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1、Theodore Dreiser s Changing View on Women from Sister Carrie to Jennie Gerhardt从嘉莉妹妹到珍妮姑娘论德莱塞女性观的变迁Contents Acknowledgements . iAbstract in English . iiAbstract in Chinese .iiiI. Introduction . 11.1 About Dreisers Life. 11.2 His Literary Achievements . 2II. Literature Review . 52.1 Critical Receptio
2、n on Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt Abroad . 52.2 Critical Reception on Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt at Home . 6III. D reiser s View on Women in Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt . 73.1 Dreisers View on Women Reflected in Sister Carrie . 83.2 Dreisers View on Women Reflected in Jennie Gerhar
3、dt. 11 IV. Vicissitude of Dreisers View on Women in Sister Carrie and JennieGerhardt. . 14 4.1 Vicissitude of Dreisers View on Women in Sister Carrie . 14 4.2 Vicissitude of Dreisers View on Women in Jennie Gerhardt . 19 V. Conclusion . 22Works Cited. 24Theodore Dreiser s Changing View on Women from
4、 Sister Carrie toJennie Gerhardt Abstract Theodore Dreiser occupies an important position in modern American literature. Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt are his two representative works. At first, both Carrie and Jennie are two pure girls who want to change their poor life. However, both of them b
5、ecome mistresses in order to change their terrible situation, and their behaviors disobey the traditional values which refer to moral codes and mores that are passed down from generation to generation within a community. This thesis is to make an analysis of Dreisers changing view on women. Dreiser
6、makes use of Carrie and Jennies tragedy to reveal his values on women which are different from the traditional values. He points that women like Carrie and Jennie have the right to satisfy their material pursuits and spiritual pursuits. They should not depend on man to find their self-esteem. Howeve
7、r, making a comparison between Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt s ending, while Carrie becomes a successful actress by her efforts and opportunities, she is disillusioned spiritually; while Jennie lost her relatives, daughter and lovers, she is contented spiritually. Dreiser changes his view on wom
8、en from affirmation of female struggle to affirmation of female self-sacrifice; it was a sign of his regressive feminine consciousness. Key words Carrie; Jennie; traditional values; view on women 从嘉莉妹妹到珍妮姑娘论德莱塞女性观的变迁内容摘要 西奥多 德莱塞（Theodore Dreiser ，1871-1945）在美国现代小说发展历程中占很重要的地位。嘉莉妹妹 和珍妮姑娘 是德莱塞的两部代表作。女
9、主角嘉莉和珍妮是两个很想通过自己努力来改变生活困境的纯洁善良的女孩，可是她们成为别人情妇来改变生活的行为却不能被社会所接受。这种行为违背了当时社会的传统道德观。本文主要通过分析嘉莉和珍妮的悲剧来展示德莱塞的不同于传统道德观的女性观。他认为像嘉莉和珍妮这样的女人有权利去满足自己的物质追求和精神追求， 她们不应该通过依靠男人来树立自己的自尊。然而，通过两个故事的结局对比，嘉莉通过自己的努力和机遇成为了一名成功的女演员，但是她的内心感到十分空虚；珍妮最后失去了自己的亲人，女儿和爱人，可是她却得到了精神上的满足。关键词 嘉莉妹妹；珍妮姑娘；女性观；传统女性观1 I. Introduction 1.1
10、About Dreisers LifeTheodore Dreiser occupies an important position in modern American literature. Alan Tait regarded Dreiser, Hemingway and Faulkner as the most important novelist in American realism literature. Because of the publication of Sister Carrie in 1900, Dreiser committed his literary forc
11、e to opening the new ground of American realism. With the use of simple and direct language, Dreiser is a pioneer in telling a series of stories about “the mechanistic brutality of American society.” (Chang Yaoxin, 2001: 298) Theodore Dreiser s work has its distinct characteristics. A famous America
12、n literary critic said, “Many American writers have a common characteristic for a time, that is, their works are read like natural and smooth writing without tenderness, but Theodore Dreisers works are read like Unbearable pain. ” (Alfred Kazin, 1955:3) “He is the first novelist to capture the moder
13、n American,” as Marcus Cunliffe stated. (Marcus Cunliffe, 1975:205) Theodore Dreiser was born in Indiana on August 27, 1871, into a German immigrant family. Living in a poor and intensely religious family, his father demanded the kids behave in conformity with Catholic. At the late 19th century to e
14、arly 20th century, New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago had become an international metropolis in America. Thousands of people came in flocks in order to find a job. At fifteen Dreiser fled from home and went to Chicago, Dreiser dreamed of wealth and social success in the great metropolis. Whe
15、n he was eighteen, a sympathetic teacher helped him enter the University of Indiana, but he quitted after a year and returned to Chicago. Later, he became a journalist on the Chicago Globeand worked in St. Louis and Pittsburg before arriving in New York in 1894. Apart from school education, Dreiser
16、read voraciously by himself. He immersed himself in Dickens and Thackeray, read widely Shakespeare, and tasted Bunyan, Fielding, Pope, Thoreau, Emerson, and Mark Twain, but his true literary influences were from Balzac, Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer the ideas from 2 those books. He embraced soc
17、ial Darwinism. Dreiser learned to regard man as merely “an animal driven by greed and lust in struggle for existence in which only the fittest, the most ruthless, survive.” (Everett Carter, 1963:402) Robert E. Spiller once noted in his book, The Cycle of American Literature :“To Dreiser, man is only
18、 a mechanism reacting to chemic compulsions, and human tragedy comes as a result of the collision between man s biological needs and societys ruthless manipulation. Life is predatory, a “game ” of the lecherous and heatless, a jungle struggle in which man, being “a waif and an interloper in nature,”
19、 “a wisp in the wind of social forces,” is a mere pawn in the general scheme of things, with no power whatever to assert his will. No one is ethically free; everything is determined by a complex of internal chemisms and by the forces of social pressure.” (Robert E. Spiller, 1951:175) 1.2 His Literar
20、y Achievements In the early period, Dreiser began to publish his first novel Sister Carrie in 1900, one of the most famous works in American literary history, followed by Jennie Gerhardt (1911) and two volumes of his “Trilogy of Desire,” The Financier (1912) and The Titan (1914). Dreiser s other wor
21、ks include The Genius (1915) which told us a story about a misunderstood artist who can be considered as Dreiser himself. It was condemned for “obscenity and blasphemy.” (Liu Shusen，2006:264) In the middle period, Dreisers greatest workAn American Tragedy (1925) was published. In 1927, Dreiser and t
