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Chapter 14
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Sister Carrie, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Urban Life and Decay
Morality and Instinct
Wealth and Class
Summary
Analysis
The narrator relates that “the complete ignoring of Hurstwood by his own home came with the growth of his affection for Carrie.” Hurstwood’s interactions with his family are “of the most perfunctory kind,” as they share no common interests. With Carrie, he feels young and “blissful.” Hurstwood looks forward to spending his evenings with Carrie. At the same time, his wife’s requests and “the insistent demands of matrimony” begin to make him feel annoyed and constrained.
Carrie, unbeknownst to herself, is the catalyst to the crumbling of Hurstwood’s home life. While Hurstwood had feelings of complete indifference prior to meeting Carrie, he now regards his family, and especially his wife, with more pronounced resentment. In Hurstwood’s eyes, Mrs. Hurstwood pales in comparison to Carrie, just as in Carrie’s eyes, Drouet pales in comparison to Hurstwood.
Themes
One day, Mrs. Hurstwood asks for a season ticket to the races, claiming she wants to attend every race. This is the first time Mrs. Hurstwood has asked for a season ticket, and she makes the request because certain members of high society have bought season tickets and because she wishes to exhibit Jessica, in hopes of marrying her to “a man of means.” Hurstwood and Mrs. Hurstwood briefly bicker about whether a season ticket is necessary, before Mrs. Hurstwood snaps, “I want the ticket and that’s all there is to it.” Hurstwood does not join the family at dinner that evening.
Mrs. Hurstwood appears to do everything for the sake of social climbing. She has no genuine interest in racing merely wants to take the opportunity to have Jessica win the affections of some unsuspecting, rich young man. Mrs. Hurstwood appears to have no relationship with her husband and merely uses him as a source of money. Hurstwood has no such wishes for Jessica and, consequently, sees little reason to comply to Mrs. Hurstwood’s request.
Themes
The next morning, Hurstwood is less irritated and the season ticket is secured, but this “did not heal matters.” Jessica is annoyed about an acquaintance, Georgine, who is going to Europe and who “put on more airs about it.” Hurstwood is irritated at his daughter’s display of disdain and envy. Another day, Mrs. Hurstwood and Jessica relate to an uninformed Hurstwood that George has gone to Wheaton for a tennis match. Hurstwood, who “had never before been kept in ignorance concerning departures,” feels that he is losing importance in the eyes of his family members.
Jessica takes after Mrs. Hurstwood and does little to hide her envy for a classmate who is going to Europe. Hurstwood’s irritation is quite ironic, as Carrie is just as much of a social climber and envious type as Mrs. Hurstwood and Jessica—Carrie merely keeps her thoughts and feelings to herself. The fact that Hurstwood is unaware of George’s whereabouts while Mrs. Hurstwood and Jessica know further shows that Hurstwood is the outsider in his family.
Themes
Hurstwood finds comfort in the idea that he is important to Carrie. He begins to write to her every day. He thinks Carrie is “worthy of all the affection he could [express in his letters].” Carrie is not yet disillusioned by life and not yet self-assured enough to show the sort of domination present in Mrs. Hurstwood. Carrier also shows compassion towards those less fortunate, and though Hurstwood “did not know, but it was this in her, after all, which attracted him.” Carrie is also getting prettier and better dressed.
The fact that Hurstwood comforts himself with thoughts of Carrie shows that she is becoming more than a mere diversion—she is becoming an important source of solace for him. In addition to preferring Carrie’s youth and looks, Hurstwood also appears to prefer Carrie’s seemingly subordinate nature over Mrs. Hurstwood’s outspokenness—he has rather bigoted ideals for women.
Themes
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On one late-Spring day, Hurstwood arranges to meet Carrie in the park. Hurstwood feels that he is “back in fancy to the old Hurstwood, who was neither married nor fixed in a solid position for life.” Carrie arrives and the two casually chat before Hurstwood asks her to “come away and leave [Drouet].” Carrie replies that in the case that she leaves Drouet, she should like to leave Chicago as she shouldn’t like to marry when Drouet is still present. Hurstwood realizes that Carrie is looking for marriage.
Hurstwood’s frustration with his home life leads him to grow more serious about Carrie—he now wishes to have her all to himself. However, he is still not as serious as Carrie is about their affair. Hurstwood is surprised when she broaches the topic of marriage and realizes that in order to maintain a relationship with Carrie, he must prepare for a big change in his life.
Themes
Hurstwood replies that they are wasting time in their current situation and exclaims that he cannot live without Carrie. Carrie feels touched and asks Hurstwood to be patient and arrange a plan “to go somewhere.” Hurstwood asks Carrie if she would leave Chicago with him if he had to leave and couldn’t come back. Carrie says yes, if they could get married at the end of the journey. Hurstwood jokingly declares that he will “come and get [Carrie] one of these evenings.” The two then stroll about in the park.
Hurstwood realizes that he needs Carrie as much as Carrie seems to need him and finally makes plans to abandon his family. Furthermore, it appears that Hurstwood has grown less cautious with regards to the affair: where he once hid his interactions with Carrie in a carriage, he now freely strolls with her in the park, in plain view of anyone who might be there.
Themes
