In the novel Sister Carrie, Theodore Dressier affirms that human beings are victims of chance, social forces, and instinct. Carrie and Hurstwood are the protagonists in the novel, and Carrie ends up rising from her previous condition of poverty while Hurstwood fell from a position of privilege. Their rise and fall was the counterpoint upon which Dreiser based the theme of the victimization of man. The author’s account highly depends on his experience and the influence of naturalism which are the basis of his doctrine of life. Hurstwood’s downfall was not merely caused by the desire for Carrie since man is only a victim of society and it is difficult for him to escape from himself. As soon as Hurstwood leaves for New York, he is destined to fail because the destiny of man is unpredictable in a capitalist society. Carrie moved from the countryside to Chicago, and she had big dreams of fortune. Despite the odds which would not have favored her, Carrie manages to succeed. Dreiser confirms that the fate of man is unpredictable in a capitalist world and circumstances and the social system controls the destiny of man through depicting the rise of Carrie and the fall of Hurstwood.
The rise of Carrie and the fall of Hurst wood are the best examples of Dreiser’s philosophy because the novel would be incomplete without Carrie’s rise being the counterpart for Hurstwood’s decline. The experiences of the two characters are changeable and frustrating. In the beginning, Hurstwood is living the dream. However, in the end, he begs for money, and he resolves to commit suicide by leaving the coal gas on to end his misery. Dreiser believes that the nature of human life is cynical from the time man is born to the time he dies. In his free spirit, man possesses aspiration and desperation which are evident in the Hurstwood character. The economy has dual prospects as illustrated by the fall and the rise of the protagonists since social mobility does not only entail moving from rags to riches. Hurstwood is a successful male in Chicago who belongs to the new managerial class. At the time, the middle class had a guilty fascination with the poor in the urban areas since like Carrie most of them were immigrants (Riis 90). However, since he decides to steal the money and lie to get Carrie on the train, he begins his downfall.
Dreiser believes that the reason behind people’s behavior is their need to satisfy personal desires. As such, he seeks to explain why Hurstwood wanted to steal money which directly resulted in his downfall. Previously, Hurstwood had been a man with principles and ideals. However, everything changed when Carrie came to the picture. “She came fresh from the air of the village, the light of the country still in her eye.” ( Dreiser 135) She aroused Hurstwood’s desire because she was a better form of a woman for his imagination. As such, he became a victim of instinct. Previously, he was a responsible man but changed afterwards. He spent most of his time with Carrie and invited her together with Drouet for rides and neglected his matrimonial home. His wife continued to do her duty at home, and her hate for him defeated Hurstwood. All the property they owned belonged to his wife, and when they fell out, Hurstwood was motivated to steal the money.
According to Dreiser’s philosophy, a strong force of mysticism attracted Hurstwood to Carrie. Moreover, it was an act of chance or luck which was part of a universal force. Accident determines the destiny of man rather than intention. Therefore, Hurstwood did not intend to steal the money but a force pushed him to leave with the money. After a quarrel with his wife over his interest in Carrie and his new habit of having one too many drinks, he is confused, and he goes to his office. Once there, he finds some unusual amount of cash and the idea of running away with the money passes through his mind. However, he resolves to return the money, and accidentally he knocks the safe, and the door closes before he can return all the money. He realizes that he cannot explain how he had taken out the money in the safe in the first place. In his confusion, he decides to steal the money. Hurstwood was only human and, “[He] was no fool to be led blindly away by such an errant proposition as this, but his situation was peculiar.” (Dreiser 278) His behavior was controlled by a universal force that he could not fathom, and he did nothing but conform to the effect.
