The purpose of this study is to determine what effect six real women in Jack London's life had upon the development of fictional women found in thirty-eight of London's short stories. The six women were Flora Wellman London, Bess Maddern London, Charmian Kittredge London, Anna Strunsky, Mabel Applegarth, and Ina Coolbrith. The study will reveal previously unpublished information about these women based on letters, interviews with people who knew them, and previously uncited newspaper and magazine articles. It will also offer, in most cases, the first chronologically organized in-depth biographical profiles ever recorded of these women. The major attributes of these women were scrutinized, their behavior patterns and physical appearances were chronicled, and their relations both with and independent of Jack London were analyzed. The effect the above mentioned six women had on Jack London was that they significantly helped cause him to portray women in a particular (and unusual) way.Thirty-eight of London's short stories which feature female protagonists were analyzed. These fictional females were studied for attributes, behavior patterns, and appearances. The final step was to correlate the attributes and characteristics of the fictional women to those of the real women.An overview of the entire study reveals three key points: (1) although usually portrayed as very masculine and independent, Jack London was a person whose philosophies, educational development, and political viewpoints were greatly influenced by the six women focused upon in this study; (2) strong evidence suggests that twenty-eight of the fictional women in the thirty-eight short stories which featured major female protagonists were modeled upon either the six real women focused upon in this study or upon other real women (Freda Moloof, Mrs. Hans Nelson whom London knew during his lifetime; and (3) although the general critical opinion regarding London's failure to create a series of believable fictional women is still valid, it is not absolute; some of the women whom London created in his short stories were modeled upon real women in his life, and their reflected real characteristics are vivid enough to make them powerful, three-dimensional, believable characters.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/176747 |
| Date | January 1981 |
| Creators | Hensley, Dennis E. |
| Contributors | Koontz, Thomas W. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | vii, 274 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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