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"Sister Carrie" Review

"Sister Carrie" by Theodore Dreiser is a fairly old book. I was supposed to read it in my American Literature II class, but we never got around to it. At first, I was blowing it off. It wasn't interesting to me. It didn't really get interesting until Carrie moved in with Drouet. It is my understanding that, during that time period, moving in with a man you weren't married to was considered frowned upon. Even though they weren't married, they called themselves Mr. and Mrs. Drouet. It got really interesting when she met his MARRIED friend and started hanging out with him. Hurstwood manages to keep his wife and children a secret from Carrie. Carrie has a dream of being on the stage, but Chicago isn't the place for acting. Hurstwood steals Carrie away from Chicago and takes her to New York where he marries her under false names. Hurstwood remains successful, but not as successful as he was in Chicago. It comes to the point where he looses his job. They have no income. Carrie manages to get a gig on broadway in a play. She becomes a very successful actress and becomes fed up with having to support her lazy husband who refuses to get a job. Carrie leaves him. That was also not very common during this time period. Hurstwood becomes homeless while Carrie lives in a very nice new hotel in New York City. I found this book to be very empowering for women. It shows that women can be successful and don't need a man to take care of them. Girl power! It promotes women independence. If you're looking for an older read, and can deal with the older language, I would highly recommend this book. You can even borrow my copy!

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