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Such a novel as Sister Carrie stands quite outside the brief traffic of the customary stage. It leaves behind an inescapable impression of bigness, of epic sweep and dignity. It is not a mere story, not a novel in the customary American meaning of the word; it is at once a psalm of life and a criticism of life. . . . [Dreiser's] aim is not merely to tell a tale; his aim is to show the vast ebb and flow of forces which sway and condition human destiny. The thing he seeks to do is to stir, to awaken, to move. One does not arise from such a book as Sister Carrie with a smirk of satisfaction; one leaves it infinitely touched. --H. L. Mencken --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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Carrie is soon overwhelmed by the difficulty of finding work, especially since she has no previous experience as a wage earner. When she finally does get a job on an assembly line at a shoe factory for $3.50 per week, she is exhausted by long hours of standing and poor working conditions. "Not the slightest provision had been made for the comfort of the employees, the idea being that something was gained by giving them as little as possible." "The wash rooms and lavatories were disagreeable, crude, if not foul places, and the whole atmosphere was one of hard contract."
Carrie does well in spite of these hardships, but she must pay her sister's husband almost her entire salary for her room and board. With winter coming and the chill winds of a Chicago autumn upon her, Carrie has no money for a coat, hat, nor even an umbrella. She is absolutely wretched. Then she meets a young salesman, Charles Drouet, whom she had become slightly acquainted with on the train to the city. She is eventually tricked into living with him - seduced by his offers of marriage, and the economic security and comparative independence he provides her. She is still a girl and is motivated by impulses and her passive, overly trusting nature.
Carrie makes another serious mistake when she allows herself to be deceived a second time by a well-to-do, married saloon manager twice her age, Mr. Hurstwood. Drouet, showing off, had introduced Carrie to his socially superior friend, and also thought to shine in Hurstwood's eyes by presenting him to his attractive, young "wife."
Disillusioned after a few years with Drouet, who loves her in his fashion but has proved to be irresponsible and flighty, Carrie believes Hurstwood to be single and herself to be in love with him. Hurstwood, a respectable gentleman who has never been a philanderer, is himself quite enamored with Carrie - enough to leave his family. He persuades her to flee Chicago and move with him to New York. He does this by outright lying to the young woman in his desperation to have her.
Given the period when the novel was published and the morality and mores of the time, "Sister Carrie" was not only poorly received, the novel scandalized polite society. The heroine, a young woman who comes to the city, forms two out-of-wedlock relationships, eventually becomes successful in her own right, rising to fame and respectability. She is rewarded rather than suffering punishment for her moral lapses.
Originally a newspaperman, Theodore Dreiser writes with a blunt journalistic style. In "Sister Carrie" and his other work, he deals with the gritty reality of life and is known as an outstanding representative of naturalism - a movement in literature and the arts where real life subjects are portrayed as they exist in the real world - with all their blemishes and defects.
I originally read "Sister Carrie" 25 years ago and thought to revisit it when I found it in one of my book trunks. I loved the novel back then, but now I really appreciate what a great American novel this is. The characters are outstanding in their depth and realism. The story is compelling, and the portrait of American life as seen through Dreiser's eyes is exceptional. Highly recommended!
JANA
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