Riassunto
Riassunto di Nostra sorella Carrie
A chi è rivolto
For readers who love social novels about ambition, class and the pull of the city, and for anyone curious about the roots of American realism.
Che cos’è questo libro
Sister Carrie is a novel by the American writer Theodore Dreiser, first published in 1900. It follows Caroline Meeber, an eighteen-year-old country girl who leaves her small Wisconsin town for Chicago in 1889, and the men who pass through her life as she tries to make something of herself. Dreiser drew on the life of his own sister and on the city he had come to know as a young newspaperman.
The book was a shock to its first readers. Carrie takes lovers, she is not punished in the usual way, and the author does not scold her. The publisher Doubleday printed the book in a small run and did little to promote it, and Dreiser was deeply hurt. Later readers came to see it as a turning point for American fiction, a plain and unsentimental look at money, desire and the city.
In this summary you get the whole shape of the story, from the train ride to Chicago to the later years in New York, without the ending. You also get the ideas that drive it and the way Dreiser tells it. Let us begin with the train that carries Carrie out of her old life.
In questo riassunto
- 1A girl boards a train for ChicagoFree
- 2Work and want in a hard city
- 3Drouet offers a way out
- 4Hurstwood, the man who seems to have it all
- 5A rash act and a flight to New York
- 6Hurstwood in New York, losing his grip
- 7Carrie finds the stage
- 8What the novel is really about
- 9How Dreiser tells it
Punto chiave 1 di 9
A girl boards a train for Chicago
The story opens with Carrie Meeber on the train to Chicago. She is eighteen, pretty, poor and eager. She carries a little money and the address of her older sister, Minnie Hanson. On the train she meets Charles Drouet, a cheerful travelling salesman who talks easily and notices her at once.
Dreiser tells us that a girl like Carrie is at a dangerous point. She is not wicked, and she is not wise. She has her looks, her quick feelings and a hunger for nicer things. Drouet gives her his card and his attention, and she is flattered. Before the train arrives, she has already half agreed to see him again.
Chicago itself is a character here. Dreiser describes the big city as huge and tempting, a place of bright shop windows and busy streets. To a country girl it seems to promise everything. The author compares the city to a force that works on people without their knowing it.
The opening sets up the pattern of the whole book. Carrie is drawn forward by what she wants, not by a clear plan. Dreiser treats her as someone moved by forces larger than herself, and that attitude colors every chapter to come.
When you listen to these first scenes, notice how little Carrie decides and how much simply happens to her. That is deliberate, and it is the key to how Dreiser sees people.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- Carrie Meeber
- An eighteen-year-old country girl, Carrie comes to Chicago to live with her sister and seek work.
- Charles Drouet
- A friendly, vain travelling salesman, Drouet meets Carrie on the train and offers her material comfort.
- George Hurstwood
- A polished, married bar manager, Hurstwood is Drouet's friend and becomes attracted to Carrie.
- Minnie Hanson
- Carrie's older sister, Minnie shares a modest Chicago home with her husband and expects Carrie to live prudently.
- Julia Hurstwood
- George Hurstwood's wife, Julia values social standing and appearances within their strained household.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 161,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 10 h 40 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 13 other languages
Questions about Nostra sorella Carrie
What is Sister Carrie about?
It follows Carrie Meeber, who moves from a small Wisconsin town to Chicago in 1889 and rises through the men she meets and her talent for acting, while one of those men falls into ruin.
Why was Sister Carrie controversial?
Carrie lives with men outside marriage, and Dreiser does not punish her or condemn her. This broke the moral rules of 1900 fiction, and the publisher released the book quietly.
Why is it called Sister Carrie?
Carrie first goes to Chicago to live with her sister, Minnie Hanson, and the title points to her family role and her humble start. Dreiser's own sister also inspired the character.
Is Sister Carrie based on a true story?
It is fiction, but Dreiser drew on his sister's life and on the city he knew as a young man. The first edition came out in 1900.
Is Sister Carrie hard to read?
The language is plain. Readers find a clear, strong story about ambition and money.