In the powerful novella “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets,” Stephen Crane builds a narrative around a young girl working to escape the slums. A truly emergent modernist piece, Crane’s writing explores the intertwining of naturalism and gender within a social context. “Maggie,” one of Crane’s mid-life pieces, characterizes the historically contextual discussion of naturalism and the influence of gender in social circles. His narrative uses perceptions and the anagnorisis--the early implementation of the epiphany--to present both issues through the world of the slums.

Naturalism is an undeniable quality throughout all of Crane’s works but is refined in this novella. A key relationship in naturalism is the debate of nature versus nurture, the tug of war that argues which aspect of society and environment determines temperaments and fate. Crane’s choice of the slums of a big city is critical to the discussion of nature versus nurture. In contrast to naturalism’s claim that our physical environment regulates the outcomes of human life, one must believe that we have the ability to overcome our circumstances. Crane denies any ability to refuse the environment we are born into and instead argues that even in light of realizing the desperation of our situation, we are bound to the social and economic stances we are born into.

Pairing with the naturalistic views on societal pressures, Crane defines gender roles that define the abilities of men and women to exist within certain spaces. His contrasts of irrational and romantic women to masculine and knightly men raise questions of agency and, again, the ability to step out of one’s innate social status. Descriptions of women within their roles beauty and stories of men consistently bending to their carnal desires of flesh--either by sex or fighting--shows the difference in the power dynamic between the two gender roles. True to his historical context, Crane’s misogynistic tendencies of societal gender roles are evident throughout the text.

“Maggie” presents two drastically women throughout the novella, Maggie and her mother. While other women are occasionally seen, Maggie and her mother’s characteristics become cornerstones for the underlying discussion of female temperments. Women in the novella are consistently characterized as irrational, creatures forced to bend their wills to the biological desires of romance and hope. For Maggie’s mother, her lack of agency and ability to escape her social class and stance could be considered the reason for her continued frustrations and drunken stupors. Her reactions, which could be labeled as irrational at best, contrast Maggie’s youthful desire for hope and a romantic savior from her social hell.

Maggie’s projections of a knightly hero rescuing her from her status are never defined. The lack of clarification suggests that Crane believed women to biologically engrained with visions of romance. Therefore, should women’s biological desire be to have a heroic romance that elevates social status, Maggie’s mother’s actions seem fair in response to her failure in achieving these goals. Maggie’s demise and stoop to prostitution even further prove the desperation in the inability to rise above gender statuses.

Maggie’s fallback onto her presumed biological instincts is first explicit in her interaction with Pete and the projections of her romantic desires onto him. As she waits for his return to see her, we are given insight into her irrational romances through a layer of irony: “She spent some of her week’s pay in the purchase of flowered cretonne for a lambrequin. She made it with infinite care…” (pg 146). The lambrequin, a symbol of medieval knighthood and embellishment from a lady, creates the irony that she, a girl from the slums, would never have the education necessary to understand the symbolic nature of a lambrequin. However, Crane’s use of this symbol of affection furthers the narrative of women being born with innate desires of heroic men changing their status in life.

In contrast to the structures of feminine social pressures, Crane introduces the power men have within the social realm and their own desires. Jimmie and Pete are prime examples of the characteristic defined by Crane’s portrayal of masculinity: carnal desire. Shown through the dichotomy of physical power within sex and physical fights, these men reveal the roles and influences of masculinity within their culture. For example, Pete’s initial reaction to Maggie is purely sexual and based on her beauty: “Say, Mag, I’m stuck on yer shape. It’s outa sight…” (pg 144). He then goes on to notice her reaction to his focus on her beauty and uses his power to gain more of her interest. His choice to use the way Maggie looks to boost his ego and pleasure comes from his physical and sexual desires. Maggie sees him as an opportunity to gain social status and agency, but Pete sees her as an opportunity to maintain his social power and masculine dominance through her dependence on him.

While Pete represents the sexual desires associated with masculinity, Jimmie displays the physical domination that defines the social roles of men. Two fundamental scenes supporting Jimmie’s innate desire for physical dominance are his fight with the other little boy at the beginning and his fight with Pete at the bar. In both cases, he is not necessarily given a reason to fight beyond proving control over his opponents. Jimmie’s fight with Pete is described as barbaric and purely carnal, even animalistic: “The glare of a panther came into Pete’s eyes….They bristled like three roosters” (pg 163). As Pete attempts to diffuse the situation, Jimmie’s instincts continue to rear, leading to an all-out brawl. His inability to ignore the demand for power through physicality is key to the picture Crane paints of masculinity.

Crane also intertwines the discussion of gender into the larger theme of naturalism throughout “Maggie.” Rooted in the fundamental belief that one’s environment determines their future, Crane supports throughout the novella that Maggie is unable to rise above her social status both through her lack of agency as a woman but also through her delusions--set on by her environment--and her inability to change her status. Beginning with her first outing with Pete, clues point towards her delusional view of his ability to rescue her and bring her up to a higher social status. By her initial perception of what can be assumed as the same bar throughout the story, the beauty and light of the scene stand out. Her focus on Pete shows that his status as both a man and as a higher social class create her fantasy. “Maggie perceived that Pete brought forth all his elegance and all his knowledge of high-class customs for her benefit” (pg 148). Maggie projects her assumptions of Pete’s power to save her onto both him and onto the bar itself. As the descriptions of the bar degrade throughout the story, so does Maggie’s belief that Pete will be her savior and answer to escaping her environment.

In the final description of the bar (pg 171), it is clear that Maggie has realized the lack of romance to it all, which sets the stage for her anagnorisis. While the scene between Maggie, Helen, the other gentleman, and Pete may be our epiphanic moment of her lost cause to escape as readers, Maggie has yet to discover the pure delusion behind her trust in Pete. Within this scene, many moments hint at the false relationship between the couple, including “The air of spaniel-like dependence had been magnified and showed its direct effect in the peculiar off-handedness and ease of Pete’s ways toward her” (pg 171). As the scene unfolds, we become aware of the only moment where a woman has agency within the story: Helen’s power over Pete. The interaction may hint at why Maggie later turns to prostitution after Pete’s rejection as this is the only moment where she sees a woman with any personal social power.

Maggie’s anagnorisis comes only pages later when she confronts Pete, nailing her coffin and dooming her to stay within the cyclical environment she tried so desperately to escape. Just preceding their interaction is a moment between Jimmie and a girl he has had relations with; both his girl and Maggie have the same plea to their man: “yehs told me ye’d--” (pg 176) and “yehs tol’ me--” (pg 180). Both women are thrown to the side and left to struggle within their environments. Maggie realizes within her interaction that she was foolish to believe that Pete would be her savior, and instead falls into despair at the thought of having no other available options. Beyond her delusion, she now becomes aware that she no longer has Pete nor her family, and so to survive, choose prostitution in the face of no other choices that give her any semblance of self or agency.

Throughout “Maggie,” Crane raises questions of social status and environmental influences. A contemporary piece, many of his beliefs may be challenged within our era. However, his novella dives deep into the experiences of low social classes, particularly in the contrasting light of men and women’s roles. A fascinating work, Crane leaves the debate for naturalism and its relationship to socially pressured gender roles woven throughout the story. 

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