The mistress of the great house

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The Mistress of the Big House ( English original title The Little Lady of the Big House ) is a 1916 novel by the American writer Jack London (1876-1916).

main characters

Dick Forrest : The model of a good organizer and leader who is versatile, but not specially educated and equipped with a strong will, is the prototype of a modern 'workaholic' person. His everyday life is clearly structured, which inevitably means that the individual is neglected.

Graham Evan : A well-traveled adventurer who had to endure many life and death battles on the different continents. His experiences shaped him and made him the epitome of a noble person. He is a distant friend of Dick, who has come to know and appreciate him on his travels. Because of his passion he is ready to sacrifice everything material for “true love”.

Paula Forrest : She is the epitome of the 'higher woman'. Independent, courageous and bold, and at the same time also with a beautiful appearance, she represents a male dream image, so to speak.

content

The protagonists of the melodramatic story are Dick Forrest and the heroine, the "mistress of the great house". First of all, Dick Forrest is introduced and told about the turmoil of a typical working day for him. The various characters in the novel appear at the edge, initially with the exception of the eponymous heroine.

Dick's life story is straightforward, a story of continued success. His life no longer knows hardships and adventures, but is a management of what has been acquired and a life in abundance. Paula, Dick Forrest's wife and 'Mistress of the Big House', feels neglected by her husband. It has become a matter of course for him. Life in the big house seems to go on forever in the same way.

There is always coming and going in the Big House, with many guests visiting the rich couple. Male guests fall in love again and again - unsuccessfully - with Paula, and what started as an easy game gradually becomes frivolous and unattractive. The adventurer Graham comes to the house as a guest and immediately feels magically drawn to Dick's wife. Graham's deep love for Paula emerges from the initial fluff, which Paula does not reciprocate at first. Over time, however, she becomes more and more attracted to him. It seems as if Paula, tired of her monotonous marriage, had just been waiting for a man like Graham. Dick notices what is going on between the two of them, but does nothing in his pride, because both spouses have one thing in common: a strange form of pride, which consists of challenging destiny.

Paula's love for Graham soon becomes a consuming passion. Although the two only exchange a kiss, denying fulfillment increases their passion. Paula enjoys her passion and a brief period of bliss knowing that she is loved by two great men. When Dick witnesses a passionate love scene between the two, he plans to commit suicide for reasons of individual morality. But Paula, who is torn between the two men, gets ahead of him and commits suicide. Both men stand with her when she dies.

expenditure

  • The mistress of the great house . Translation by Erwin Magnus. Universitas Deutsche Verlags-AG, Berlin 1929. [German first edition]
  • The mistress of the great house. DTV Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 1985, ISBN 3423013575 .