374 Dreiser, Theodore
sexual desire but also by an apparently genuine urge
to protect her from the dog-eat-dog spirit of newly
industrialized society. Nevertheless, both men also
break their promises of marriage to her, thus speed-
ing up the loss of her alluring innocence.
For Carrie, experience translates into the free-
dom to make independent choices, even if experi-
ence itself sometimes requires immoral acts. This is
evident when, while still in Chicago, her infidelity
to Drouet causes him to lose his dominance over
her: Unlike before, she “did not study him with
eyes expressive of dependence.” Where experience is
acquired, purity is lost. After moving to New York
with Hurstwood, Carrie gradually gains the ability
to assess her own situation realistically and to set
standards for herself. The character of Mr. Ames,
albeit only a passing acquaintance for her, contrib-
utes significantly to her intellectual maturity by
offering an example in cultural and social awareness.
Still in her 20s, the heroine adapts some of her value
judgments and preferences directly from Ames.
Dreiser’s novel does not, however, depict Carrie’s
journey as a straightforward one from innocence to
experience. Despite being exposed to cynicism, she
preserves her dream of happiness, guided—as the
narrator states in the end—by emotion rather than
reason. This relative innocence of the protagonist
places Sister Carrie firmly within American literary
tradition and enables the story to illustrate power-
fully the effects that various social forces have on
the individual.
On the level of social and personal growth,
the novel contrasts experience with the dynamism
of youth. While experience can become valuable
in a competitive society, Dreiser makes clear that
the economic system primarily feeds on youthful
energy. More important, experience cannot substi-
tute for youth. Despite Carrie’s talent as an actress,
she has her pretty face to thank for her success on
Broadway. In contrast, Hurstwood proves incapable
of maintaining his social status and, ultimately, his
livelihood, partly due to his “handicap of age,” which
renders his prior success and work experience irrel-
evant, even undesirable. For employers, he discovers,
inexperienced workers are also inexpensive, whereas
Hurstwood’s own knowledge and skills have lost
their marketable value. Carrie sees the deepening
wrinkles on his face and eventually abandons him
to poverty, intuitively understanding that he has
become an impediment to her personal progress.
At the end of the novel, Carrie decisively leaves
behind both of the men who introduced her to the
metropolis when she was an innocent girl. At the
age of 27, she is perhaps at the height of her career,
while Hurstwood, once a shining example of social
competence, has lost everything and been driven to
suicide. Dreiser’s novel seems to point to the pessi-
mistic conclusion that neither innocence nor experi-
ence has permanent value: Sooner or later society
will consume the former and ignore the latter.
Markku Salmelasex and sexuality in Sister Carrie
When Theodore Dreiser wrote Sister Carrie (1900),
explicit representation of sexuality was just begin-
ning to appear in popular fiction. Much of the sug-
gestive description in Dreiser’s original manuscript
was removed during the editorial process. Although
sex is a motivating force behind many of the main
events in the story, it remains mostly between the
lines. However, numerous details in the text hint
at the untold. From the very first scene, Caroline
(Carrie) Meeber’s attractiveness in the eyes of men
seems her chief asset. After meeting Charles Drouet,
she realizes “that she was of interest to him from the
one standpoint which a woman both delights in and
fears.” Subsequently, it is this male desire—embod-
ied, above all, in Drouet and her other lover, George
Hurstwood—that facilitates Carrie’s progress both
professionally and in social circles. Eventually, it
opens doors to high society and the theater stage.
Male characters in the novel seem powerfully
driven by their animal instinct: Drouet is practically
controlled by his “inborn desire” for women, and
Hurstwood craves excitement after his marriage
has grown stale. Having traveled to Philadelphia—
ostensibly on business—and “enjoyed himself thor-
oughly” there, he meets Carrie and falls wildly in
love. To illustrate both men’s lust, Dreiser titles both
chapters 20 and 21 “The Lure of the Spirit: The
Flesh in Pursuit.” Carrie gradually learns to feed this
desire and to see social opportunity in it.
The heroine spends almost a year living with
Drouet in Chicago and another several years with