''George's Mother'' is a

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

by American novelist

Stephen Crane Stephen Crane (November 1, 1871 – June 5, 1900) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism an ...

, first published in 1896. The novella is a

companion piece A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to Crane's earlier novella '' Maggie: A Girl of the Streets'', and the title character of that work makes a brief appearance.

Background

Stephen Crane began writing ''George's Mother'' in 1893 and finished it in November 1894. However, because its companion novella, ''Maggie: A Girl of the Streets'' did poorly commercially, he did not submit it for publication until 1896. Its original title was ''A Woman Without Weapons.'' After Crane finished ''George's Mother'', he wrote to fellow writer

Hamlin Garland Hannibal Hamlin Garland (September 14, 1860 – March 4, 1940) was an American novelist, poet, essayist, short story writer, Georgist, and psychical researcher. He is best known for his fiction involving hard-working Midwestern farmers. Biogr ...

, triumphantly: "I have just completed a New York book that leaves ''Maggie'' at the post. It is my best thing.". Critics of the time, however, were less impressed;

Harry Thurston Peck Harry Thurston Peck (November 24, 1856 – March 23, 1914) was an American classical scholar, author, editor, historian and critic. Biography Peck was born in Stamford, Connecticut. He was educated in private schools and at Columbia College, gr ...

wrote that Crane should not "ask us to accept his old bones and junk as virgin gold." The book was also criticized, like ''Maggie'', for its frank depictions of vice; the sentence "for he had known women of the city's painted legions" was removed from a draft. One champion of the book, however, was Crane's mentor

William Dean Howells William Dean Howells ( ; March 1, 1837 – May 11, 1920) was an American Realism (arts), realist novelist, literary critic, playwright, and diplomat, nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters". He was particularly known for his tenure as editor of ...

, who praised what he called its "mastery" and "extraordinary insight." The ''Student Companion to Stephen Crane'' argues that the character of George's mother was based on Crane's own mother, a member of the

Women's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program that "linked the religious and the secular through concerted and far ...

, and that George may have been modeled on Crane's

alcoholic Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

brother of the same name.

Plot

''George's Mother'' details the life of George Kelcey and his mother, who live in the same lower

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

tenement house A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...

as Maggie from ''Maggie: A Girl of the Streets.'' George is an immature man inclined toward melodrama, and his mother constantly berates him in an attempt to make him change his ways, telling him to get a job and go to church. George is infatuated with Maggie, but when Maggie takes up with another man, he turns to drinking heavily. At a party, George and his drinking buddies get into an altercation, and his friends abandon him. He joins a local gang, but the gang also abandons him when he visits his dying mother instead of joining a fight with them. The story ends with George's mother hallucinating and screaming with George present.

References

Novels by Stephen Crane 1896 American novels Edward Arnold books {{1890s-novel-stub