Character Analysis
Alena only appears in two chapters of The Jungle, Chapters 1 and 27. In the first chapter, at Jurgis and Ona's wedding feast, Alena Jasaityte is the bell of the ball. She is lovely and well-dressed, and she is engaged to a wealthy guy. Then she appears by surprise near the end of the book after Jurgis has started begging on the streets of Chicago once again. Jurgis approaches her to ask for money before they recognize each other. Alena explains that she is still not married, but that she has a good job. (Considering the news that Alena gives Jurgis, we might wonder if that job is prostitution.) Alena is the one who gives Jurgis the address to Marija's brothel. Alena promises Jurgis that Marija will be glad to see him. After giving Jurgis this key information, she disappears from the novel again.