Mrs. Vance Character Analysis in Sister Carrie

Mr. Vance’s wife. She lives across the hall from Carrie and Hurstwood in New York. She and Carrie become fast friends. Mrs. Vance is young, beautiful, and decked from head to toe in the latest fads. Carrie is jealous of Mrs. Vance’s superior financial situation and, as a result, grows increasingly dissatisfied with Hurstwood’s lack of ability to provide her with a life of luxury.

Mrs. Vance Quotes in Sister Carrie

The Sister Carrie quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Vance or refer to Mrs. Vance. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

[Carrie] could not, for the life of her, assume the attitude and smartness of Mrs. Vance, who, in her beauty, was all assurance. She could only imagine that it must be evident to many that she was the less handsomely dressed of the two. It cut her to the quick, and she resolved that she would not come here again until she looked better. At the same time she longed to feel the delight of parading here as an equal. Ah, then she would be happy!

Related Characters: Caroline “Carrie” Meeber, Mrs. Vance

Related Symbols: The City

Page Number and Citation: 217

Explanation and Analysis:

In New York, Carrie befriends Mrs. Vance, a rich and beautiful young woman with excellent taste in clothing and accessories. One day, when Carrie and Mrs. Vance stroll down Broadway on their way to a show, Carrie realizes how inferior she looks compared to Mrs. Vance and the other finely dressed women on the street. In Chicago, many, including Drouet and Hurstwood, admired Carrie for her fine appearance. However, in a bigger city like New York, Carrie’s style falls short. Carrie realizes that she cannot “assume the attitude and smartness of Mrs. Vance” with her current material state. This “[cuts] Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim n

Mrs. Vance Character Timeline in Sister Carrie

The timeline below shows where the character Mrs. Vance appears in Sister Carrie. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...couple by the name of Vance move across the hall. Carrie catches a glimpse of Mrs. Vance , who is “so pretty and good-natured that Carrie instantly [conceives] a liking for her.”... (full context)

After bumping into Mrs. Vance a few more times, Carrie becomes friends with her, finding her “an agreeable companion.” Carrie... (full context)

One day, Carrie and Mrs. Vance go to a matinee. Carrie notices that though she “had gotten herself up charmingly enough,”... (full context)

About a month after this experience, Mrs. Vance invites Carrie to the theater. Hurstwood is busy. Carrie dresses according to Mrs. Vance’s good-natured... (full context)

Carrie meets Mrs. Vance ’s cousin, Ames. She finds him “an exceedingly genial soul.” Ames demonstrates a platonic attention... (full context)

Carrie depends on the Vances “for her enjoyment.” Unfortunately for Carrie, Mrs. Vance moves during the spring. Carrie feels “genuine sorrow,” as “she had enjoyed Mrs. Vance’s company... (full context)

The Vances come back, but Mrs. Vance does not visit Carrie as she does not know the new address. Carrie has been... (full context)

...“her situation [is] becoming unbearable,” as Hurstwood still looks unkempt and Carrie is afraid that Mrs. Vance might visit and see him. Carrie tries to hint to Hurstwood that he ought to... (full context)

One day, Carrie finds Hurstwood in his old clothes and, “remembering Mrs. Vance ’s promise to call,” directly asks him to change. Hurstwood is nonchalant and claims that... (full context)

One day, Mrs. Vance calls while Carrie is away and Hurstwood opens the door. Mrs. Vance is shocked by... (full context)

One day, after a matinee, Mrs. Vance visits Carrie. Carrie warms up to her “in spite of her first troubled feelings.” Mrs.... (full context)

...Ames still thinks of Carrie as “united to Hurstwood.” He sees Carrie’s new play with Mrs. Vance and “[expresses] himself accordingly,” saying that Carrie can “do better” than comedy. (full context)

Mrs. Vance Character Analysis

Mrs. Vance Quotes in Sister Carrie

Chapter 31 Quotes

Mrs. Vance Character Timeline in Sister Carrie