Theodore Dreiser’s books Sister Carrie (published in 1900) and An American Tragedy (published in 1925) are both terrific stories that feature compelling characters and dark elements. I enjoyed reading both of them and found them to be unique stories that bring an interesting quality to the characters and plots. Both of these books were made into fantastic movies in the 1950s.
Sister Carrie is set in the late 19th century and focuses on a young woman from a small midwestern town who wants more out of life than her poor family can provide. Carrie strikes out on her own for Chicago, to live with her married sister. The story of her quest for “something special” leads her to relationships and to independence. I identified with many aspects of Carrie’s story. She is impatient and doesn’t want to wait to acquire certain things. She wants something more and different than what she had growing up. She wants to leave her small town for the city and interesting experiences. She loses touch with people too easily when moving on to the next thing – she doesn’t keep up with people and soon loses track of them. She moves around frequently and has to adjust to new circumstances. She is shy and uncertain, meaning that making friends can be challenging.
On the other hand, Carrie and I differ in terms of relationships with and expectations of men. She takes up with two successive men who offer her opportunities to escape poverty. She looks to these men (to whom she is “pretend married”) to provide for her, losing patience with them when they indicate that there are limits to their ability to buy her things or allow her to live in a style that she craves. She is quite self-absorbed, rarely thinking about how others feel or the sacrifices they are making. She is shallow through most of the story, thinking only of pretty dresses and expensive furnishings. Of course, she is young so some of this is understandable.
The two men on whom Carrie depends, Charlie Drouet and George Hurstwood, are very different. Drouet is a gregarious traveling salesman who meets Carrie on her way to Chicago and they set up house. They tell everyone they are married to avoid the stigma. Charlie is generally a good guy who is looking for a good time but is not into commitments. He is sort of annoyingly good-natured, in my opinion! Hurstwood is the manager of an upscale restaurant; he’s fairly wealthy and important in the Chicago scene. He is in his early 40s, smart and well-groomed; his refinement represents everything to which Carrie aspires. He falls in love with Carrie, who brings light and excitement back into his life. Hurstwood is sort of a pathetic character (his wife is a shrew, his children are social climbers and his life has become a stale routine) who wants to change his life. Although she leaves Chicago with Hurstwood, Carrie finds unhappiness as they lose their status and money – his property is in his wife’s name to avoid certain taxes, etc. and he leaves his job with $10,000 that belongs to his employer. Given the way he left town, he can’t draw on references and experience to get something comparable in NYC. He works for a couple of years, but they live modestly … and eventually slide into poverty. Carrie finally goes to work in a theater as a chorus girl and leaves Hurstwood.
He is the more compelling character to me, as he has to process who he is versus who he was. He tries to find work, but has the challenge of being older and appearing to be without much experience in anything. He eventually falls into depression and ill-health. The description of his decline is achingly poignant. As Carrie’s star rises, his life crashes. He is on the streets, hungry, sick, homeless and eventually decides he’s “done”. It is so sad. It is during this part where Carrie seems uncaring. Yes, they have split up, but he is so low. He comes to her for money – only briefly – and then goes away, but she does nothing to find or help him. On a positive note, she seems to start to think more deeply about things and to become a bit more aware of the poverty in which people live.
All of the characters are flawed and none are particularly likable, but they are interesting, complex, and seem real, if not depressing. The situations in the book also seem true-to-life. It is compelling to see how things have changed for all the characters and to think about what might have been had different decisions been made. This book focuses on the superficiality, carelessness, and callousness of the wealthy or those aspiring to wealth. Another key theme is the desire to be materially rich and well-connected while remaining intellectually vacuous, emotionally detached. and lacking in compassion. A third theme is about having the ability to pass by without noticing those who are dying a slow death. A fourth theme is coming to terms with life’s decisions and changes.
I have also seen the 1952 movie starring Jennifer Jones as Carrie, Laurence Olivier as Hurstwood, and Eddie Albert as Charlie. Olivier is pretty amazing in this movie and it’s worth a look. I haven’t seen other versions of the story.
An American Tragedy. This story is divided into three sections. The first two sections of this story seemed to drag, in part because they were character studies about characters that were just not that interesting. Perhaps with some editing and revision, these characters could have been more relatable or engaging. The plot sort of lurched from one life-changing event to the next. I found the writing to be very repetitive – the concepts were not that difficult, but seemed to be reiterated numerous times and yet were only explored on a superficial level each time. The third section was great – moved along and addressed a wide range of issues. The focus was on a young man who valued money and society (and all their trappings) above everything else, even above another person’s life.
Clyde grew up in an odd and poor environment, with little education and few opportunities. He had drive and ambition. His drive was an overall positive – he was driven in a good way, as he worked hard and wanted to become better at whatever he was doing. His ambition had an overall negative connotation in that he valued material possessions and position in society over everything else. Clyde had an obsessive personality when it came to women. He was attracted, then obsessively attentive and emotional, then disengaging and finally dismissive (or worse).
Two women, Hortense and Roberta, fell for Clyde but were very different women. Hortense was sort of brassy and in some ways didn’t really like Clyde, but he had money so she used him because she liked stuff. Roberta was lonely and kind and loved Clyde with all her heart but she was poor. A third young woman, Sondra, was rich and fell in love with Clyde and he with her. Hortense shared his love of stuff; Roberta shared his intellect and quietness and desire to achieve something more/leave her past; and Sondra had money and the good life and she was beautiful and sweet. Ultimately, Clyde’s disengagement with Sondra was forced, as he went to prison for killing Roberta and Sondra dropped out of his life. So, what was it about these women that drew him? He was really rather scary with all of them.
The inclusion of religion in the first and last parts of the story was interesting, with Clyde trying to figure out what he feels and who he is. His family is strict in their religious beliefs, which pushes him away. In the last part of the story, as Clyde faces the death penalty, he revisits religion and begins to find peace with himself. The last section of the book is nuanced and lovely – he seeks to understand truth and forgiveness and responsibility. This book really could have used an editor because this last section really shows how good the book could have been!
This book the basis for a 1951 movie, A Place in the Sun, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift, and Shelley Winters. The movie is wonderful, Taylor and Clift are truly beautiful, Winters is moving and wonderful in the film and, though the character names are different, the overall plot is similar to the book.
