Trina Sieppe (McTeague)

The daughter of German-Swiss immigrants, Trina is a delicate, attractive and sensible girl. She prides herself on being tidy and precise in her actions and appearance. Initially courted by Marcus, her cousin, Trina eventually marries McTeague, whom she calls Mac. Just before they decide to marry, Trina learns that she has won the lottery, a prize of five thousand dollars! This money turns out to be the cause of her emotional and psychological decline, as she refuses to spend any of it, becoming obsessed with scrimping and saving.

Trina goes from having a loving family and an adequate home, to living in a room above a kindergarten, alone and maimed by her brute of a husband. Though her emotional state and physical appearance change dramatically over the course of the novel's twenty-two chapters, one thing never changes, her lust for money. She does not lust for...