22、he American delegation were invited to Russia and then he wrote Dreiser Looks at Russia (1928) and Tragic America (1931) to express his new faith. In later stage, Dreiser published The Bulwark in 1945. The Stoic, one of his “Trilogy of Desire” published in 1947 posthumously. In the book Sister Carri
23、e, Caroline Meeber, known as Carrie, leaves her home at the age of eighteen and takes the train to Chicago. Carrie meets a man named Drouet and she is attracted by the way he treats her. So she agrees to allow him to 3 rent an apartment for her. Drouet then introduces Carrie to his friend Hurstwood,
24、 a manager of one of the top bars in the city. Hurstwood is far more refined and elegant than Drouet. He falls in love with her and starts to think of getting her to run away with him. One evening Hurstwood steals ten thousand dollars from the unlocked safe of his workplace. Without thinking he take
25、s the cash and rushes to Carrie s apartment and they leave for New York City. As Hurstwood loses his work and social status, Carrie loses interest in him and starts considering her other alternatives. Finally Carrie is lucky to be a famous actress in Broadway. At last the novel traces Carrie s rise
26、and Hurstwoods fall. Hurstwood becomes a homeless beggar, whereas Carrie becomes an overnight star. Although Carrie has been success, she becomes unhappy with her state in the world. In this book, Dreiser made no moral judgments on his characters behavior. The author wrote about infidelity and prost
27、itution as natural occurrences in the course of human relationships. He wrote about his characters with pity, compassion, and a sense of self-esteem. Jennie Gerhardt is a story about a poor girl, Jennie. While working in a hotel in Columbus, Jennie meets Senator George Brander who becomes infatuated
28、 with her. He helps her family and wants to marry her. Jennie is thankful for his benevolence and agrees to sleep with him. Unfortunately the Senator dies, leaving her pregnant. She gives birth to a daughter, and moves to Cleveland where she finds work as a lady s maid to a renowned family. Conseque
29、ntly, she meets Lester Kane, a prosperous manufacturers son. Jennie falls in love with him and impressed by his strong will and generosity. Lester doesnt know that Jennie has a child, and he wishes to marry her, but his family disapproved, so he decides to treat her as his mistress. They live togeth
30、er successfully in Chicago, even through Lester finds that Vesta is Jennies daughter after three years, he does not leave Jennie by the reason of the pressure given by his family. But after his fathers death he discovers that he will not inherit a substantial part of the family business unless he di
31、scards her. Finally he 4 separates from Jennie with the agreement of Jennie. At the end of the story, Jennie loses her daughter to typhoid and adopts two orphans. Lester becomes ill and he tells Jennie he still loves her, and she accompanies him until his death. In this book, Dreiser portrayed a bra
32、ve and pure girl in order to show that women like Jennie could seek love. On the one hand, it was lucky to Jennie that she could meet two persons from upper class and won their love and she brought benefits for her poor family. On the other hand, she was unlucky. Because of poverty, Jennie had littl
33、e chance to make a decision. It is destined that she would lose her love. Both Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt reflect Dreisers provocative theme of human beings and society. When Dreiser sent the manuscript to a publisher it was rejected because it was thought likely to offend “the feminine reade
34、rs who control the destinies of so many works” (Chang Yaoxin, 2001:300) With the publication of Sister Carrie which was rejected because of its relentless narration in presenting the true nature of American life, Dreiser was the first American writer to view the “abundant materialism” of nineteenth-
35、century America from within the perspective of the have-nots. (Andrew Hook, 1983:193) His own early experience of poor life and hardship made it possible for him to be unsympathetic towards those men whose aim in life was to overcome such conditions. Dreiser was later known as a significant American
36、 writer in literary realism, which is a new literary mode that had been practiced and defended by William Dean Howells (1837- 1920) that is “nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material.” (Liu Shusen, 2006:235) In Dreiser s work he emphasized heredity and environment as an i
37、mportant deterministic force to shape individualized characters that were presented in special and detailed circumstances. For the poor, life was shown to be ironic and tragic. He described it as “a welter of inscrutable force” in which each individual was trapped. (Liu Shusen, 2006:525) As a result
38、, Dreiser exposed the enormous gap between the 5 conventions of traditional morality and the realities of life as these were experienced by the urban people in America. The effect of Darwinist idea of “survival of the fittest” influenced Dreiser so that it is not surprising to find in his works a wo
39、rld where full of the law “kill or be killed.” Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt did more change modern American fiction than any since. II. Literature Review 2.1 Critical Reception on Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt Abroad As Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt earned Dreiser a reputation in litera
40、ture, quite different comments on them focus on the general studies, description of characters and writing techniques etc. In terms of the general studies, Samuel Sillen illustrated in Notes on Dreiser(1955) Dreisers writing style was influenced by Balzac. Both On Native Grounds(1942) written by Irv
41、ing Howe and Theodore Dreiser (1946) composed byCarl Van Dorgen gave brief introductions to Theodore Dreisers life and his literary creations. In terms of the description of characters, William Marion Reedy viewed that Carrie was “real ” but “paradoxicallyshadowy” in his book “ Sister Carrie. ” (190
42、1:6-7) Words like “shadowy” and “paradoxically” expressed the uneasiness of early critics felt about the character. Behind this judgment lies a more general sense that Dreiser possesses “very little of the psychologists skill in portraying the inner life of his characters.” (G. K. Hall, 1981:158) Ce
43、rtainly Dreisers way of assigning motivation to characters lends itself to this circumstance. In terms of the writing technique researches, James Donal Adams explored how Dreiser portrayed characters in a “verbose ” way but achieved a complex effect in Heavy Hand of Dreiser (1945). Besides, critics
