AnalysisoftheImageofSisterCarrie論嘉莉妹妹的人物形象

1、Analysis of the Image of Sister CarrieAbstract: Sister Carrie was the first long fiction written by naturalistic American writer Theodore Dreiser. It has profound historic and realistic meanings and it also takes up a great position in the American literature. It is a great fiction which sharply bro

2、ke away from the traditional writing style at the beginning of the 20 th century so that Sister Carrie became a milestone in American literature. Even today, there are still a lot of scholars who are studying it carefully from different perspectives. In the fiction, Dreiser realistically described h

3、ow an innocent and naive girl Carrie, from a peaceful village, climbed from the bottom of the society to the top of fame and wealth in New York. The novel included a great amount of realistic descriptions. This thesis, based on naturalism literature theory and Dreiser s naturalistic writing style in

4、 Sister Carrie , analyzes the unique female image of Carrie Meeber and her characteristics from the view of character image. In the end, these special characteristics brought the heroine to her tragic fate. Though she obtained wealth, Carrie could never be satisfied or feel happy for long. Never sat

5、isfied, she would only dream of the happiness she could never got. Carriee dys atrlsaog illustrates the disillusionment of her AmericanDream, which further reveals that in American society which centred on wealth and enjoyment, such a figure like Carrie who was both confused and desirous could never

6、 obtain true happiness in real world.Key Words ： Naturalism; desire; rebel; disillusionment of American Dream; tragedy摘要 : 嘉莉妹妹是杰出的美國(guó)自然主義作家德萊塞創(chuàng)作的第一部長(zhǎng)篇小說(shuō)，具有深遠(yuǎn)的時(shí)代意義和現(xiàn)實(shí)意義，在美國(guó)文學(xué)史上占有重要地位。這是一部偉大的小說(shuō)，它突破了 20世紀(jì)初傳統(tǒng)寫作風(fēng)格， 成為了一塊美國(guó)文學(xué)的里程碑。 直到今天， 仍然有很多學(xué)者在從不同的角度仔細(xì)研究它。 小說(shuō)主要講述了一個(gè)天真無(wú)知的鄉(xiāng)村姑娘嘉莉如何從社會(huì)的最底層一步步上升到名譽(yù)和財(cái)富的顛峰， 其中有

7、大量真實(shí)社會(huì)情景描寫。 本文結(jié)合了自然主義文學(xué)理論及德萊塞嘉莉妹妹中的自然主義創(chuàng)作風(fēng)格，從人物形象的角度入手，重點(diǎn)研究了嘉莉妹妹這一女性形象及她的獨(dú)特性格特征， 并闡釋了這些性格特征最終帶給女主人公的悲劇命運(yùn)盡管嘉莉獲得了財(cái)富， 但是她永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)感到滿足或幸福。 她永不滿足， 只夢(mèng)想著永遠(yuǎn)不 能得到的幸福。同時(shí)女主人公的命運(yùn)也昭示著其美國(guó)夢(mèng)的幻滅，進(jìn)而揭示出在當(dāng)時(shí)以金錢、享樂(lè)為中心的美國(guó)社會(huì)中， 像嘉莉妹妹這樣一個(gè)既迷茫又充滿欲望、 永不滿足的人物， 是不 可能在現(xiàn)實(shí)社會(huì)中獲得真正幸福的。關(guān)鍵詞 ：自然主義；欲望；反叛；美國(guó)夢(mèng)幻滅；悲劇I .IntroductionTheodore Dreise

8、r was an outstanding naturalistic writer in American literature while Sister Carrie was his first long fiction. The appearance of the novel meant great to American lierature. It also took an important place in literary history. In the beginning of the 20th century in America, the fashionable trend w

9、as to write about the “smiling” side of life by molding beautiful,faithful characters. But the author dared to break through tradition and create a fiction which clearly and cruely showed the misery lower class suffered and the emptiness and vanity upper class experienced. Right after the publicatio

10、n, it received a storm of criticism and scolding made by traditional critics and arised numerous comments and arguments. To search for a reason, the controversy attributed to Dreiser s unusual ethics. He showed a realistic and peaceful style in writing Carrie s private life, which caused great criti

