The Glebe 1914/03 (Vol. 1, No. 6): Erna Vitek

In Short

Set in 1914 New York, this novella tracks the life of Erna Vitek, a sharp-witted waitress working at a bakery restaurant. Three friends—a painter, a writer, and a composer—conspire to "test" Erna’s morals, attempting to label her as moral, immoral, or unmoral. As Erna moves between the attentions of these men and her volatile relationship with a local prizefighter, she consistently resists being reduced to a trope. The story endures as a crisp, unsentimental portrait of a woman who refuses to surrender her agency to the men around her.

The Story

The narrative opens in the studio of John Carstairs, a composer, where he and his friends, Bainbridge Breen and Eric Nielsen, debate the "conundrum" of Erna Vitek’s morality. Bored and curious, the men agree to a wager: each will attempt to penetrate Erna’s character through social outings, ultimately reporting back to decide if she is a woman of virtue or vice.

Erna is far from a passive subject. At her workplace, she maintains a cool, guarded distance while managing the advances of Jimmy Allen, a local prizefighter. Jimmy, a man of simple, brute physicality and ego, views Erna as his property, often pressuring her to leave her job and marry him. Erna, however, finds Jimmy’s possessiveness stifling, even as she is drawn to his raw vitality.

The "test" proceeds with varying results. Breen attempts to have Erna pose for a portrait, hoping to capture her essence, but his efforts are quickly thwarted by his own clumsy arrogance and Erna’s sharp rejection of his predatory advances. Meanwhile, Nielsen—the most observant and perhaps the most sympathetic of the three—engages Erna in more intellectual pursuits, lending her books and engaging in candid conversations that reveal Erna’s loneliness and her profound, innate strength. She confides in him about her past, revealing an independence forged in a life without the stability of parents.

As the men struggle to define her, Erna’s life reaches a breaking point. Jimmy, buoyed by his recent boxing victories, demands that she quit her job and commit to him, but his temper and habitual drunkenness lead to a violent confrontation in which he strikes her. Erna, who has been balancing her desire for freedom against the security Jimmy offers, finally reaches her limit. She does not look for a savior in the intellectuals; instead, she takes decisive action. After a final, brutal encounter with a drunken Jimmy, she systematically packs her belongings, leaving him and her former life behind.

In the final scenes, the men meet again at the restaurant, discussing Erna’s departure as a finished chapter in their "story." They are left to debate her morality, still guessing at her motivations, while Erna has already moved on, fully in control of a future they can no longer influence. The novella closes with the quiet, lingering impression of a woman who has successfully navigated a world of "butterfly catchers" and "rat-catchers" to secure her own path.

How It Unfolds

The challenge is issued Three friends sit in a studio, dissecting a waitress as if she were a scientific specimen. They decide to initiate a series of tests to uncover the "true" nature of her morals.

The subject responds Erna navigates her daily routine at the restaurant with practiced indifference, parrying the advances of both the customers and the men who seek to "study" her. She remains keenly aware of the power dynamics at play, using wit and silence to keep her interlocutors at arm's length.

The tension mounts Jimmy attempts to assert ownership over Erna, pressuring her to abandon her independence for a life of domesticity. Simultaneously, the intellectual men grow frustrated as their attempts to categorize her fail to yield the predictable results they expected.

The breaking point A violent, drunken outburst by Jimmy forces Erna to see his potential for cruelty clearly. She realizes that neither his brute strength nor the men’s analytical curiosity can offer her the freedom she craves.

The departure Erna makes a final, clean break, leaving her belongings and her past behind without seeking permission. The men are left in their studio, still talking, while the subject of their conversation has already walked out of their narrative.

The People

Erna Vitek is the heart of the story. A waitress who possesses a "lioness" nature, she is defined by her stubborn pursuit of joy and her refusal to be a pawn in the men’s experiments. She begins the book as a subject of gossip and ends it as the only character who truly acts with autonomy.

Jimmy Allen is a professional prizefighter whose identity is tied to his physical strength and his success in the ring. He wants Erna to be a loyal, compliant partner in his rising success, but his inability to respect her boundaries—fueled by his ego and temper—ultimately alienates her.

Eric Nielsen is a writer who participates in the wager but finds himself genuinely fascinated by Erna. Unlike his friends, he recognizes that she is a person rather than an object of study. He is the most dangerous to her autonomy because he understands her best, yet he ultimately accepts her decision to leave.

Bainbridge Breen is the painter who initiates the "test" with a sense of entitlement. He views Erna as a potential muse or a curiosity, and his reaction to her rejection reveals his deep-seated condescension toward women who do not fit into his narrow, conventional morality.

In Its Own Voice

"It's simply this: that we put Erna to the test."

The painter Breen initiates the patronizing experiment that drives the plot of the novella.

"You're strong, aren't you, Erna?"

Nielsen, the writer, acknowledges the core of Erna's character during their intellectual exchange.

"Life had never been able to throw her for a long fall."

The narrator reflects on Erna’s innate resilience as she navigates the crises of her life.

What It's Really About

The book is a sharp critique of the male gaze and the arrogance of those who believe they can "know" or "define" another person through social observation. It centers on the question of whether a woman can exist outside the labels of "moral" or "immoral"—categories imposed by a society that views her status as a working-class woman as a invitation for scrutiny. Through Erna, the book argues that true character is forged in the silent, private decisions made to protect one's freedom, rather than in the public performances or intellectual labels that others might assign. It is an exploration of the power inherent in self-possession when one is surrounded by people who prefer to turn others into objects of study.

Why Read It Today

Reading this novella feels like discovering a hidden, modern-minded gem from the early 20th century. While some of the period language and the "boxer" culture of the 1910s may feel distant, the central conflict—a woman refusing to be reduced to a type—is startlingly relevant. Those who appreciate the spare, precise writing of early modernism will enjoy the way the story strips away the vanity of its male characters to expose a woman who simply refuses to play along.

The book is not without its difficulties; the dialogue is often punctuated by the slang of 1914, and the attitudes of the men toward the "waitress" are frequently infuriating. However, this is clearly intentional, as the reader is meant to feel the same frustration Erna feels. You do not read this for a comforting story; you read it for the satisfaction of watching a character outgrow the small, claustrophobic world her observers try to build for her. What stays with you is Erna’s quiet, final act of walking away, leaving the intellectuals to argue over a ghost of a person they never really understood. It is a brief, intense, and deeply rewarding look at the cost of independence.