Throughout the novel, the motif of a fantastical “fairy” or “elf-land” appears to refer to Carrie’s fantasies about bettering her circumstances. In Chapter 12, after a scenic drive with Mrs. Hale, the narrator concludes that for Carrie:
Such childish fancies as she had had of fairy palaces and kingly quarters now came back.
The motif of the “childish fancies” of "fairyland" recurs throughout the novel, representing Carrie's dreams and aspirations of escaping her humble origins. Especially compared to the “mean” circumstances of her sister’s Chicago life, her newer and wealthier friends seem to exist in a different world. After meeting Drouet and then Hurstwood, she’s allowed to see the possibility of a glamorous world of opulence. Achieving wealth and stability seems like a “fairyland” to her, one not only offers a physical space filled with luxury and grandeur but also a psychological state of true happiness and fulfillment. This naive belief might be attributed to her limited exposure to the complexities of urban sophistication: she thinks it’ll all come naturally and doesn’t understand the associated costs.
As she dives deeper into the world of affluence, the fairyland motif transforms. No longer is it a simplistic, childhood dream. The visions of wealth haven’t changed, but Carrie has learned that changing her social position is far more complicated than she had planned. By the end of the novel, the motif comes full circle, as Carrie comprehends the gravity of her choices. She has achieved some of the security and the access she desired, but without the happiness and fulfillment she believed came with it. In Chapter 30, walking down Broadway and looking at the beautiful, wealthy women who surround her, she thinks, sadly, that:
It ached her to know that she was not one of them—that, alas, she had dreamed a dream and it had not come true. She wondered at her own solitude these two years past—her indifference to the fact that she had never achieved what she had expected.
The fairyland dream she once had—which felt limitless in its possibilities—now becomes a poignant reminder of the difference between wealth and genuine happiness. The motif charts Carrie's emotional and psychological journey from childhood to adult experience.
Throughout the novel, the motif of a fantastical “fairy” or “elf-land” appears to refer to Carrie’s fantasies about bettering her circumstances. In Chapter 12, after a scenic drive with Mrs. Hale, the narrator concludes that for Carrie:
Such childish fancies as she had had of fairy palaces and kingly quarters now came back.
The motif of the “childish fancies” of "fairyland" recurs throughout the novel, representing Carrie's dreams and aspirations of escaping her humble origins. Especially compared to the “mean” circumstances of her sister’s Chicago life, her newer and wealthier friends seem to exist in a different world. After meeting Drouet and then Hurstwood, she’s allowed to see the possibility of a glamorous world of opulence. Achieving wealth and stability seems like a “fairyland” to her, one not only offers a physical space filled with luxury and grandeur but also a psychological state of true happiness and fulfillment. This naive belief might be attributed to her limited exposure to the complexities of urban sophistication: she thinks it’ll all come naturally and doesn’t understand the associated costs.
As she dives deeper into the world of affluence, the fairyland motif transforms. No longer is it a simplistic, childhood dream. The visions of wealth haven’t changed, but Carrie has learned that changing her social position is far more complicated than she had planned. By the end of the novel, the motif comes full circle, as Carrie comprehends the gravity of her choices. She has achieved some of the security and the access she desired, but without the happiness and fulfillment she believed came with it. In Chapter 30, walking down Broadway and looking at the beautiful, wealthy women who surround her, she thinks, sadly, that:
It ached her to know that she was not one of them—that, alas, she had dreamed a dream and it had not come true. She wondered at her own solitude these two years past—her indifference to the fact that she had never achieved what she had expected.
The fairyland dream she once had—which felt limitless in its possibilities—now becomes a poignant reminder of the difference between wealth and genuine happiness. The motif charts Carrie's emotional and psychological journey from childhood to adult experience.