11、cism by traditional morality guards. His ethics, though violating traditional morality, was shaped by social background and his own experience. It is a true feeling from heart. Later, Sister Carrie became a historically meaningful milestone and influenced reader s standards. Thus,Sister Carrie was o

12、f great importance. It is also meaningful to study this fiction carefully.Since its important status in literary history, scholars have made many different comments on it. The earliest comments could be divided in two branches: one approved this novel and thought Sister Carrie brought great surprise

13、 to American literature; the other criticized that Dreiser didn t tell the truth and negated the whole naturalistic literature. After a certain period, almost all the critics criticized the novel by equaling this work to society and life. Meanwhile, there appeared some extreme appreciation which dep

14、arted from the relationship between history and society. Modern comments have been diversified, including psychological analyse of Sigmund Freud and feminist criticism. Besides, many results of research in the author and the origin appeared. Critics mainly analyzed the fiction on its naturalism, fem

15、inism and the social scenes. Mou Ying of Nanjing Normal University has commented “the description of heroine life and fate was to show that fate decides people s power, and natural power leads human life”. Another scholar Wang Yulian also comments“Carrie grew from a rural girl to a economically inde

16、pendent woman, she realized her potential.”C omments as such have been many more.With comments above, I will analyze Sister Carrie from the view of figure analysis. At the independent woman, she realized her potential.”C omments as such have been many more.With comments above, I will analyze Sister

17、Carrie from the view of figure analysis. At the beginning of the fiction, Carrie was an innocent, naive girl who was full of imagination. She had not much education nor any skill unique enough to make a living. I think it is right toanalyze the novel by analyzing the main figure because the novel wa

18、s around Carrie. Dreiser s naturalistic view showed on Carrie she was controlled by natural power, and she could not press her desire, which was a typification of heros and heroines in naturalistic works. But to find Carrie s characteristics, first I will introduce Naturalism , the theory which infl

19、uenced Dreiser greatly.Analysis of the Image of Sister CarrieCarrie was influenced by environmental factors and her own desires, which gave her four typically characteristicss: unsatiable desires, violation of traditional morality, changing from dependence to independence, and disillusionment of her

20、 American Dream.2.1 Unsatiable desiresDreiser advocated Darwinism. He regarded the society as a huge jungle, where people seek for survival like animals. People were not free because of their desire s control.He thought, “Everyones action is the direct reaction of a series of internal rushes and ext

21、ernal attraction. Environment no longer limits desire, but it expresses desire fully, and finally proves that desire itself can never be satisfied”. (Emory Elliott 443)Carrie s constantly upgrading desires and her unsatiable attitude are seen throughout the book, which had been shown by the author i

22、n Carrie s psychological movements. Most of her desires are material, while at the end she turned to spiritual pursuit.Her first desire was to get a stably material life. When Carrie had not taken a step on Chicago, she had been dreaming of a wonderful world. She came to find what she could get. She

23、 didn t want to be poor any longer. When she stepped on the train, she was full of innocence and ignorance, with her ticket and just four dollars. She didn t know what she would find in her dreamed city. Drouet was a stimulus to arise Carri es material desire. Fashionable clothes he wore and luxurio

24、us life he enjoyed arised her endless desire. Drouet, like the snake in Eden who enticed Eve, used his wonderful words to arise Carrie s desire for goods. Drouet described Chicago as a shopping mall where a dazzling array of beautiful exhibits were showing. His exterior appearance was also a good ad

25、vertisement.His suit was of a striped and crossed pattern of brown wool, new at that time, but since become familiar as a business suit. The low crotch of the vest revealed a stiff shirt bosom of white and pink stripes. From his coat sleeves protruded a pair of linen cuffs of the same pattern, faste

26、ned with large, gold plate buttons, set with the common yellow agates known as cat-'esyes . His fingers bore several rings-one, the ever-enduring heavy seal-and from his vest dangled a neat gold watch chain, from which was suspendedthe secretinsignia of the Order of Elks. The whole suit was rath

