Sister Carrie
'Sister Carrie' Summary
In late 1889, dissatisfied with life in Columbia City, Wisconsin, 18-year-old Caroline Meeber, "Sister Carrie" to her family, takes the train to Chicago, to live with her older sister Minnie and Minnie's husband. On the train, Carrie meets Charles Drouet, a traveling salesman who is attracted to her because of her simple beauty and unspoiled manner. They exchange contact information, but upon discovering the "steady round of toil" and somber atmosphere at her sister's flat, she writes to Drouet and discourages him from calling on her there.
Carrie soon finds a job running a machine in a shoe factory and gives most of her meager salary to the Hansons for room and board. One day, after an illness costs her her job, she encounters Drouet. He persuades her to leave her dull, constricted life and move in with him. To press his case, he slips Carrie two ten dollar bills, opening a vista of material possibilities to her. The next day, he rebuffs her feeble attempt to return the money and retain her virtue, taking her shopping at a Chicago department store and buying her a jacket and some shoes. That night, she moves in with him.
Drouet installs her in a much nicer apartment. She gradually sheds her provincial mannerisms. By the time he introduces her to George Hurstwood, the manager of Fitzgerald and Moy's – a respectable bar that Drouet describes as a "way-up, swell place" – her material appearance has improved considerably. Hurstwood, a married man with a social-climbing wife, a 20-year-old son and a 17-year-old daughter, becomes infatuated with Carrie, and before long they start an affair, meeting secretly while Drouet is away on a business trip.
One night, Drouet casually agrees to find an actress to play Laura in an amateur theatrical presentation of Augustin Daly's melodrama Under the Gaslight for his local chapter of the Elks. He encourages a hesitant Carrie to take the part. Carrie turns out to have acting talent, and her ambition is born. Initially, she falls victim to stage fright, but Drouet's encouragement between acts enables her to give a fine performance that not only rivets the audience's attention, it inflames Hurstwood's passion, and he decides to take Carrie away from Drouet.
The next day, Drouet finds out about the affair, while Hurstwood's wife Julia learns that Hurstwood has been seen with another woman. Hurstwood makes advances, and when Carrie asks if he will marry her, he says yes. Later, Drouet confronts Carrie and informs her that Hurstwood is married, then walks out on her. After a night of drinking, and despairing at his now-emboldened wife's demands and Carrie's rejection letter, Hurstwood finds that the safe in Fitzgerald and Moy's offices has accidentally been left unlocked. When he inadvertently locks the safe after taking the money out, he drunkenly panics and steals the day's proceeds - more than $10,000. Under the false pretext of Drouet's sudden illness, he lures Carrie onto a train and takes her to Canada. In Montreal, Hurstwood is found by a private investigator; he returns most of the stolen funds to avoid prosecution. Hurstwood mollifies Carrie by arranging a marriage ceremony (though he is still married to Julia), and the couple move to New York City.
They rent a flat, where they live as George and Carrie Wheeler. Hurstwood buys a minority interest in a saloon and, at first, is able to provide Carrie with an adequate – if not lavish – lifestyle. The couple grow distant, however, as their finances do not improve much. Carrie's dissatisfaction only increases when she makes friends with a new neighbor, Mrs. Vance, whose husband is prosperous. Through Mrs. Vance, Carrie meets Robert Ames, a bright young scholar from Indiana and her neighbor's cousin, who introduces her to the idea that great art, rather than showy materialism, is worthy of admiration.
After only a few years, the saloon's landlord sells the property, and Hurstwood's business partner decides to terminate the partnership. Too proud to accept any of the limited job opportunities available to him, Hurstwood watches his savings dwindle. He urges Carrie to economize, which she finds humiliating and distasteful. As Hurstwood gradually sinks into apathy, Carrie becomes a chorus girl through her good looks. While he deteriorates further, she rises from the chorus line to small roles. Her performance as a minor, non-speaking character, a frowning Quakeress, greatly amuses the audience and makes the play a hit. She is befriended by another chorus girl, Lola Osborne, who urges Carrie to become her roommate. In a final attempt to earn money, Hurstwood becomes a scab, driving a Brooklyn streetcar during a streetcar operator's strike. His ill-fated venture lasts only two days, ending after a couple of violent encounters with the strikers. Carrie, unaware of Hurstwood's reason for quitting, leaves him.
Hurstwood ultimately becomes one of the homeless of New York, taking odd jobs, falling ill with pneumonia, and finally becoming a beggar. He ultimately commits suicide in a flophouse. Carrie achieves stardom, but finds that, even with fame and fortune, she is lonely and unhappy.
Book Details
Authors
Theodore Dreiser
United States
Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm mo...
Books by Theodore DreiserDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
Человек в футляре by Anton Chekhov
«Человек в футляре» — это рассказ Антона Чехова, повествующий о жизни Беликова, учителя греческого языка, который боится всего нового и необычного. Он...
מעמק עכור Out of a Gloomy Valley by יוסף חיים ברנר Yosef Haim Brenner
Yosef Haim Brenner (1881-1921) was a Ukrainian-born Hebrew-language author, one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew literature. Born to a poor family, Br...
Peveril of the Peak by Sir Walter Scott
Peveril of the Peak (1823) is the longest novel by Sir Walter Scott. Along with Ivanhoe, Kenilworth, and Woodstock this is one of the English novels i...
Poor White: a Novel by Sherwood Anderson
It explores the lives of the lower class in the early 20th century. Set in a small town in Ohio, the book follows the story of Hugh McVey, a young man...
Histórias Sem Data by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
Histórias Sem Data é uma coletânea de contos de Machado de Assis, um dos maiores escritores brasileiros. Escrito em 1884, o livro explora temas como a...
Day Dreams by Rudolph Valentino
Step into a world where reality and fantasy intertwine, where dreams hold the power to shape destinies. It takes readers on an enchanting voyage throu...
All the Sad Young Men by F. Scott Fitzgerald
It is a classic novel, which was published in 1926, this timeless work of literature explores the themes of love, loss, and the challenges of growing...
When Your Pants Begin To Go by Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson's "When Your Pants Begin To Go" is a collection of short stories that provide a raw and often humorous look at life in the Australian bus...
The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence
The Rainbow is a novel by British author D. H. Lawrence, first published by Methuen & Co. in 1915. It follows three generations of the Brangwen family...
Doctor Wortle's School by Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope’s fortieth novel, published in 1881, concerns a respectable Christian boys’ school whose proprietor unknowingly hires a woman who app...
Reviews for Sister Carrie
No reviews posted or approved, yet...