Old Rogaum and His Theresa
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| "Old Rogaum and His Theresa" | |
| Author | Theodore Dreiser |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Short story |
| Published in | Reedy's Mirror |
| Publication type | Periodical |
| Media type | Print (Magazine) |
| Publication date | December 12, 1901 |
Old Rogaum and His Theresa is a short story written by Theodore Dreiser. It was originally published in Reedy's Mirror on December 12, 1901 under the title of Butcher Rogaum's Door. With this short story, Dreiser begins to move from allegory to realism dealing with issues including sexual behavior, city life, immigrant struggles, and the conflicts between children and their parents.
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[edit] Plot summary
Mr. Rogaum is a German immigrant butcher who lives with his family above his meat market in lower Manhattan. There are two doors which are separated by a small porch that lead into the Rogaums' home and business. The first door is always unlocked, which allows travlers to sleep during the night on the Rogaums' porch. Officer Maguire always tells Mr. Rogaum to lock this door, but Mr. Rogaum never does. Theresa Rogaum, old Rogaum's daughter, is almost eighteen years old, and she is attracted to the city lights and life. Each night, Theresa stays out later and later talking to her friends and receiving the attention of young men, including Connie Almerting and George Goujon who are considered womanizers. Each night at 9:00pm, though, old Rogaum yells in his thick German accent for Theresa to come home or he would lock her out. Each night it would anger old Rogaum to call his daughter and have to wait so long for her to listen. Theresa hated she had to be home by 9:00pm and live by her father's rules. One June evening, the young Almerting convinced her that old Rogaum would not lock her out, so she stayed out later than usual. When she did go home, the first door was unlocked, but the second was not. Theresa tried knocking on the door, but old Rogaum refused to open it even though his wife was trying to convince him otherwise. After knocking for a few minutes, Theresa decided she would not let her father's stubbornness to get the best of her, so she first sits on her porch, and then decides to walk around with Connie Almerting for a while to scare her parents. Around 11:00pm old Rogaum went downstairs to find Theresa, when she was not on the street they lived, he began to worry and searched the rest of the neighboorhood. When he could no find her, he went home thinking she was already there. As old Rogaum came upon his street he saw a figure lying on his porch, and he ran to it. It was not Theresa but another woman who looked like old Rogaum's daughter. Officer Maguire arrived, realized the woman had taken acid, took milk from a passing milk wagon, and had the young woman drink the entire bottle of milk. An ambulance than arrived to take the young woman to the hospital. The Rogaums than tell Officer Maguire and Officer Delahanty that Theresa is missing, and the Officers assure the Rogaums they will look for her. First, though, the Officers went to Adele's which is where the young woman on the step had come from. While speaking to Adele, she said the young woman was Emily, and she was twenty-one. Her parents had locked her out one night so she went to Adele's. Emily's lover had left her and so she was depressed and drank poison. After hearing this, the Officers went back to the Rogaums' to see if Theresa was home. When Mrs. Rogaum replied 'no', Officer Maguire told him the story of the young woman who had an hour before been lying on their doorstep. Officer Maguire returned to the station and put out a call to find Theresa and the young Almerting. They were found on a bench in park where Almerting was trying to convince Theresa to stay with him. Old Rogaum came and took his daughter home. He and Mrs. Rogaum were so happy to see her, they could not think of punishing her.
[edit] Character background
The characters in Old Rogaum and His Theresa are created in resemblance of Dreiser's family. John Paul Dreiser, Theodore Dreiser's father, was a German immigrant and the model for old Rogaum. Theresa's love of the city matches Theodore's love and experiences of a large city. The experience of Theresa going off with the young man Almerting is the same as Theodore's sisters', Sylvia and Emma, when they went off with some young men in Warsaw, Indiana. Even old Rogaum's threat of locking Theresa out was the same as John Paul threatening to lock out Emma and Sylvia.
[edit] Major themes
Major themes of this story deal with social realism. The foremost social theme is the dialogue of old Rogaum and his wife. Both Mr. and Mrs. Rogaum are German immigrants and speak with heavy German accents and at times using German words and grammar. In contrast to her parents, Theresa, who has lived in America her entire life, speaks with no German accent, and speaks with almost perfect English.
Another major theme in this story is the relationship between parents and their children. Old Rogaum is a conservative immigrant while his young daughter is growing up and wants to enjoy the city life. Even after Theresa is home safe with her parents, the issue between her and her parents about staying out later is not resolved.
The last major theme is as Theresa is growing older, she is feeling more sexual desires. In this story, it is shown the relationship she has with Connie Almerting and how it progresses. Also, during the few hours they spend together the night old Rogaum locks her out, the young Almerting is trying to convince Theresa to stay with him and act upon those sexual desires.
[edit] Compostition and publication
Encouraged by his friend Aruther Henry, Dreiser wrote four short stories in the summer of 1899, one of which is Old Rogaum and His Theresa. These short stories officially began his career as a writer. Butcher Rogaum's Door was published in Reedy's Mirror in 1901.
In 1918, the title was changed to Old Rogaum and His Theresa and was published in Free and Other Stories. This newly published book was Dreiser's first volume of short stories, which also included the other three stories he had written during the summer of 1899.
[edit] Sources
Cain, William E. American Literature Vol. 2. New York: Penguin Academics.
Lingeman, Richard.Theodore Dreiser: At the Gates of the City, 1871-1907New York: Putnam, 1986.
"Theodore Dreiser," in Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 102: American Short-Story Writers, 1910-1945, Second Series. A Bruccoli Clark Layman Book. Edited by Bobby Ellen Kimbel, Pennsylvania State University, Ogontz Campus. The Gale Group, 1991, pp. 48-69.
