Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Sister Carrie, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Urban Life and Decay
Morality and Instinct
Wealth and Class
Summary
Analysis
Carrie endures a month of mental distress: she must pay the rent, yet there are so many desirable clothes and ornaments that she wants to buy. Carrie wishes “more and more that Hurstwood was not in the way.” Hurstwood, upon reaching his last $10, lies to Carrie that there is no money left, hoping to save “a little pocket change” for himself. From then on, Carrie pays for the groceries and Hurstwood runs errands. On these occasions, Carrie attempts to justify Hurstwood’s actions by noting that he had not kept the change for himself—“he had no vices.”
Carrie’s desire for fine clothes and accessories grows with her increasing contact with the outside world. Living with only Hurstwood as a companion led Carrie to forget her original standards and ambitions. Seeing people at the theater brings her back. Hurstwood no longer deceives Carrie about anything: he does not promise her that he will find a job and does not take her money. The fact that he runs errands shows that Hurstwood is now taking over some of Carrie’s domestic duties—their roles have reversed.
Themes
One evening while heading to work at the theater, Carrie notices a fellow chorus girl “arrayed in a pretty mottled tweed suit.” Carrie is envious that the girl can afford to dress well and resolves to buy herself a pair of shoes, thinking, “I don’t care what happens.”
Carrie, being the breadwinner, feels entitled to treat herself to fine clothes without considering Hurstwood, as Hurstwood once bought fine clothes for himself without considering Carrie when he was supporting them both. In this sense, Carrie and Hurstwood’s behaviors parallel each other.
Themes
A fellow chorus girl makes friends with Carrie “because in Carrie she found nothing to frighten her away.” The girl relates to Carrie that “the show is going on the road next month” and advises her to find another show to perform in. She tells Carrie that traveling “will cost you everything you make to live” and there are always “too many shows going on” in New York anyways. The girl also tells Carrie that she is underpaid, as the girl herself gets $15 a week. The two make plans to job search together on Broadway. Carrie is grateful to “this little gaslight soldier”—“She seemed so experienced and self-reliant.”
The chorus girl’s opinion of Carrie demonstrates that Carrie is approachable and has no air of haughtiness. This girl contrasts with Carrie in that she seems well-informed about the theater industry and the world—she is knowledgeable and self-sufficient. This marks the first time in the novel that Carrie relies on a fellow woman rather than a man for help. Carrie begins to realize that women can be self-sufficient as long as they understand how the world works.
Themes
In the morning, Carrie’s mood has dampened, as she must perform her “household duties” and deal with Hurstwood. Carrie realizes, after buying “the shoes and some other things,” that they won’t be able to pay the rent. She tells Hurstwood and asks him if the hotel is opening anytime soon. Hurstwood gives a vague answer before telling her that they can ask the grocer to wait, as they’ve “traded there long enough to make him trust [them] for a week or two.”
Although Hurstwood runs errands, Carrie still performs other domestic duties. This shows that neither Hurstwood nor Carrie is accustomed to the idea of a man fully taking over domestic duties. Gender roles are still quite prominent in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. The fact that Hurstwood is willing to be in a man’s debt marks a new low in his pride.
Themes
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Hurstwood asks the grocer, Oeslogge, to “[carry his] account until the end of every week” and the grocer agrees. The narrator relates that “the game of a desperate man had begun.” Hurstwood manages by paying from the ten dollars he hid from Carrie and the money Carrie leaves him at the end of the week. Carrie feels that “Hurstwood [does] not seem to realise that she had a right to anything.” Hurstwood’s gloominess and untidiness leads Carrie to seek relief in other places.
Hurstwood is now a desperate man. He has no job and no desire to look for one. Although Hurstwood has lost his pride, he has developed a sense of entitlement—he expects Carrie to leave money for him and to take care of the cooking and other household duties. Hurstwood has now become a sort of parasite for Carrie. He lives off of her, helping her neither financially not emotionally.
