A Real Person behind the Bride Character in Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” (1905–1906)

• In Event: Literary Discoveries: Manuscripts, Letters, Real Human Beings

Abstract

In 1904 Sinclair was mesmerized by the Lithuanian wedding party he accidentally spotted and was invited to take part in. He observed the real wedding feast and later rendered his impressions in the first chapter of his fictional “The Jungle” (1905–1906). Out of the three tentative wedding families that I have researched, I can with high probability point out the family of Jonas Petrošius and Marijona Rimkaitė (married on Nov. 20, 1904) as real life prototypes for Sinclair’s wedding chapter. In my paper I will present the newest research on the real life bride Marijona Rimkaitė, on her origins in Lithuania, her family there and her new families here in the US.

Short Bio

Giedrius Subačius is a Professor and is a director of the Endowed Chair in Lithuanian Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His primary scholarly interests are historical sociolinguistics, development of standard languages, history of linguistic thought, and history of the Lithuanian language and Lithuanian immigration. Subačius has prepared and published several critical editions of the nineteenth century Lithuanian linguistic manuscripts. His monographs include: “Ideas about Standard Lowland Lithuanian: Beginning of the Nineteenth Century” (1998); “Kalikstas Kasakauskis: Juncture of Standard Lithuanian” (2001); “Upton Sinclair: The Lithuanian Jungle” (2006); and “The Experts of Lithuanian in Service of the Russian Empire” (2011). He is a founder and an editor of the annual scholarly journal “Archivum Lithuanicum” (vols. 1–18, 1999–present). He has initiated creation of the database of private Lithuanian (in letters, diaries, notebooks, etc.: at www.musulaiskai.lt ). Subačius was awarded several awards (prizes) by the governmental institutions of the Republic of Lithuania (Simonas Daukantas prize 1995; Kazimieras Būga prize 1999; National Prize for Scholars Working Abroad 2009) and “Lituanus” journal prize (2005).

Author

• Giedrius Subačius, University of Illinois at Chicago