44、paid close attention to the influence of naturalism on Theodore Dreiser s writing. In The Barbaric Naturalism of Mr. Dreiser (1955) Stuart P. Sherman explained that Dreiser showed his view on women from the perspective of naturalism. Most people consider that there are similarities 6 between these t
45、wo books. The description of two characters shows the every aspect of American society. However both Carrie and Jennie have different endings. It seems that, to Philip L. Gerber (1964), in Jennie Gerhardt, Dreiser shows his belief on the honesty and kind of laboring people, and those people are much
46、 greater than the capitalist class. 2.2 Critical Reception on Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhard t at Home Dreiser is a prolific writer and many of his works are familiar to Chinese readers. Among them Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt are discussed more than others. Dreiser s direct and uncommon styl
47、e influenced other writers.In terms of description of characters, according to The Comparison of the Characters in Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt (2006) Liu Yumei focuses on analysis of the female characters in Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt and exposes the evil nature of bourgeoisie society.
48、Dreisers great insight was clearly reviewed as a realist and naturalist writer. In order to analyze the personality structure of Jennie, Lu Ke takes the perspective of Freudian psychoanalytic literary criticism as a stand to analyze the characteristic of Jennie in Freudian Psychoanalysis in Jennie G
49、erhardt. (2008) In terms of the writing technique researches, in order to reveal Dreiser s naturalistic and realistic philosophy, both Ji Zheng and Hu Yahui explored the dark side of American society in Characteristics of Realism in Jennie Gerhardt (2008) and The Presentation of Realism in Sister Ca
50、rrie . (2010) In terms of characterization from the perspective of feminism, Wang Rong combines the background of the consumption culture of America with the emergence of new woman to illustrate the new womens character of Carrie in Image of New Woman Shaped by Theodore DreiserSister Carrie(2009).Ac
51、cording to Jin Huaifang and Hu Zongze, they combine Simone de Beauvoirs workThe Second Sex with Sister Carrie to explore the new women s character of Carrie in The 7 Background of New Woman Sister Carrie (2005).From what have been mentioned above, it can be concluded that critics abroad and at home
52、almost concentrated on the general studies, culture, writing techniques and thematic researches of Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt. So studies on Theodore Dreiser still remain inadequate in the academic circle, and there is space for further research. Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt revealed tha
53、t women should be independent and get the self-esteem. However, both Carrie and Jennie could mot escape the circle of traditional values. This thesis will focus on the comparison between Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt from the perspectives of characterization, Dreiser s love tragedy view and his
54、view on women.III. Dreisers View on Women in Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt Throughout the history, women have always struggled to gain equality, respect, and the same rights like voting and working as men have. It is difficult because in the patriarchal society men are superior to women and they
55、 have the right to rule women. These values permeated the social structures throughout the world and as a result, women are still struggling for their rights. The appearance of feminism attached great importance to women s equal rights in the patriarchal society. By general definition, feminism is a
56、 philosophy in which women and their contributions are valued. It is based on social equality, political equality and economic equality for women.“ Traditional values refer to those beliefs, moral codes, and mores that are passed down from generation to generation within a culture, subculture or com
57、munity. ” (http:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_values, 2008) Since the late 1970s in America the term “traditional values ” has had the same meaning with “family values” and restrained on Christianity. On the basis of traditional values and morals, women should only do the housework at home and
58、take care of babies. However it seems that Dreiser s view on women is different from the tradition. 8 Dreiser considers that women have their own subjectivity, desire and pursuit. Women are born with the desire like men who entitled to pursue and achieve their aspirations. 3.1 Dreisers View on Women
59、 Reflected in Sister Carrie In the nineteenth century, the prevalent views on women are that they should keep good qualities as a caring, sacrificial, content and grateful angel in the house. “Minnie s (Carries elder sister) manner was one of trained industry,” (Theodore Dreiser, 2008:21) it seemed
60、that Minnie had the good qualities as a traditional woman, but Carrie considered that “it was a steady round of toil with her. ” (Theodore Dreiser, 2008:21) This image can be accepted to the common, but Dreiser portrayed the Carrie who disobeyed the traditional values. Firstly, Minnie lost her indep
61、endence. Her husband Hanson was a silent man, when he was at home, the family atmosphere should be very depressive. Under such circumstance, Minnie had raised such peaceable temperament. She avoided quarreling with her husband even she talked to Carrie “in a subdued tone. ” (Theodore Dreiser, 2008:2
62、1) From the view of Carrie, Minnies life was “colored by her husband and fast hardening into narrow conceptions of pleasure and duty. ” (Theodore Dreiser, 2008:23) Although Minnie was praised by the society, she had lost her independence and submitted to the patriarchal society. Secondly, even thoug
63、h Minnie worked as hard as her husband, her field was confined to the family; she has no right of decision in family. When Carrie came in Chicago at first she lodged in her sisters home, and she must pay for four dollar a week. As Carrie just gained four and a half dollar a week, Hanson didnt think
64、about the difficulty for Carrie and his mind was full of economic considerations. Despite Minnie had sympathy on Carrie; she didnt dare to oppose her husband. When Carrie suggested that they should go to the theater together, Hanson rejected her so that Carrie gained a clearer feeling of their life.