Themes
Carrie becomes close friends with the fellow chorus girl she had spoken with, Lola. Carrie, ashamed to say that she is married, lies to Lola that she lives “with some relatives.” Carrie begins to go out with Lola and neglect her husband. Hurstwood notices but feels “in no position to quarrel with her.” Hurstwood casually asks Carrie if she has afternoon rehearsals and Carrie replies that she has been looking for another position. Carrie feels “this question to be an infringement on her liberty.” Hurstwood has “enough decency” not to make an “effectual protest.”
The fact that Carrie is ashamed to say that she is married shows that she is now ashamed of Hurstwood and views him as something about her life that she ought to hide from the public sphere. The way that Carrie goes out with Lola and neglects Hurstwood mirrors how Hurstwood used to go out with acquaintances and neglect Carrie during the early days in New York. Hurstwood realizes that he is now in Carrie’s care and has no right to have a say in anything that she does.
Themes
One day, the theater manager notices Carrie’s grace and good looks and has her lead the chorus line. Carrie has “a chic way of tossing her head to one side, and holding her arms as if for action […] in the front of the line this [shows] up even more effectually.” On another evening, the manager notices Carrie again and promotes her to head another line, a position that grants her a stunning costume and a salary raise to eighteen dollars. Carrie does not tell Hurstwood about any of this. Instead, she uses the extra money to “[buy] for herself as recklessly as she dared.”
Carrie’s belief in her own potential is not a delusion: she gains the manager’s attention, indicating that she does, indeed, have talent. Carrie hides her raise from Hurstwood as Hurstwood once hid his financial difficulties from Carrie. This shows that Carrie now views Hurstwood as her inferior, someone whom she needs to take care of but nothing more than that. She is entitled to spend her own money as she pleases.
Themes
Hurstwood notices ways that Carrie has been changing: “He had seen the new things she was buying; the way she was neglecting household duties; the readiness with which she was slipping out afternoons and staying.” On day, he asks Carrie for money for the grocer. Carrie snaps and tells Hurstwood that she doesn’t “earn enough.” The two argue regarding how much effort Hurstwood put into his job search. The argument ends with Carrie’s “anger [melting]” and pitying Hurstwood. She gives him the money. A short while later, the two’s bitter thoughts for each other return. Hurstwood is bitter that Carrie makes more money than she lets on. Carrie is bitter that Hurstwood cannot find a job.
The fact that Carrie grows to pity Hurstwood during a brief moment emphasizes just how far Hurstwood has fallen—he used to be a man whom Carrie held in awe and admired. Their bitter spat recalls the argument that Hurstwood once had with his wife in Chicago. This is ironic, as Hurstwood left his wife for Carrie because she appeared to be someone docile, who would listen to him without challenging him. The fact that Carrie does not hide her new purchases from Hurstwood shows that she is unafraid of his criticism—and, in fact, that he has no right to criticize her.
Themes
Lola introduces Carrie to several “gay and festive” young men. Carrie is unenthusiastic: “After Drouet and Hurstwood, there was the least touch of cynicism in her attitude toward young men.” One day, Carrie goes on a drive with them and, seeing the “show of wealth” in New York, temporarily drowns in her troubles and forgets about Hurstwood. She remembers too late and decides to dine with Lola and the youths. This is the first time she dines out without informing Hurstwood.
Carrie is utterly disillusioned when it comes to charming men. She has learned from experience that charm means nothing when it comes to finding a partner. On the other hand, although Lola appears experienced when it comes to finding employment, she appears naïve when it comes to men. Now that Carrie has found a job, the next best thing for her is wealth—her troubles appear to go away in the face of luxury.
Themes
The dinner leads Carrie to recall Ames and “his ideals [burn] in her heart.” Carrie begins to think about her occupation—“What sort of actress was she?”—but forgets about this question and is “merry.” One youth invites Carrie to the theater but she refuses, citing a “previous engagement.” The youth pleads with Carrie but is unsuccessful.
Another thing that Carrie begins to yearn for is intelligence and discernment, for now she has at least enough wealth to satisfy her immediate desire for fine clothing and accessories. She begins to think about more philosophical questions regarding her career.
Themes
