The Jungle · Chapter
Chapter XIX explained
Jurgis, recently released from jail, rushes to find a midwife for Ona, who is dying in childbirth.
What happens
Jurgis, recently released from jail, rushes to find a midwife for Ona, who is dying in childbirth. He has only a dollar and a quarter, and Madame Haupt refuses to help for less than five dollars. After being turned away, Jurgis seeks warmth and food at a saloon, where the keeper lets him stay overnight in the cellar. He returns home to find Ona has died, along with the baby. Overcome with grief, he collapses beside her body.
Themes in this chapter
Poverty and Survival
Jurgis's inability to pay for a midwife and his desperate search for warmth and food highlight the brutal struggle for survival among the working poor.
Health and Safety Hazards
Ona's death in childbirth, exacerbated by poverty and lack of medical care, underscores the deadly health risks faced by immigrant women.
Corruption and Injustice
Madame Haupt's exploitation of Jurgis's desperation and the saloon-keeper's conditional charity reflect systemic corruption and injustice in Packingtown.
Characters to notice
- Jurgis Rudkus
Desperate and impoverished, Jurgis tries to hire a midwife for Ona but fails due to lack of money. He spends the night in a saloon cellar and returns to find Ona dead.
- Ona Rudkus
Dies in childbirth shortly after Jurgis returns home. She is described as shrunken, pale, and barely conscious before passing away.
- Madame Haupt
A greedy, filthy midwife who refuses to help Ona unless Jurgis pays at least five dollars, despite his desperate pleas.
- Aniele Jukniene
Forces Jurgis to leave the house during Ona's labor, telling him to stay away all night.
- Marija Berczynskas
Helps push Jurgis out of the house during Ona's labor.
- Elzbieta Rudkus
Found crouched in a corner, moaning and wailing, after Ona's death.
Key passages
““My wife!” he panted. “Come quickly!””
Jurgis urgently begs Madame Haupt to come help his dying wife.
Shows Jurgis's desperation and the immediacy of Ona's crisis.
““I vould not put on my hat for a dollar und a quarter,” she said.”
Madame Haupt refuses to work for such a small fee.
Highlights the mercenary nature of the midwife and the devaluation of life in poverty.
““She is young, und she might haf got over it, und been vell und strong, if she been treated right. She fight hard, dot girl—she is not yet quite dead.””
Madame Haupt blames Jurgis for Ona's condition, saying she could have survived with proper care.
Reveals the midwife's callousness and the preventable nature of Ona's death.
““Dead! dead! And she was only a girl, she was barely eighteen! Her life had hardly begun—and here she lay murdered—mangled, tortured to death!””
Jurgis laments Ona's young age and the brutal circumstances of her death.
Emphasizes the tragedy of Ona's early death and the systemic violence of poverty.