Stephen Crane's Maggie: A Girl Of The Streets

Stephen Crane’s “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets” chronicles a young Irish-American girl’s struggles while living in an abusive family burdened by poverty in New York City. Specifically, it deals mostly with her infatuation and relationship with her brother’s friend, Pete. Upon becoming attracted to Pete, Maggie develops unrealistic expectations of what their relationship means and what it could lead to. Because of her unrealistic romantic expectations, Maggie believes that Pete will rescue her from her situation and is completely loyal to her.
When her infatuation with Pete first begins, Maggie commences to develop unrealistic thoughts on what being with Pete will mean for her, leading her to the conclusion that he can take her away from all of the misery that has thus far made up her entire life. This is due to the fact that he possesses the “elegant

occupation” (Crane 959) of a bartender, as well as the fact that he dresses in a way that she perceives as being well:
“A few evenings later Pete entered with fascinating innovations in his apparel. As she had seen him twice and he had different suits on each time, Maggie had a dim impression that his wardrobe was prodigiously extensive” (959).
This way of thinking, however, is obviously flawed. Maggie thinks of Pete in this way simply because her life situation is more downcast than his. Despite the fact that his life is more stable than hers, it is not by that much. Despite this, she continues to think of him as her knight in shining armor, and her affection for him grows. This, in turn, allows her to fall victim to his true intentions, which have been impure from the start of their relationship. When he first develops feelings for her, it is in an entirely physical manner, “Pete took note of Maggie. ‘Say, Mag, I’m stuck on yer shape…” (959). Rather than seeing her in an innocent way, Pete focuses entirely on her body and nothing else. This can be used as evidence to prove that he does not, in fact, have any intention of rescuing her from her life, but rather adding more misery to it out of his own selfishness.
In addition to believing that Pete will be her savior, Maggie has faith in the lie that he is loyal to her.

After he has perhaps taken advantage of her, Pete is interrogated by Maggie in regard to whether or not he loves her, to which he replies “Oh, hell, yes” (968). Despite the fact that this does not seem to be a sincere proclamation of his love for her, she is nonetheless convinced. Because of this, she has faith in him to take care of her, even going as far as living with him after her mother has banned her from coming home due to her now living in sin (967). Maggie is foolish and naïve to presume that Pete is faithful to her, however, especially after he encounters a former mistress and is seduced by her (978-979). Ultimately, Maggie’s presumption that Pete actually cares for her or is truly loyal to her brings about her own demise after she is still banned from returning home and is forced to live out the remainder of her short life by going into prostitution. Maggie’s flawed logic in regard to Pete’s true feelings causes implications so great that they literally aid her in the destruction of her entire

life.
The entire situation involving the relationship between Maggie and Pete is a tragic ordeal marked by Maggie’s naivety and false hope and Pete’s apathy toward her, as well as his disregard for his involvement in her own self destruction. Not only does Maggie have extremely unrealistic expectations concerning her romantic involvement with Pete, but these expectations are profoundly influential in the disassembling of her already unbalanced life. Maggie absurdly believes that Pete will be her savior and that he has an unwavering loyalty toward her, both of which are the cause of her sorrowful demise.