Sister Carrie Study Guide

Sister Carrie

Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser

Sister Carrie is a novel by Theodore Dreiser about innocence, the allure of wealth, love, and disillusionment. The novel tells the story of Carrie Meeber, who moves from the country to Chicago. After living in poverty for some time, she enters a relationship with the wealthy Drouet. Eventually she begins an affair with Hurstwood, with whom she runs away after the affair is revealed. Settling in New York, the couple become alienated, Carrie leaving Hurstwood to become homeless and commit suicide as she becomes a successful yet disappointed actress.

Sister Carrie Characters

Table of Contents
  • Caroline Meeber , a.k.a. Carrie, a young woman from rural Wisconsin; the protagonist.
  • Minnie Hanson , Carrie's dour elder sister who lives in Chicago and puts up Carrie on her arrival.
  • Sven Hanson , Minnie's husband, of Swedish extraction and taciturn temperament.
  • Charles H. Drouet , a buoyant traveling salesman Carrie meets on the train to Chicago.
  • George W. Hurstwood , a well-to-do, sophisticated man who manages Fitzgerald and Moy's resort.
  • Julia Hurstwood , George's strong-willed, social-climbing wife.
  • Jessica Hurstwood , George and Julia's daughter, who shares her mother's aspirations to social status.
  • George Hurstwood, Jr , George and Julia's son.
  • Mr. and Mrs. Vance, a wealthy merchant and his wife, who live in the same building as Hurstwood and Carrie in New York City.
  • Robert Ames , Mrs. Vance's cousin from Indiana, a handsome young scholar whom Carrie regards as a male ideal.
  • Lola Osborne , a chorus girl Carrie meets during a theatre production in New York, who encourages Carrie to become her roommate.

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