McTeague · Chapter
Chapter IX explained
Trina and McTeague prepare for their wedding, spending her lottery winnings on household items.
What happens
Trina and McTeague prepare for their wedding, spending her lottery winnings on household items. Trina is fiercely protective of her five thousand dollars, reluctantly parting with two hundred. McTeague tells Trina about Marcus's attack, and she is outraged. Marcus and McTeague reconcile but Marcus refuses to be best man; Old Grannis takes the role. The wedding is quiet, with a small group of guests. After the ceremony, a festive supper ensues. That night, Trina confesses fear of McTeague, but he asserts his possession, and she yields to him.
Themes in this chapter
Greed and Avarice
Trina's fierce attachment to her five thousand dollars and her reluctance to spend any of it, even for her wedding, illustrates the theme of avarice.
Marriage and Domesticity
The chapter centers on the wedding preparations, the ceremony, and the beginning of married life, highlighting the domestic sphere and the transition to a new household.
Obsession and Possession
McTeague's joy of possession and his forceful assertion of ownership over Trina on their wedding night reflect the theme of obsession and possession.
Characters to notice
- Trina Sieppe
Obsessed with protecting her lottery winnings; reluctantly spends two hundred dollars on the household; marries McTeague; feels fear and then submission on their wedding night.
- McTeague
Nervous before the wedding; tells Trina about Marcus's attack; feels immense joy of possession after marriage; kisses Trina forcefully.
- Marcus Schouler
Reconciled with McTeague but refuses to be best man; proposes the bride's health at the wedding supper; kisses Trina on the forehead.
- Old Grannis
Acts as best man; reflects on marriage as a noble institution; sits beside Miss Baker at supper, feeling trepidation.
- Miss Baker
Attends the wedding; passes Old Grannis in the hall in constrained silence; sits near him at supper.
- Mr. Sieppe
Decides not to dower Trina further due to his own family's expenses; commands the table at supper.
Key passages
“Before she could be induced to part with two hundred dollars of it, more than one scene had been enacted between her and her parents.”
Trina had multiple arguments with her parents before she agreed to spend two hundred dollars of her lottery winnings.
Highlights Trina's extreme reluctance to spend her money.
“Was not the whole affair cursory, superficial? It was disappointing.”
Trina felt the wedding ceremony was too brief and lacked depth, leaving her unsatisfied.
Reflects Trina's sense of anticlimax after the wedding.
“An immense joy seized upon him—the joy of possession. Trina was his very own now.”
McTeague felt overwhelming happiness at owning Trina, seeing her as his property.
Emphasizes McTeague's possessive instincts.