What Destroyed Martin Eden?

Martin was a man from the lower class who lived life day by day, working hard labor jobs for long periods and then enjoying the money he earned. But his world turned upside down when he met a girl named Ruth.

Those who have read the book will know why I say this, but for those who haven’t, let me briefly summarize: Martin was living in the freedom of being an idle man from a lower-class background, but he began to burn with the burden of falling in love with a woman he saw as belonging to the upper class. Ruth was an unattainable dream for him because there was a class chasm between them. Ruth lived a life completely different from Martin’s with her manners, knowledge, financial means, and upbringing. In order to close this gap, Martin worked like crazy while also reading various books to improve himself. With the knowledge he gained from the books he devoured night after night without sleep, he reshaped both his mind and his behavior, and as a result, he decided to become a writer. Writing was not just a hobby for him but also a potential source of income.

Despite having dozens of his writings rejected, Martin did not give up and eventually began to reap the rewards of his efforts. But until he reached this point, Ruth’s family repeatedly made it clear in humiliating ways why Martin could not be with their daughter. After Martin started to earn a significant amount of money from his writings and began to receive one offer after another, they finally sent Ruth to his door, signaling that they now accepted Martin into the family.

At the end of the book, something happens that probably surprises many readers: Martin, who now earns much more money and has a higher standard of living, loses his former joy, and his faith in life, love, and people, and ends up committing suicide. What do you think led to this tragic end?

In my opinion, Martin could not bear the reality that the people he once greatly respected and believed to lead much more refined and honorable lives were actually shallow individuals who judged a book by its cover, who — despite pretending otherwise — valued money and those who had it, and were obsessed with appearances. The fact that one of these people was Ruth — the woman he loved deeply and for whom he spent countless sleepless nights working, reading, and writing — completely drove him into despair, and he could not cope with the sense of emptiness that opened up inside him.

In other words, what drove Martin to death was a situation that has remained unchanged throughout human history. From the outside, many people may appear to live in their own glass bubbles filled with art, science, and intellectual concerns — and thus seem like individuals who wouldn’t stoop to valuing people based on their economic or familial status. However, when you look closer, you can see that many of these people are not so different from Ruth’s family.