Assignment #5 ENTC 312
Saratoga Trunk by Edna Ferber, published in 1941 achieved
bestseller status soon after it was released, and it remains a
great read today. The story of a young New Orleans girls brought
up in Paris, who get swept off her feet by a handsome rough Texan
, simply can't be denied greatness. The pattern in which Ferber
chose to write Saratoga Trunk in is perhaps one of the elements
that made the book what it is. Ferber opened the book by telling
us that the Clio Dulaine and Clint Maroon end up married and
wealthy, however, what makes us read on is that Ferber sets us up
to hear about all the adventures that the two encountered before
ending up together and in love. This pattern was vital to the
success of this novel only because it gave the reader the
opportunity to experience each event, each obstacle, and feel as
though they were there going through all the excitement. I think
that there are three elements that aided in Ferber achieving
bestseller status with Saratoga Trunk The first being that it
contained elements of her own life within it, but only enough as
to make the main character strong, it brought hope for women and
men in terms of achieving a good financially secure lifestyle,
and lastly, it provided women of the 1940's with a view of the
world as their own. It gave them the knowledge to challenge
social norms, go after what they want, and to be independent.
While Edna Ferber never married in her lifetime she certainly had
romantic relations with a few men whom she was very close with
(Literary Dictionary of Biography). Ferber maintained a strong
personality and work ethic, which she mastered very early on
while helping her father, run his general store. Ferber, received
a job as a reporter straight out of high school and although she
was fired soon thereafter she was relentless and sought out
another job in her same field. These traits are eminent in Clio
Dulaine, Ferber's main character in Saratoga Trunk. Clio is proud
, strong mined, bold, and willing to work hard to get what she
wants. Although I do not think that Clio is a modified Ferber, I
do feel that Ferber's characteristics are prominent in her as
well as most of her other main female characters. Sprung from two
different backgrounds but maintaining the same goals are a twist
that unlatches the total parallel of Ferber and Dulaine. Ferber
came from a not so well off Jewish family and Dulaine came from a
fairly wealthy family full of lineage. The most powerful link
between the two however, is their severe need to remain powerful
over men. Dulaine, after a grand fight against her emotions and
everyone around here ends up marrying, however it wasn't until
she really had to. Ferber on the other hand never married, but
Dulaine is perhaps an image of what Ferber possibly wanted but
couldn't achieve. The persistent chase for success, recognition,
and power, are qualities that Ferber possessed herself and in
which she gave Clio. These three qualities in Clio are what drive
Saratoga Trunk from start to finish; we want to see her achieve
these things.
The second element that I think made Saratoga Trunk a bestseller
was that it was written during a time when woman were supposed to
be seen and not heard. They were supposed to be totally dependent
on men, and dutiful to them as well. In Saratoga trunk the tables
are somewhat turned and social norms are challenged. Clio Dulaine
, has two servants of her own, she travels wherever she wants,
she wears lots of make-up and extravagant clothes. More important
ly, she mingles with multiple men, draws up schemes, tells men
what she will and won't do and when she is going to do it.
Furthermore, Mrs. Bellop runs (one could say) the great United
States Hotel, a position that a women would not typically hold
especially during the 1940's, and she is the most powerful woman
throughout Saratoga. Mrs.Bellop is so powerful and manipulative
that even the men listen to her and do as she says. The women in
this book definitely run the show, and that is where the book
becomes the most exciting. Both Clio Dulaine and Mrs.Bellop
ability to manipulate and make scandals give best selling quality
to the book. When first reading the book one thinks that it is
just going to be a normal romance where the man saves the woman
and marries her and provides her with everything. However, once
into the book it is clear that man and woman save each other, and
that it isn't a romantic story because the characters are using
one another for the betterment of themselves.
Critics received Saratoga Trunk, equally, as being good
and bad. There were a good number of reviews that said the book
was romantic and flighty, but that it didn't contain exact
resemblance as to what America was like at the time she set the
novel in. Most of the bad criticism was based around the book
being too extravagant and boldly against social norms: "But it is
the development of this story that troubles me: in it I miss Edna
Ferber's homely knowledge of city and country; I think she lost
the chance to play up our special brand of integrity, and at the
end I am left wondering if the author really cares deeply for any
of the people in this book" (Edward Weeks, Atlantic Monthly).
More so the one thing that I believe gave Saratoga Trunk best
selling status was it's hilarity and extravagance, its ability
to imagine a world of success, wealth, overwhelming beauty, and
female power, is one of the things that the critics said they
hated about the book. " The novel wears too much make-up: Clio
is play-acting too often, Clint is too stagey a Texan, and the
millionaires at Saratoga are comedians?not people of power.
Despite Mrs.Bellop's breezy candor, despite the delectable food
and the charming clothes, despite Clio's Parisian turn of phrase,
there is throughout an unmistakable trace of musical comedy in
this prose" (Edward Weeks, Atlantic Monthly). Mr. Weeks, is not
impressed with the racy way Ferber portrays the 1880's in New
Orleans and Saratoga, he is appalled that she paid so little
detail to the true history of the two cities. However,
a bestseller obviously isn't a bestseller because it is like all
the other novels, it sets itself apart and this is what Ferber
did.
Saratoga Trunk doesn't fall into the bestsellers category
simply on it's own merit however. Feber had many best selling
novels previous to the release of Saratoga Trunk, which I
believe helped Ferber in capturing best-selling status with
(in my mind) a mediocre bestseller. Considering the drastic
difference in the reception of the novel I think it is fair
to say that the story line was not perhaps what was so popular,
but rather the blunt challenge to social norms. Critics were
upset about the outright bluntness of the female characters
others were intrigued by it, but in the same breath many critics
were appalled by the blatant disregard for historical accuracy.
I think that Ferber was able to achieve best-selling status
with Saratoga Trunk because of her careful mixture of risk and
ignorance. Overall, Ferber's success with Saratoga Trunk can
in my mind also be attributed from Ferber writing from the
heart and using her personal characteristics to develop real
characters. I think that the strong female roles within
Saratoga Trunk come directly from Ferber herself and they
are essential what make this book so readable.
Sources:
Contemporary Literary Criticism. ALD. REF. PN771.C59 Vol. 93, 1996.
Time. AP2.T37 Copy 2. Vol 138. Oct-Dec 1941. (Nov 24)
http://www.us.israel.org/jsource/biography/ferber.html.
http://www.apl.org/history/ferber.
Atlantic Monthly. AP2.A8 Copy 2 Vol 168 1941.
The New Republic. AP2.N64 Copy 2. Vol 105. 1941.
The New Yorker. AP2.N6763 Vol 17. (Nov 8) (Aug 1941-Feb 1942).
The Saturday Review of Literature. Z1219.S25