Assigned to read chapters 1-3 of "Sister Carrie," for my class in "A People's History of Chicago," I had heard nothing of the book previously. Its publication was quite the scandal, as the 557-page novel chronicles the rise of a single woman from a factory girl in Chicago's wholesale district to one of New York City's most popular comedic actresses. Throughout the story, Carrie Madenda exploits the men who are drawn to her--the main reason for Dreiser's censorship upon publication in 1900.
After reading the first three chapters, I was compelled to continue and wound up deeply invested in the book's themes of vanity, materialism, class mobility (or lack thereof), perfectionism, and the hardships of poverty. I suppose my reading it came at the perfect time; a few of these topics had been on the mind since reading Yates' "Revolutionary Road" this past Winter, and maintained relevancy in the daily news. I found myself wanting to recommend "Sister Carrie" to friends interested in social change, in the world of theatre, in turn-of-the-century Chicago, in Austen-esque love triangles... "Sister Carrie" has it all.
No comments:
Post a Comment