| Chapter 1: | The Femme Fatale in American Naturalism: An Introduction |
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All four victims decide to reverse their position from victim to victimizer. All four victims enjoy temporary victory. But, alas, all four victims do not enjoy perpetual victory.
Conder, who calls this type of character in American naturalism “the free-will determinist,” poses an important question. Can free will and determinism co-exist? Which factor will eventually overcome the other, free will or determinism?
A close examination of the ending of each of the novels discussed assists in providing answers to such questions. In Frank Norris’ McTeague, Trina Sieppe is brutally murdered by her husband. The murder signifies the defeat of Trina and asserts that biological determinism is stronger than free will. On the other hand, Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening swims toward the open sea, allowing the environment to take full command of her life. Paradoxically, because she would not let heredity and environment control her, she decides to end her life. The ambiguous ending stems from the ambiguity from which the free will determinist is created. Caroline Meeber in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie rocks herself in the rocking chair, thinking of how empty and fruitless her life is now after she has acquired wealth and fame. She ends up as a free agent in control of her life, yet she feels that her life has no meaning at this point without being determined and controlled. Finally, Helga Crane in Nella Larsen’s Quicksand ends up entrapped in marriage and childbearing without the remotest possibility of ever getting back the freedom she enjoyed before being married. Ironically, she had believed that marriage would provide her with the freedom she had been looking for all along. Although each of the four novels ends differently, they all depict the female protagonists struggling in the ambiguity created by themselves for wanting to be free agents by being femmes fatales yet being controlled by their surrounding environment.