65、 “It weighed on her,”but she didnt show 9 her opposite idea definitely. (Theodore Dreiser, 2008:44) As winter swept the city, Carrie worried about her clothes, but she didn t have enough money. When she asked Minnie whether she could pay less money in order to buy some clothes, even though Minnie ag
66、reed, she “worried about the situation which the withholding of Carrie s money would create.” (Theodore Dreiser, 2008:72) All above results showed that Carrie disagreed with Minnie s attitude toward life; it indicated that Dreiser had negated the traditional values on women. Although Sister Carrie p
67、ublished in 1900, many critics attacked it on either good or bad aspect. In order to live a good life, Carrie cohabited with a traveling canvasser, and then she eloped with a man who had married. This behavior was not accepted by society, and such a woman would have no good fate. As William Dean How
68、ells said directly to Dreiser, “I don t like Sister Carrie at all.” (Jiang Daochao, 2001:221) Dreiser created Carrie as a famous actress in Broadway at last. The reason why he arranged such a conclusion seemed that he declared his new values and views on women to the society. At that time, most hero
69、ines in literature must be a gentle and timid, so the story had a happy ending. Men who disobeyed the morality could be understandable, but if the same thing occurred to women, they must get the due retribution; even they were punished with death. The destiny of women, such as Carrie, had been deter
70、mined by the traditional values. Dreiser considered that this dogma was just built by the patriarchal society, which was unfair to women. People lived in a poor condition would not concern about the morality. They tried their best to survive in the society by various ways. Dreiser used his philosoph
71、y of naturalism to explain Carries immoral behaviors. So he used naturalistic approach to break the obsolete values.The reason why did Dreiser use naturalistic approach to break the obsolete values is that he was greatly influence d by Darwinist idea of “survival of the fittest” so that it was not s
72、urprising to find in his works a world, where there was full of the law “kill or be killed.” For animals, existence is the high principle, so morality was 10 no position in nature. Such a philosophical idea can be clearly reflected on Carrie. In the story, Carrie was in dilemma whether she should go
73、 back to home town or not. However the pressure of life leaded her to choose elopement in spite of self-examination. “Oh, thou failure!” said the voice. “Why? ” she questioned.“Look at those about,” came the whispered answer. “Look at those who are good. How would they scorn to do what you have done
74、. Look at the girls; how will they draw away from such as you when they know you have been weak. You had not tried before you failed.” (Theodore Dreiser, 2008:115-116)Dreiser considered that if people insisted on morality under such circumstance, it meant self-destruction. It is difficult to balance
75、 the morality while people were lacking in adequate food and clothing. He made Carrie escaped the moral responsibility by means of naturalistic view of human nature. Carrie always had various excuse to forgive her, which was demonstrated in the story: “There was always an answer, always the December
76、 days threatened. She was alone; she was desireful; she was fearful of the whistling wind. He voice of want made answer for her.” (Theodore Dreiser, 2008:116) Now a conclusion can be drawn that people lived under great pressure could not be measured with traditional values. Goodness and virtue could
77、 not change peoples fate. Dreiser thought that people were “as a wisp in the wind,” and they moved by their instincts and wills. (Theodore Dreiser, 2008: 94) So Dreisers moral values were based on human beings desires and instincts. He made full use of naturalistic view of human nature reasonably to
78、 oppose the traditional values, and he provided the theoretical basis for women to break the restriction of patriarchal society. 11 3.2 Dreisers View on Women Reflected in Jennie GerhardtJennie Gerhardt is another work that reflected Dreiser s view on women. Dreiser created Jennie as a perfect woman
79、 in every man s heart. She was molded with goodness and mercy. However, in order to make family have a good life she became ladylove of Brander and Lester . Attractive in appearance and strong in will, Jennie represents the combined power of good daughter, good “wife ” and nursing mother. What seems
80、 more astonishing about Jennie is her great capacity for tolerating torment to carry out her own life plan. Dreiser demonstrated his view on women through Jennies love tragedy. Jennie was a representative of the poor; her great desire was to make her family live a good life. Without doubt Jennie was
81、 such a pure girl, but Dreiser indicated that “Caged in the world of the material, however, such a nature is almost invariably an anomaly.” (Theodore Dreiser, 2010:15)Although Brand fell in love with Jennie, Jennies father who was a believer of religion considered that Brand was too old to marry wit
82、h Jennie. His view on her daughter was like this, “for a daughter who had failed to keep her chastity unstained, or for the parents who, by negligence, had permitted him to fall.” (Theodore Dreiser, 2010:53) Despite Jennie accepted the doctrines, “the assent was little more than nominal.” (Theodore
83、Dreiser, 2010:53) For Mr. Gerhardt, when Brander first began to be part of their family, the conventional standards of father Gerhardt proved untrustworthy. He couldnt judge such a character whether he was a good or bad man. On the one hand, Brander helped their family and gave them money. On the ot
