      .

And everything around was so gloomy and dismal that Clyde began to hate the very thought of living there any longer, and even more hateful - to be engaged in a business whose servants had to constantly resort to someone for help, to eternally pray and beg for handouts.        ,        ,     ,    -  ,       -  ,     .




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