Her acceptance of prostitution, even stating that Ona could have saved the family, reveals the depths to which she sinks. Her willingness to remain a whore addicted to morphine shows that, more than any other character in The Jungle, Marija suffers as a result of the capitalistic system at work.
Early on, Marija is a foil for Ona. Marija is an extremely active woman, whereas Ona is quite passive. At the same time, Marija is an ironic foil for Jurgis. In an age of male dominance, she is exceeding him in her success. In the end of the novel, however, Jurgis has the positive metamorphosis. It is as if she embraces the role of the victim and allows the forces of nature to defeat her entirely — body and soul. Her fate is the embodiment of the naturalistic woman.