84、her hand, love relationship between Brander and Jennie can not be accepted by his father. So it can be clearly conferred that Jennies tragedy resulted from traditional values on women, which is an important reflection in realistic fictions. When Jennie s brother was arrested, her parents had no idea
85、 what to do. Finally Jennie went to see Brander and got the help. Although Jennies father brought her a restraint of religion, she had broken it. So Jennie was accused of being an immoral 12 woman; however Dreiser had different view on her. The descriptions are as follow: “Virtue is that quality of
86、generosity which offers itself willingly for another s service, and, being this, it is held by society to be nearly worthless. Sell yourself cheaply and you shall be used lightly and trampled under foot. Hold yourself dearly, however unworthily, and you will be respected. Society in the mass lacks w
87、oefully in the matter of discrimination. Its one criterion is the opinion of others.”(Theodore Dreiser, 2010:89)From the mentioned above, the readers can see that Dreiser created Jennie as a girl who “had not sought to hole herself dear. Innate feeling in her made for self-sacrifice. ” (Theodore Dre
88、iser, 2010:90) She devoted herself helping her family, but his father drove Jennie away home at last. Mr. Gerhardt represented the traditional values, so he could not endure the premarital sex of her behavior. For Jennie, she felt happy because she won the love and also helped her family, although D
89、reiser didn t denounce their premarital sex, he didn t make them get together. Dreisers view on the society was illustrated as follows:“In this world of ours the activities of animal life seem to be limited to a plane or circle, as if that were an inherent necessity to the creatures of a planet whic
90、h is perforce compelled to swing about the sun. A fish, for instance, may not pass out of the circle of the seas without courting annihilation; a bird may not enter the domain of the fishes without paying for it dearly. From the parasites of the flowers to the monsters of the jungle and the deep we
91、see clearly the circumscribed nature of their movements the emphatic manner in which life has limited them to a sphere; and we are content to note the ludicrous and invariably fatal results which attend any effort on their part to depart from their environment.” (Theodore Dreiser, 2010:239) Dreiser
92、indicated that it was an objective law for human beings, at the same time it represented Dreiser s moral values. Living in such an environment, people survived in a suitable environment and could not change it, and they also could not 13 control the morality. Women in such a society couldn t control
93、 their life, just like Jennie and Brander. They were different people in different class and they were like the birds that lived in a habitual environment, If they broke the balance, it must lead to a tragedy. The same tragedy happened on Jennies second lover, Lester.Lester was superior to Jennie in
94、 wealth, education and social position; he was attracted by the “softness of her disposition and her per-eminent femininity.” (Theodore Dreiser, 2010:127) To face such an enthusiastic man Jennie was moved, but she must take her family into consideration. Jennie would not commit the same sin again. S
95、he repeatedly told Lester her decision. “But I mustnt do anything wrong, ” she insisted, “I don t want to. Please dont come near me any more. I cant do what you want. ” (Theodore Dreiser, 2010:139) Lester didn t take Jennie s consideration seriously because he eagerly wanted her to yield to him spir
96、itually and physically. From this, the readers make clear that the love for wealth people was instinctual; it was based on their wealth and societal position. After Jennie left home, she worked as a maidservant in a large residence for Mrs. Bracebridge. Whats worse, Jennie s father was hurt in an ac
97、cident; Jennie thought that she had duty to take care of her family. But she herself could not change the poor condition of the family, so she cohabited with Lester in order to make her family break away from poverty.Despite that Lester wanted to marry with Jennie, their social position and family b
98、ackground had decided that their love would not get a happy ending. When Lester was cornered and confronted by the pressure from being deprived of the huge heritage. He had two alternatives: deserting Jennie or deserting his right to the huge legacy. Jennie was too kind to let Lester go. Dreiser gav
99、e a description like this: “Admitting that she had been badlocally it was important, perhaps, but in the sum of civilization, in the sum of big forces, what did it all amount to? They would be dead after a little while, she and Lester and all these people. Did anything matter except goodness goodnes
100、s of heart? What else was there that was real?14 (Theodore Dreiser, 2010:306) As a result, Jennie did not marry with Lester but she found contentment in her spirit. Dreiser believed that in such a mass society, moral values on women made Jennie far from catching her love. In Jennies nature she was a
101、 traditional woman, but her behavior broke the edge of morality. Whether Jennie was a good woman or not, most people just saw what immoral things Jennie had done. However, they did not understand why Jennie did these things. Dreiser did not criticize what Jennie had behaved; he felt great sympathy o
102、n Jennie. It was a heaven for the wealth and a hell for the poor. Women like Jennie would not accepted by society, let alone, they could get happy ending. IV. Vicissitude of Dreisers View on Women in Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt The publication of Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt caused a cont
103、roversy in society. The center of the controversy was concerned with the “moral ” issue. Both Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt reflected on the gap between the poor and the wealth. Dreiser showed his great sympathy on Carrie and Jennie. A significant difference between those two characters demonstr
