by Irene Kovalyova
The Genius remains Dreiser’s most autobiographical work which the author himself characterized as “cruel but taken from life.” It was a great sensation in its time and caused Dreiser’s literary persecution because of the problems it disclosed.
The Genius remains Dreiser’s most autobiographical work which the author himself characterized as “cruel but taken from life.” It was a great sensation in its time and caused Dreiser’s literary persecution because of the problems it disclosed.
The Genius is a story of Eugene Witla, a gifted young man from a provincial town who decides to go to Chicago to fulfill his dream of becoming an artist. The novel divided into three parts, Youth, Struggle and Revolt, will tell you about his artistic and moral explorations. You will also learn of Eugene’s great passion (except for his passion for art) which both the author and his protagonist were obsessed with and which ruined the lives of their beloved.
The story begins in 1884 when Eugene is just a child and when it comes to the end he is a middle-aged man who has seen and experienced a lot. Dreiser lifts the veil of the artistic bohemian life which couldn’t but tempt the young gifted artist from a provincial town. In Chicago Eugene sees a new and unknown life. He hears unusual judgements and opinions about art, business, marriage, love, relationships and values. The young man falls under the influence of all this and starts his artistic and moral explorations which will take him so far that in the end you will hardly recognize the naïve young boy you first met at the beginning of the novel.
Dreiser also shows what obstacles a man might meet on the way to his or her dream and how important it is to believe in yourself and work hard.
Dreiser wrote the following about the novel’s background: “I didn’t try to portray a definite artist when I was writing the novel but the combination of circumstances in my life and in other people’s lives which interested and excited me”.
The novel fell under the influence of criticism even before it was published. He finished the book in 1911 but the editors were frightened by the plot and claimed the story couldn’t captivate the audience and it didn’t deserve being published. That made Dreiser rewrite The Genius and make serious changes. While rewriting the work Dreiser came to the conclusion that the happy ending of the first variant absolutely contradicted everything he saw every day. So, the ending was changed as well.
But despite all those changes The Genius was given a very hostile reception when it was finally published in 1915. For example, the New York Times wrote: “Once more Dreiser had chosen an abnormal man for the book and had written an abnormally long novel about him... It’s too realistic, oppressive and unpleasant”.
The next hard blow that followed those hostile reviews was the banning of The Genius by the Society for the Prevention of Vice in 1916. The Society threatened legal action and its influence was so strong that editors fearing any charges had to recall all the copies from book stores. All that made Dreiser scared for the future of his novel and the writer took them secretly from the publishing house to the neighbouring state.
The American Writers League stood up for Theodore Dreiser and his novel. They sent out lots of letters to writers and journalists all over the world asking them to support Dreiser. Such prominent writers as Jack London, Sinclair Lewis, Jack Reed and Herbert Wells signed an Authors’ League petition on behalf of The Genius.
Thus, the novel which sold only 8,000 copies when it was first published in 1915, with the support of the most influential writers managed to survive and receive broad distribution selling 40,000 copies in 1923.
The story begins in 1884 when Eugene is just a child and when it comes to the end he is a middle-aged man who has seen and experienced a lot. Dreiser lifts the veil of the artistic bohemian life which couldn’t but tempt the young gifted artist from a provincial town. In Chicago Eugene sees a new and unknown life. He hears unusual judgements and opinions about art, business, marriage, love, relationships and values. The young man falls under the influence of all this and starts his artistic and moral explorations which will take him so far that in the end you will hardly recognize the naïve young boy you first met at the beginning of the novel.
Dreiser also shows what obstacles a man might meet on the way to his or her dream and how important it is to believe in yourself and work hard.
Dreiser wrote the following about the novel’s background: “I didn’t try to portray a definite artist when I was writing the novel but the combination of circumstances in my life and in other people’s lives which interested and excited me”.
The novel fell under the influence of criticism even before it was published. He finished the book in 1911 but the editors were frightened by the plot and claimed the story couldn’t captivate the audience and it didn’t deserve being published. That made Dreiser rewrite The Genius and make serious changes. While rewriting the work Dreiser came to the conclusion that the happy ending of the first variant absolutely contradicted everything he saw every day. So, the ending was changed as well.
But despite all those changes The Genius was given a very hostile reception when it was finally published in 1915. For example, the New York Times wrote: “Once more Dreiser had chosen an abnormal man for the book and had written an abnormally long novel about him... It’s too realistic, oppressive and unpleasant”.
The next hard blow that followed those hostile reviews was the banning of The Genius by the Society for the Prevention of Vice in 1916. The Society threatened legal action and its influence was so strong that editors fearing any charges had to recall all the copies from book stores. All that made Dreiser scared for the future of his novel and the writer took them secretly from the publishing house to the neighbouring state.
The American Writers League stood up for Theodore Dreiser and his novel. They sent out lots of letters to writers and journalists all over the world asking them to support Dreiser. Such prominent writers as Jack London, Sinclair Lewis, Jack Reed and Herbert Wells signed an Authors’ League petition on behalf of The Genius.
Thus, the novel which sold only 8,000 copies when it was first published in 1915, with the support of the most influential writers managed to survive and receive broad distribution selling 40,000 copies in 1923.
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