Carrie moves from her home in Chicago in 1889 to find work. At the time, there was a trend where women had begun working in large cities as can be noted in the contemporaneous literature of the time. Women between fifteen years and their mid twenties made up most of the population in Chicago at the time (Matthaei 141). Carrie moved to Chicago at a time when thousands of other individuals were moving to the city to look for their fortune and the city was already overpopulated. Hence, Carrie would be faced hardships and sufferings just like anyone looking for a job and a fortune. The culture of the novel is based on economic conditions. In her search, she faced many rejections and disappointments but she did not lose hope. She is ecstatic at her change of fortune and her view of the city changes and she believes she would finally be happy. However, she falls ill and she is unable to work for three days and she loses her job. She starts to hunt for a job but is unsuccessful. At the desperate time she is offered money by Drouet and due to her situation, she has an internal conflict about taking the money. In Carrie’s opinion, money is “something everybody else has and [she] must get.” (Dreiser 57) Her meeting with Drouet was very crucial because it would be the turning point of her life.
When Carrie made decisions, there were various forces involved. The author notes that, “We have the consolation of knowing that evolution is even in the action, that ideals are a light that cannot fail” (Dreiser 67). Accordingly, human beings partially have animal instincts while at the same time they are influenced by reason. He writes, “We see man far removed from the lairs of the jungle, his innate instincts dulled by too near an approach to free-will, his free-will not sufficiently developed to replace his instincts and afford him perfect guidance” (Dreiser 66) Carrie’s desires influenced her decisions and, in the end, she ends up being Drouet’s mistress. At the time, the economy began to be transformed by consumption as opposed to production. Carrie did not prefer hardwork and frugality but instead preferred to work and seek gratification at the same time. “Unless Carrie submitted to a solemn round of industry and saw the need of hard work without longing for play, how was her coming to the city to profit them?” (Dreiser 62) Further, she is influenced by her desire to make it in the city and Drouet’s personality. Dreiser writes, “She had been dominated by distress and the enthusiastic forces of relief which Drouet represented at an opportune moment when she yielded to him.” (Dreiser 125) Her confusion arises from the failure to separate the conflicting motives of the situation.
The eventual outcome of the lives of Hurstwood and Carrie is an indicator of the polarities of life. Carrie’s life represented positive energy while Hurstwood’s life was a representation of negative energy. Carrie had the great enthusiasm for what the future held while the past overawed Hurstwood. Additionally, Carrie does not allow her heart to rule over her head, and love has no significant role in her life. She is driven by other needs and drives which are all consuming. On the other hand, Hurstwood is a victim of fate, and in the end, he is entangled by a web where he ends up sacrificing himself. Carrie has a strong will, and she possesses a sharp eye as opposed to an emotional side. As such, she feels that Drouet offered security. “Thoughts of Drouet returned, of the things he had told her. She now felt that life was better, that it was livelier, sprightlier…She would have a better time than she had ever had before - she would be happy.” (Dreiser 27) Dreiser’s approach to life was based on the deterministic perspective of human conditions. The characters as presented by Dreiser are under the control and conditioning of the environment, instinct, fate, and heredity. He also suggests a humanistic value which is compensating for the characters.
In Sister Carrie, the author establishes that man’s fate cannot be predicted especially in a capitalist society. It is under the control of destiny; the social system and external forces as depicted in the rise and fall of the protagonists. For the author to establish his doctrine it was eminent that he used the rise of Carrie and the fall of Hurstwood. The two characters were pushed by forces that made it necessary to achieve their goals and desires. External forces were in action that drove Hurstwood to Carrie and to his eventual downfall. Carrie dis not let emotion interfere with her thinking and she preferred to acquire fortune in other ways apart from hard work. The forces involved in her journey were positive while Hurstwood were contradictory which explains the difference the outcome of their stories. The novel clearly depicts that man is a slave of the various forces in play and despite all efforts the forces will always be in control.
Works Cited
Dreiser, Theodore. Sister Carrie. New York: Penguin, 1994.
Matthaei, Julie A. An Economic History of Women in America. New York: Schocken, 1982.
Riis, Jacob. How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York. 1890. Bedford Series in History and Culture. Ed. David Leviatin. Boston: Bedford Books, 1996.