104、ated vicissitude of Dreisers view on women from Sister Carrie to Jennie Gerhardt. Although both Carrie and Jennie were the victims of that society, the way that Dreiser illuminated his view on women was different in Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt. 4.1 Vicissitude of Dreisers View on Women in Sist
105、er Carrie At the beginning of the book Sister Carrie, Dreiser showed the appearance of Caroline Meeber in a special way. Dreiser described her luggage vividly: “her total outfit consisted of a small trunk, a cheap imitation alligator skin satchel, a small lunch in a paper box, and a yellow leather s
106、nap purse, containing her ticket, a scrap of paper with her sisters address in Van Buren Street, and four dollars in money.” 15 “She was eighteen years of age, bright, timid, and full of the illusions of ignorance and youth.” (Theodore Dreiser, 2008:7)Carrie impressed us as a countryside girl who wa
107、nted to go to the metropolis to find a job, actually she was. At first, Dreiser showed us a lovely and pure girl, she looked like an attractive little rabbit, and with the fancies of youth she was eager for good life. As Dreiser said that in Chapter One: “When a girl leaves her home at eighteen, she
108、 does one of two things. Either she falls into saving hands and becomes better, or she rapidly assumes the cosmopolitan standard of virtue and becomes worse. Of an intermediate balance, under the circumstances, there is no possibility. The city has its cunning wiles, no less than the infinitely smal
109、ler and more human tempter. There are large forces which allure with all the soulfulness of expression possible in the most cultured human.” (Theodore Dreiser, 2008:8)From the above description Carries fate had been doomed. Carrie, as a typical girl of the American middle class, was absorbed in her
110、charms, quick to understand the pleasures of life and she began to seek for substances ambitiously. Dreiser showed us an aggressive girl, but she was also simple, because it was the first time she went to Chicago. Without doubt Carries charm attracted a man named Chas. H. Drouet who was a traveling
111、canvasser. Drouet s nature determines his talkative manner. “His method was always simple.” (Theodore Dreiser, 2008:11) His purpose was also obvious and direct. His keen desire and admiration for feminine and higher position drove him to approach to any pretty or wealthy women. Drouet was attracted
112、by Carries beauty. For Carrie she was also attracted by Drouets beautiful dress and successful manner. It made Carrie very yearned for better life and higher social position. Carrie could not bear such a life that Minnie lived, however, she was full of ambition, which led her to yearn for a good lif
113、e. So she cohabited with Drouet. 16 According to Darwin s “survival of the fittest,” Dreiser regarded her immoral behaviors as peoples nature. On the one hand, we can say Carrie was seduced by Drouet; on the other hand she had intended for her future life. Dreiser viewed that for most women, like Ca
114、rrie, they “unrecognized for what they are, their beauty, like music, too often relaxes, then weakens, then perverts the simpler human perceptions.” (Theodore Dreiser, 2008:8) Carrie tried to find a job to live in such a luxuriant metropolis; however, she failed again and again even though she found
115、 a job finally, the less salary could not satisfy her desire for shopping. Drouet offered Carrie beautiful dresses and comfortable rooms. At first, Carrie was afraid of her behavior, but she was relieved to know that her new life was coming. Gradually, Carrie had built a little confidence to live in
116、 the luxuriant metropolis. The beautiful dress and comfortable room turned Carrie as a new and different individual. However, Carrie had a little nervousness for such a transformation. “There she heard a different voice, with which she argued, pleaded, excused. It was no just and sapient counselor,
117、in its last analysis. It was only an average little conscience, a thing which represented the world, her past environment, habit, convention, in confused way.” (Theodore Dreiser, 2008:115)It was convinced that Carrie struggled with moral consciousness at the bottom of her heart, but her desires for
118、material substances made her give up morality. After Carrie met Hurstwood, she discovered Hurstwood was superior in social states than Drouet and smarter than him. Hurstwood was allured by Carrie s sympathetic and impressionable nature which she revealed by her performance by a casual chance. Throug
119、h this performance Carrie was interested in acting, which was an important process for her future life. Hurstwood became their frequent visitor and he fell in love with Carrie gradually. Hurstwood easily asked Carrie to go out with him when Drouet was on business. His affection to Carrie easily won
120、her heart. Hurstwood was 17 morally worse than Drouet in a way while he tried to please Carrie in a proper distance but he hided the fact that he was married. Despite that he was as a heartless philanderer as Drouet, he was more greedy and hypocritical. Compared with his snobbish and sly wife, Carri
121、e was naive, pure and fresh. Dreiser gave a portrayal of Carrie: “She was too full of wonder and desire to be greed. She still looked about her upon the city without understanding. Hurstwood felt the bloom and the youth. He picked her as he would the fresh fruit of a tree. He felt as fresh in her pr
122、esence as one who is taken out of the flash of summer to the first cool breath of spring.” (Theodore Dreiser, 2008:149)Drouet and Hurstwood seemed refuges for Carrie. After she eloped with Hurstwood, she felt she was cheated by him. When Hurstwood tried to make her calm down, Carrie thought it was m
