Proletariat Oppression
Marie represents the proletariat in this novel. Her entire family and many of her acquaintances are members of the working class in America, struggling to put food on the table. Marie is born into the system and feels the oppression acutely because she is not allowed to marry at sixteen because she cannot afford the wedding or dowry. Determined to be a voice for those with no voice, she works her way up in the world. Tirelessly, she leaves everything to return and help her struggling family, despite the fact that these she's not making any personal progress because she's sending all the money home already. Having seen much of the ugly side of life, Marie is devoted to helping the poor man improve his circumstances. This passion comes to a head when she moves to New York and becomes involved with the Socialist Party. Here she finally encounters like-minded individuals who are vehemently on the side of the working class.
Domestic Violence
Having grown up in a household where her father abuses her mother, Marie is very sensitive to sexual politics. She sets her sights high for lovers and leaves a great deal of them behind. Poor Marie also becomes the victim of three men who rape her on two separate occasions. Each of the men who try to help her afterwards also propose marriage to her, reinforcing her belief that all men view women as animals. She desires a platonic relationship with at least one impressive man, but she never does find this. In the end, she divorces her first husband for not treating her as an equal in the relationship. Her second husband leaves her after learning that she's been raped before; he's a very jealous man. Marie has seen her fair share of domestic violence, but she holds her own whenever possible. These incidents only serve to remind her to hold firm to her pride and independence.
Family Devotion
As mentioned earlier, Marie is a strong support to her family. After leaving home, she returns several times to help a sick family member or to help one or another of her siblings out of abusive labor contracts. She escaped her father's house before he started lending his kids out to nearby farms for forced labor of which he personally collected recompense, but she is still very aware of what's happening to her siblings after she leaves. She remains in close contact with each of them, sending most of her money home whenever possible. This enduring commitment to her family is a defining characteristic for Marie. Although she has multiple opportunities to leave behind the pain of her childhood and to make her own way in the world, she continues to come back and to help them at great personal sacrifice. Her devotion to her family is one of Marie's most admirable and humanizing characteristics.
