Mcteague: A Story of San Francisco

“It belonged to the changeless order of things---the man desiring the woman only for what she withholds; the woman worshipping the man for that which she yields up to him. With each concession gained the man′s desire cools; with every surrender made the woman′s adoration increases...””

— Frank Norris

“It was curious to note the effect of the alcohol upon the dentist. It did not make him drunk, it made him vicious. So far from being stupefied, he became, after the fourth glass, active, alert, quick-witted, even talkative; a certain wickedness stirred in him then; he was intractable, mean; and when he had drunk a little more heavily than usual, he found a certain pleasure in annoying and exasperating Trina, even in abusing and hurting her.””

— Frank Norris

“I’ll cut him in two”

— Frank Norris

“The ancient little dressmaker was at all times willing to talk of Old Grannis to anybody that would listen, quite unconscious of the gossip of the flat.””

— Frank Norris

“Quite an affair had arisen from this circumstance. Miss Baker and Old Grannis were both over sixty, and yet it was current talk amongst the lodgers of the flat that the two were in love with each other. Singularly enough, they were not even acquaintances; never a word had passed between them.””

— Frank Norris

“Well,” said one of the deputies, as he backed the horse into the shafts of the buggy in which the pursuers had driven over from the hill, “we’ve about as good as got him. It isn’t hard to follow a man who carries a birdcage with him wherever he goes.””

— Frank Norris

“Frenna did a big business all day long. The murder was the one subject of conversation. Little parties were made up in his saloon”

— Frank Norris

“Or, again, she would draw the heap lovingly toward her and bury her face in it, delighted at the smell of it and the feel of the smooth, cool metal on her cheeks. She even put the smaller gold pieces in her mouth, and jingled them there. She loved her money with an intensity that she could hardly express. She would plunge her small fingers into the pile with little murmurs of affection, her long, narrow eyes half closed and shining, her breath coming in long sighs. “Ah, the dear money, the dear money,” she would whisper. “I love you so! All mine, every penny of it. No one shall ever, ever get you. How I’ve worked for you! How I’ve slaved and saved for you! And I’m going to get more; I’m going to get more, more, more; a little every day.””

— Frank Norris

“Oh, look out, Miss Baker. Those two dogs hate each other just like humans. You best look out. They’ll fight sure.” Miss Baker sought safety in a nearby vestibule, whence she peered forth at the scene, very interested and curious.””

— Frank Norris