123、ore realistic to go with Hurstwood to satisfy her desire. On the one hand, she could see Montreal and New York with Hurstwoods submission; on the other hand, Hurstwood even suggested he would marry her. In this period of time Carrie had brought up her own ambitious, she knew without Drouet she could
124、 make use of Hurstwood to satisfy her desire. In Carries opinion, she thought it was an interesting world to her. Her life had just begun. As Dreiser delineated: “She did not feel herself defeated at all. Neither was she blasted in hope. The great city held much. Possibly she would come out of bonda
125、ge into freedom. Perhaps she would be happy. These thoughts raised her above the level of erring. She was saved in that she was hopeful.” (Theodore Dreiser, 2008:321) From this we make clear that Carrie had begun to plan for herself, especially she found Hurstwood had been sunk. Hurstwood tried his
126、luck in card games and he didn t find job to make money. Hurstwoods decline pushed Carrie to seek a way out. 18 Carrie made success on the stage while Hurstwood wasted his time on reading newspaper and consumed his last savings and dignity. No doubt, Carrie left Hurstwood, she began to purse the lif
127、e she aspired. After she left Hurstwood, Carrie began to work in a troupe and she could get twenty per week. “Carrie was delighted. She began to feel that she had a place in the world. People recognized ability.” (Theodore Dreiser, 2008:462) While Carrie succeeded in Broadway, she had already forgot
128、ten Hurstwood. The success of her career brought her great satisfaction but her inside had also been changed, she felt lonely. After Carrie became a famous actress in Broadway, one day she talked with her friend Lola. From their co nversation we can see Carries heart was not as brilliant as her succ
129、ess in career. Dreiser gave an illustration as follows: “I dont know,” she said to Lola one day, sitting at one of the windows which looked down into Broadway, “I get lonely; dont you?”“No,” said Lola, “not very often. You wont go anywhere. That s what the matter with you is.”“Where can I go?”“You o
130、ughtn t to be lonely,” said Lola, thinking of Carries success. “Therere lots would give heir ears to be in your shoes.”“I don t know, ” she said.Unconsciously her idle hands were beginning to weary. (Theodore Dreiser, 2008:525)Above all, Carrie had changed from a countryside girl to a successful act
131、ress; it seemed she became an independent woman. In Dreiser s view, he showed that women who wanted to live a good life and satisfy their desires must be independent. They could separate them from the patriarchal society. By the way of Carrie s success, Dreiser exposed that Carrie had built the cons
132、ciousness of female independence.However Carrie felt “lonely ” from success, her money, and the limitations of her knowledge. (Theodore Dreiser, 2008:335) It is convinced that 19 although Dreiser s created Carrie as an independent woman, Carrie felt spiritually depressed at last which was proposed i
133、n New Essays on Sister Carrie written by Donald Pizer. Dreiser portrayed Carrie as an independent woman successfully, and his view on women was different from the traditional values, however, this vicissitude failed. 4.2 Vicissitude of Dreisers View on Women in Jennie GerhardtJennie was similar to C
134、arrie in that she was a creature of emotion rather than reason. But she was different from Carrie; her nature urged her to give rather than to take. As Dreiser noted: “Did Sebastian fall and injure himself, it was she who struggled with straining anxiety, carried him safely to his mother. Did George
135、 complain that he was hungry, she gave him all of her bread. ” (Theodore Dreiser, 2010:15) Jennie possessed individual traditional virtues of honesty, thrift, simplicity and hard work. Although Jennie was “beauty in distress,” the pressure of reality made her became ladylove of Senator Brander. (The
136、odore Dreiser, 2010:1) If Carrie s depravity was due to her desire for substance, Jennies depravity was due to her poor family. Jennie and Brander loved each other, compared with Carrie and Hurstwood; there was no love between them. “As for Jennie, she was immensely taken with the comfort and luxury
137、 surrounding this man.” (Theodore Dreiser, 2010:24) She was the youthful innocent whose association with Brander represented her first contact with the world at large. However, Brander and Jennie were also father and daughter. When Brander announced to Jennie his generous plans for her and her famil
138、y, “reaching up impulsively, she put her arms around him, you are so good to me, she said with the loving tone of a daughter.” (Theodore Dreiser, 2010:50) Dreiser made Jennie and 20 Brander love each other in order to break the traditional concept of marriage. In terms of marriage, he created Jennie
139、 as a brave girl to fall in love with an elder man although she was also afraid of gossip; she still did premarital sex with Brander. Compared with Carrie, Jennie was in love with the generous, affectionate, handsome senator because of his generosity, despite that he was as old as Jennies father, hi
140、s sympathetic view left a good impression in Jennies heart. Dreiser believed that purity is the essence of Jennie. When Jennie heard the news of Branders death, she did not regret for losing his support to her family but for his death. From the mentioned above Dreiser created Jennie from an innocent
141、 girl to a mother who had been pregnant before marriage. He wanted to show that women like Jennie were brave and great. Dreiser did not blame Jennie for her immoral behavior. Instead, he treated her mother identity as a part of her womanhood. For Jennie and Lester, at the beginning, there was no lov
