Throughout the novel, Norris constantly portrays McTeague as a none-too-bright, slavish, uncommunicative brute. These character traits are more than a result of poor education or a poor understanding of the world--they are actually produced by the way McTeague views his environment. He only understands things in terms of his brutish nature, and he has a strict worldview that allows few deviations. Things like currency and directional orientation confuse him, such as in the theatre episode in which McTeague must organize a show and dinner for the Sieppe family. While he tries to buy tickets, “…McTeague got into wrong entrances; was sent from one wicket to another; was bewildered, confused; misunderstood directions” (74). This menial task is confusing for him because it deviates from his normal schedule of: eat, smoke, sleep, and play the concertina (2).
McTeague also stumbles sluggishly in his conversation, especially when he speaks with Marcus or Trina. His speech is marked with repetition of what he hears, stammering of phrases, uneasiness of answering, and confusion of any abstract thought. After hearing a political rant by Marcus, McTeague can only reply with a lone phrase or word he hears: “Yes, yes, that’s it—self-control—that’s the word” (10). Oddly, later in the novel, he is enraptured by the sound of the lilting language used by the comedy performers in the theatre. He understands almost none of what they’re saying, but he’s entertained nonetheless, like a dog listening to his master’s commands.
The novel recalls Darwin at several points, but one salient example that stood out to me was when McTeague is lodged in Sieppe’s house, in Trina’s room. His sense of smell is remarkably keen in these moments, as he picks up the pungent aroma of Trina’s perfume on her clothes. His sense of smell is directly connected to his memory faculties. The scent of Trina immediately takes McTeague back to when he first met her in his office, in her black dress. These moments are some of the most evocative in the novel, as McTeague is filled with such a primal delight as smelling the female pheromones. Darwin remarks in The Descent of Man that the sense of smell in his so-called savages is more developed than that of the cultured man (187). McTeague absolutely displays evidence of being more savage than the other characters.
It’s strange, though, that McTeague works as a dentist, a profession that requires extensive knowledge and practice. One would think he would be unqualified for such a job. Perhaps he has learned the trade through rote memorization and muscle memory, for the sheer amount of abstract knowledge required of him is fundamentally outside his mental powers. There must be something savagely satisfying in having agency over human teeth, which are used for the most primal survival instincts—eating.
Think also of the importance teeth have for Darwin--the reference to the canines in the first chapters of "Descent." Regarding the profession of the dentist, the novel quite accurately catches a transition in dentistry, which was for the most part of the nineteenth century a business one learned by apprenticing with someone who had the requisite experience. It also gives Norris the chance to set up McTeague for failure--viz. his lack of understanding when it comes to more complicated medical issues. Very good post.
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