27、er tight-fitting, and was finished off with heavy-soled tan shoes, highly polished, and the grey fedora hat.(Dreiser 13)His appearance showed her a new, rich world. As Carrie saw the luxurious sight of Chicago, she couldn t press her desire for material. The cold reality in her sister s flat broke h

28、er dream which was caused by Drouet. The Hansons were only able to meet their basic need, and they even counted on Carrie to help them financially. The short encounter with Drouet made her understand that Drouet needed her in a certain way, and the life in Hanson s was not what she liked. She quickl

29、y came to know what she wanted. She began to find a job and she found one in a shoe factory. But due to sickness, she lost it soon. Then there came another coincidence, she met Drouet again on the street. He helped her to achieve her goal, meanwhile she got to have more desires.During her companying

30、 with her neighbor Mrs.Hale, she saw much more beautiful buildings, wide private grassland, and luxurious carriages. Her desire was again arised. She s sure that her happiness was right over there. She wanted more material wealth.However, Drouet could not satisfy her any longer.Then, another man cam

31、e to her and attracted her. That was Hurstwood. He attracted Carrie just as Drouet had been to her. He had much more wealth and personal charm, and his taste and experience were better than Drouet. The reason Hurstwood touched her was that he needed her eagerly. To Carrie, Hurstwood was not only a w

32、onderful lover, but also an object of wich she took advantage to achieve her changing life and ideal. She became his lover, and enjoyed more happiness. But fate teased him. On the train to New York, after she knew she was cheated by Hurstwood, she still hesitated whether to get off or not. She didn

33、t get off for she hadn t made her decision. Her hesitation just showed she wanted to get on another step.In New York, Hurstwood fell little by little while Carrie was becoming famous. Carrie no longer valued him. She gained great success in her career, and her money increased. Comfortable life and w

34、ealth were not her goals.Carrie was naturally looking forward, and she never turned back. She still wanted to climb higher and to gain more. When her material desire was met, she began to pursue spiritual value.Her life in New York gave her a chance. Ames hepled her to get rid of her emptiness. He p

35、ointed a way to a new world. He was a young man of a high state of mind and solemn engineer. He had never ingratiated with Carrie, but there was something on him which attracted her. It seemedthat he was much wiser than Hurstwood and Drouet. When Carrie went home, she sat down on her rocking-chair a

36、nd began to long and dream. She realized that the objective Ames had pointed out for her was not money or applause, but a higher spiritual state, the pursuit for beauty, kindness, and willingness to help other people.Carrie now realized that material comfort could not satisfy her. Her desire in spir

37、it was again arised. She was still unsatisfied.2.2 Violation of traditional moralityIn the 19th century, ideology of producing had been replaced by the ideology of consumerism. This kind of consumerism advocated life pattern of enjoyment and satisfaction. Goods had been symbol of status rather than

38、something to meet need. Everyone wants to consume money and buy merchandise. Women also had been affected by consumerism. They thought they should dress up themselves as beautiful as possible. More importantly, they no longer regarded their relations with husbands as way to continue life. They thoug

39、ht the relations were only recreations.Carrie never thought traditional morality was a better thing to follow when she encountered poverty. This was a breakthrough both in shaping a heroin es personality and in popular tradition during that period. She is not bonded by strict moral disciplines.Tradi

40、tionally moral standard then thought, women s chastity was the only precious thing that they should protect, and degeneration would cause death and humiliation. As to Carrie, traditional morality reflected as her conscience. But Carrie didn t concern with morality too much. On her train to Chicago,

41、she met Drouet, who was then watching her in a exceeding tolerable way. Traditional convention would stop her from being so familiar with him, but she was conquered by “ the daring and magnetism of the individual (Dreis” er 12)Then she threw off her restraint and chatted with him. When she lost her

42、job, Drouet gave her some money. In her blurred mind, she knew she should not accept the money. When she entered a restaurant with Drouet, though she thought that it was a bit against social morality, she had no parents to control her becauseshe hadn t received any great family disciplines. She was

43、also attracted by beautiful clothes, comfortable life and money. She used her body and beauty to exchange for some nice clothes, delicious food, and a little flat where she could enjoy comfortable life and attach to the middle class people. Then she became Drouet s lover.When her conscience asked he

