The Survival of Two Prostitutes

In the novel Maggie: A Girl From the Street, Crane introduces two characters that came from the same background, both of them are Irish immigrants and both became prostitutes. Maggie is our protagonist, an innocent girl that has not experienced the rubbish of the world. Nellie is a high-class prostitute that is introduced in one chapter of the novel, chapter XIV to be exactly, and she appears to be an antagonist that took Pete from Maggie, leading Maggie to her downfall. They are both “cut from the same cloth.” However, at the same time, they are completely different. Maggie looks at the world with innocent eyes, she has not come up with the horrors of life. She has yet to experience the darker essence of humanity. While Nellie had already mastered beforehand. Making her capable of surviving even in the darker sides of humankind. She does not hesitate to use others to accomplish her goals. She is a capable independent survivor; while Maggie easily gets blinded by love and depends on others for her survival leading her to her downfall, and finally her death.

Maggie was pure at the beginning of the novel. She has not been corrupted. Pete is the responsible for leading her to a darker path. She is so innocent and blinded by love that she does not realize Pete’s actions. Maggie calls Pete a gentleman when Pete impolitely talks with the waiter, “He displayed the consideration of a cultured gentleman who knows what was due. ‘Say what deh hell? Bring deh lady a big glass! What deh hell use is dat pony?’” (Crane 24). Pete, ill-mannered, talks to the waiter ordering a drink for Maggie, and Maggie blindfolded just sees him as a cavalier. Maggie can not see the truth because she is living in her pink fantasy. She is dumb enough to fall for the poor tricks of Pete to make her fall in love with him, “‘I wonner if I’ve been played fer a duffer.”’ (Crane 26). Pete plays dumb for the intentions of making Maggie fall for him, and he succeeds; however, he only wants Maggie for her body. Pete does not love Maggie, he only wants to have a sexual relationship with her, and poor Maggie steps on his trap. On the contrary, Nellie is different and she does not fall for the traps of Pete or other men, she makes the traps and the men fall for it.

Nellie lives on her own. She works as a prostitute, seduces men, uses them, and when they are no longer useful to her, she dumps them into the trash. With that strategy, she gains tons of money. She earns her living by using others to benefit her own survival. Nellie has a lot of riches and Maggie notices that, She perceived that her black dress fitted her to perfection. Her linen collar and cuffs were spotless. Tan gloves were stretched over her well-shaped hands. A hat of a prevailing fashion perched jauntily upon her dark hair. She wore no jewelry and was painted with no apparent pain. She looked clear-eyed through the stares of the men” (Crane 65). Maggie is envious of Nellie’s appearance and the way Pete looks at her. Nellie knows how to get the attention of Pete. Something that Maggie repeatedly tries but she is unsuccessful. Nellie puts an eye on Pete. The men with whom she was no longer useful to her. So she decided to make a move to Pete. This is how she survives. She takes from others to benefit herself. She uses Pete so that he wastes all his money on her, and she takes the money of Pete. She doesn’t love Pete or any other men that she is with. She just uses them for her own survival. Nellie is a strong and independent woman, who would not think twice to bring someone to ruin if that will make her achieve her goals. Something that Maggie is not capable of, she always depends on someone to survive. 

Maggie had to rely on others to survive. She first depends on her mother and brother. Then she had to depend on Pete, but when she did not have someone to rely only on herself. It was too late. When she came up with the sense that she had to create a life for herself, her days were counting. It was too late for her. In desperation, she became a prostitute. Although she was not at the level of Nellie. Nellie came up with that realization long before Maggie. Nellie gained experience to become self-reliable and mastered the art of manipulation. Maggie was a beginner. She was just starting to gain experience on how to seduce men, and how to live by herself. She did everything she could to survive; however, it was too late for her. As Maggie finds her way down a gloomy ally with a strange man. She made her way in the darkness. “At their feet, the river appeared a deathly black hue,” (Crane 82). Maggie’s story came to an end. She died as no one. She saw a glimpse of darkness in her last moment. Lonely Maggie died. It was a solitary last moment. She never felt loved by nobody. No by her brother. No by Pete. Not even by her mother. She died without reciprocating love.

Both women with the same background, only one survived, the other one had a lonely death. Maggie with her innocence follows the men that lead her to her downfall. Nellie stands up as a survivor, only relying on herself. It was too late for Maggie to become self-reliable, dying lonely, without ever feeling true love, she died as another nameless prostitute. Both cut from the same cloth, but ended completely differently, which shows how cruel the world can be. Crane wrote this realistic piece of writing with a bitter ending. Trying to demonstrate that life does not always have a happy ending.