142、e in their relationship. With the pass of time, they fell in love each other. Jennies affection for Lester had the same characteristics as her affection for Brander. Dreiser pointed out that the love of Jennie and Lester was the consequence of their essential requirements. Lester was a possessive ma
143、le. His words, “you belong to me,” to Jennie was similar to Brander s statement. (Theodore Dreiser, 2010:117) Compared with Carrie and Hurstwood, Jennie and Lester were more like a couple. During the period that Carrie and Hurstwood lived together it seemed that they were a couple, but when Hurstwoo
144、d failed in his career, Carrie abandoned him. For Lester, he felt at ease when he stayed with Jennie. All of virtues in women were reflected on Jennie. Although Lester found Jennie had an illegitimate daughter, he accepted her and lived with them together. The death of Lester s father forced him to
145、make a decision. His father gave Lester two choices: leave Jennie or marry her; if he decided to marry with Jennie, he could receive 10000 dollars a year for life, if he left her, he could get much larger share of the heritage. Finally Jennie left Lester; she did not want Lester to lose his inherita
146、nce. On Lesters deathbed, he said to Jennie:21 “I havent been any happier. I m sorry. I wish now, for my own peace of mind. That I hadnt done it.” “You are the only woman I ever did love truly. We should never have parted”. (Theodore Dreiser, 2010:415) Through Lester s words, Dreiser proved that sec
147、ret love was more loyal and purer than proper marriage. Being similar to Carrie, Jennie changed from a pure girl to a mother who was pregnant before marriage. Compared with the Sister Carries ending, Jennie lost her relatives, daughter and lovers, but she got spiritual contentment. Dreiser changed h
148、is view from affirmation of female struggle to affirmation of female self-sacrifice, it was a sign of his regressive feminine consciousness which was illustrated in Dreiser s View on Women Sister Carrie written by Li Shikui. Although Carrie underwent a series of frustrations, she became a famous act
149、ress by her efforts and opportunities. Most people thought that woman like Carrie should be punished; however, the outcome reflected the awareness of Dreiser s encouragement to women. Despite that Dreiser had hinted at the end of the book that the success of Carries career did not bring happiness to
150、 her, Dreisers view inclined to Carrie obviously. He found various excuses for Carries behavior as follows: “if the drag to follow beauty be such that one abandons the admired way, taking rather the despised path leading to her dreams quickly, who shall cast the first stone? Not evil, but longing fo
151、r that which is better, more often directs the steps of the erring. Not evil, but goodness more often allures the feeling mind unused to reason.” (Theodore Dreiser, 2008:575)The above description displaye d that Dreisers values on women had separated from the traditional values. But in Jennie Gerhar
152、dt, Jennie never thought she should get self-reliance. When she was responsible for others, she ignored the responsibility for herself. Dreiser felt great sympathy on Jennie.In terms of Carrie and Jennie s 22 behavior, Dreiser s view on women had been changed. His values on women brought a great imp
153、act on the society. V. Conclusion Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt make Theodore Dreiser an immediate success. He makes use of memories of his sister lives for material, describing the two tragic women. In those two novels, we have conceived that Dreiser employed Carrie and Jennies tragedy to class
154、ify his values on women which are different from the traditional values. He suggested that women like Carrie should not depend on man to find their self-esteem; that women have their own subjectivity, desire and pursuit; that women are born with the desire like men who entitled to pursue and achieve
155、 their aspirations. For those women like Jennie, even though they burdened with the poor family conditions, they also could pursue their happy life and true love. Throughout the history, women struggled to gain equality, respect, and the same rights as men. Dreiser displayed new values on women to t
156、he society. He thought women should disengage themselves from the patriarchal society through the characterization of Carrie and Jennie.In terms of the theme, there was a similarity in Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt, but the emphasis is different. In Sister Carrie, Dreiser emphasizes that the env
157、ironment played a dominant role in people s life. People living under great pressure could not be measured with traditional values. Goodness and virtue could not change peoples fate. People moved by their instincts and wills, however, they could not control their life as a boat in the storm.(Theodor
158、e Dreiser, 2008:94). In Jennie Gerhardt, Dreiser emphasizes fatalism. Dreiser illustrates as follows, “We follow the same fate as chessman, but we can not govern it.” (Theodore Dreiser, 2010:411) Both Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt reflected the gap between the poor and the rich. Carrie and Jenni
159、e were the victims of that society. Dreiser portrayed Carrie 23 as a famous actress by her efforts and opportunities at last, but she is disillusioned spiritually. In contrast, Jennie lost her relatives, daughter and lovers, but she got spiritual contentment. Dreiser uses their tragedies to mold his
160、 view on women. It is obvious that he depicts two tragedies with the disillusioned female consciousness of Carrie and Jennie. In a word, Dreiser s view on women had been changed from Sister Carrie to Jennie Gerhard, but he created two vivid characters in literature. 24 Works Cited 1 Chang Yaoxin. A
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