44、r to leave Drouet and be a good girl again, she was not willing to do so. She always had answers to her conscience: the threat of the winter, the loneliness, the needs she had, and fright by cold wind. Poverty made every answer to those questions. Her nice clothes and shoes also separated her from m

45、orality. She would never leave them and reappear that poor look again. At this moment, her conscience could still be heard, but Carrie would not listen to it. In that cold winter, her conscience s voice became lower and lower, finally it disappeared. But she wanted amarriage, she thought that if she

46、 were married, her behavior would be explainable. She took marriage as a comfort to her conscience.When Hurstwood expressedhis love to her, she didn t refuse him clearly. She knew that she should have run away, but she did not. She felt tha“t I'm getting terribl,e I don't seem to do anything

47、 right. (Dre” iser 100)She was ashamed to betray Drouet.“She owed something to Drouet, she thought. It did not seem more than yesterday that he had aided her when she was worried and distressed. She had the kindliest feelings for him in every way. She gave him credit for his good looks, his generous

48、 feelings, and even, in fact, failed to recollect his egotism when he was absent. ” (Dreiser102)When she met Hurstwood again, she felt very nervous. Her heart was moved by his gentle words and consideration. Then she forgot Drouet and his kindness. She fell in love with Hurstwood finally.But Hurstwo

49、od s lie was exposed by Drouet, and Hurstwood induced Carrie to run away with him. Carrie was very angry, she thought she was Drouets wife and should go back to Chicago while she had no money and didn t know how to go. Her idea disappeared as Hurstwood used his endless words to comfort her. He also

50、promised her that they would live a luxurious life in New York, she would not lack anything. Due to the confusion and the attraction of new world, she again surrender to his lie and action.In New York, Hurstwood fell in to failure, and Carrie went to work. She didnttreat him very well, in fact, she

51、remembered that it was him who made her go with him. She no longer regarded him as her husband, because Hurstwood himself had said that he had not marry her. When Hurstwood was waiting at home for food, she was travelling with some young men. She abandoned him at last, without any consideration of m

52、orality.2.3 Changing from dependence to independenceIn the middle of 19th century, a few feminism movement were founded. Women s thought had changed. On marriage, they pursued not only economical guarantee, but also understanding and romantic sentiment. Some women became doctors, journalists and res

53、pected teachers. Women who had not so much education entered factories. Then at the end of the 19th century, Carrie dared to go to Chicago alone by the effect of the movements.It needs great courage for a rural girl to find job in a big city. She had six refusals, then she got a job in the shoe fact

54、roy. She was so happy that she plannned her small salary for much more than it could supply. But after s short time, her job was lost for her fever. Her sister wished her to go back while she still wanted to stay here. She accepted Drouet s help and became his mistress. She was dependent on him econ

55、omically.When she found out Drouet would not marry her, she soon turned to Hurstwood, who could give her more. During this period, Drouet arranged her to act in a play. She acted very well, and in that play she realized her ability to be independent. Several days after, she even began joking with Dr

56、ouet, who had been her supporter. She found her own power. Even a slow man like Drouet also observed that unclearly. She was not largely depended on him any longer. There was a power on her face and in her light tone.In New York, when Hurstwood was out of work, she remembered her short actress life

57、again. Though Hurstwood was not interested in this, she didn t lose hope. In her mind, being an actress was the only way she could choose. Ames words were also repeating to herself. She remembered that he appreciated a good actress very much. She was not afraid of training hard, though the performan

58、ces had exhausted her. Due to her great efforts, the director let her play some more important roles. When other people were resting and chatting, she was still practising her actions, trying to do her best. But when Hurstwood came home with the pretension of looking for job, she was very unhappy to

59、 stop practising and to prepare dinner.With his money using up, Hurstwood became indifferent to everything. Meanwhile, Carrie became famous little by little. She was eager for freedom, and she didn t want to bear family cost too. Then in a warm Friday, she left poor Hurstwood for ever. When she succeed, Carrie need nt depend on men or restricted by them. She obtained her own wealth, and became an absolutely independent woman.Finally she became independent fr