The Three Halls

In Maggie: A Girl of the Streets written by Stephen Crane, there are three different dance halls that Maggie and her “boyfriend” Pete go to. The three dance halls are the Great Green Hall, the Irregularly Shaped Hall, and the Hysterical Hall. The halls themselves reflect the state Maggie is in during the story. The Great Green Hall is filled with fantasy and happiness showing Maggie’s love for Pete; the Irregularly Shaped Hall shows how Maggie becomes dependent on Pete, and the Hysterical Hall makes fun of how Maggie has been set on a downward spiral from the first time she went out with Pete.

Before Pete and Maggie meet, Maggie has been living with her family. Even though she has a place to live, Maggie is relatively self sufficient. She has a job making cufflinks and is able to support herself. Then suddenly when she meets Pete her whole life changes. “She began to see the bloom upon her cheeks as valuable” (Crane, 26) Maggie is in her own head and begins to understand that she is beautiful and that Pete also thinks she is beautiful. This feeling allows Maggie to agree to go out with Pete.

“An orchestra of yellow silk women and bald-headed men on an elevated stage near the centre of a great green-hued hall, played a popular waltz.” (Crane, 31) This quote describes Maggie’s first impressions of the Great Green Hall and try to grasp her fascination with the room. The hall is unlike anything Maggie has seen before, and she is so pleased that Pete is a high class gentleman that can, and will, take her out to such an establishment. “Maggie perceived that Pete brought forth all his elegance and all his knowledge of high-class customs for her benefit.” (Crane, 32) Maggie is blown away by Pete’s knowledge about high-class structure, but in reality he is far from high class. Maggie is setting herself up for her own downfall by admiring someone who is not worth admiring.

Maggie’s personality changes in a more profound way when the story progresses to the next dance hall. In the Irregular Hall, “Maggie was pale. From her eyes had been plucked all look of self-reliance. She leaned with a dependent air toward her companion. She was timid, as if fearing his anger or displeasure. She seemed to beseech tenderness of him.” (Crane, 57). Maggie is described as in a sickly state and has become dependent on Pete and not herself as she had been before. The quote shows that Maggie is still in love with Pete even though he begin to pay less attention to her. This dance hall is much different from the last.  “She returned attired in less gown, and sang again. She received another enthusiastic encore. She reappeared in still less gown and danced.” (Crane, 57). The mood of this dance hall is sleazy and promiscuous. Pete has brought Maggie to a place that is dirtier and most certainly not as classy as the previous establishment. Men also begin to stare at Maggie as if she were a prostitute. It is unknown to the reader why Pete has chosen to go to the “Irregular Shaped Hall”, but anyone reading can most certainly agree that Pete is leading Maggie in the wrong direction.

The third and final dance hall is the Hysterical Hall where, “The air of a spaniel-like dependence had been magnified and showed its direct effect in the peculiar off-handedness and ease of Pete’s ways toward her.” (Crane, 65) This shows that Maggie has his rock bottom. From her dog like behavior we can tell that she is fully dependent on Pete and is now an object being lead around as he so chooses. Maggie has finally become a prostitute, “A Girl of the Streets”, and is abandoned by Pete who goes off with a prettier woman. This is when Maggie understands that she has been used. Her fairytale ends and the reality of her situation dawns on her once juvenile mind.

Since the first dance hall, Maggie has been on the path of becoming a prostitute. In the first hall, Maggie is in love with Pete and is having a great time with him. It is a mutual relationship. When they go to the second hall, Pete begins to distance himself emotionally from Maggie while Maggie is still attached to Pete’s supposed class and has started to become dependent on him. Finally at the third hall, Maggie is fully dependent on Pete, she cannot imagine a life without him, and then Pete leaves her for another woman. Maggie now realizes that she was destined to hit rock bottom ever since stepping into the Great Green Hall with Pete.