Sister Carrie · Chapter
The Passing of Effort: The Visage of Care explained
Hurstwood's decline accelerates as he becomes increasingly apathetic, spending his days reading newspapers and avoiding job hunting.
What happens
Hurstwood's decline accelerates as he becomes increasingly apathetic, spending his days reading newspapers and avoiding job hunting. Carrie grows contemptuous of his idleness and begins sleeping separately. A chance encounter with an old acquaintance, Cargill, humiliates Hurstwood, and a snowstorm provides an excuse for further inaction. As Hurstwood becomes more miserly and dependent on Carrie for errands, their relationship deteriorates into a cold, functional arrangement.
Themes in this chapter
Poverty and Survival
Hurstwood's descent into penny-pinching and Carrie's resentment illustrate the grinding reality of poverty and the erosion of dignity.
Determinism vs. Free Will
Hurstwood's passive acceptance of his fate and Carrie's feeling of being trapped underscore the tension between personal agency and circumstance.
Love and Illusion
The collapse of any pretense of affection between Carrie and Hurstwood reveals the illusion of their relationship, now reduced to cold practicality.
Characters to notice
- George Hurstwood
Sinks into apathy, avoids work, shaves less frequently, becomes miserly, and is humiliated by meeting Cargill.
- Caroline Meeber
Grows contemptuous of Hurstwood's idleness, begins sleeping alone, cries over her trapped life, and reluctantly uses him for errands.
- Cargill
Former Chicago stable owner who encounters Hurstwood in a hotel lobby, causing Hurstwood great embarrassment.
Key passages
“These miserable details ate the heart out of Carrie. They blackened her days and grieved her soul.”
The petty, degrading aspects of their poverty drained Carrie's spirit and darkened her life.
Highlights Carrie's emotional suffering as Hurstwood's decline worsens.
“It was apathy with Hurstwood, resulting from his inability to see his way out.”
Hurstwood's indifference stemmed from feeling hopeless and trapped.
Explains Hurstwood's passivity as a symptom of despair.
“He did not even consult the ads in the papers any more.”
Hurstwood stopped looking at job advertisements altogether.
Shows his complete abandonment of effort to find work.
“She wanted to be good-natured and sympathetic, but something about the man held her aloof.”
Carrie wished to be kind, but felt emotionally distant from Hurstwood.
Illustrates the growing emotional chasm between them.
“What a life! What a life! was her one thought.”
Carrie's only thought was despair at her miserable existence.
Captures Carrie's profound dissatisfaction with her situation.