Sister Carrie · Chapter
XXXVIII: In Elf Land Disporting: The Grim World Without explained
Carrie secures a place in the chorus at the Casino, bringing temporary relief and hope, while Hurstwood continues his futile job search and becomes increasingly dependent on her earnings.
What happens
Carrie secures a place in the chorus at the Casino, bringing temporary relief and hope, while Hurstwood continues his futile job search and becomes increasingly dependent on her earnings.
Themes in this chapter
Poverty and Survival
Carrie and Hurstwood's desperate financial straits drive the chapter, with Carrie's job offering a fragile lifeline.
Ambition and Desire
Carrie's yearning for a place in the glittering world of the theatre contrasts with Hurstwood's dwindling hopes.
Urban Modernity and Alienation
The impersonal, indifferent nature of theatrical employment offices reflects the alienating urban landscape.
Characters to notice
- Caroline Meeber
Carrie lands a chorus role at the Casino, experiences a mix of elation and anxiety, and begins to question Hurstwood's idleness.
- George Hurstwood
Hurstwood's job search yields nothing; he feels shame and desperation, eventually appealing to Carrie for financial help.
- Charles Drouet
Referenced indirectly through Carrie's use of the stage name 'Madenda' that Drouet had selected for her in Chicago.
- Clark
A young woman in the chorus who is paired with Carrie during rehearsal.
Key passages
“I might as well go on back home. Now that his money was so low, he began to observe his clothes and feel that even his best ones were beginning to look commonplace.”
Hurstwood, nearly out of funds, notices his clothes are shabby and feels defeated.
Highlights Hurstwood's decline and his growing awareness of his reduced circumstances.
“She could see he wanted her, and turned to go. 'Would he really put her to work? Oh, blessed fortune, could it be?' Already the hard rumble of the city through the open windows became pleasant.”
Carrie senses the manager's interest and feels a surge of hope, transforming the city's noise into something agreeable.
Illustrates Carrie's emotional shift from despair to elation upon securing work.
“Why don't he get something? she openly said to herself. If I can he surely ought to. It wasn't very hard for me. She forgot her youth and her beauty. The handicap of age she did not, in her enthusiasm, perceive.”
Carrie wonders why Hurstwood cannot find work, not recognizing that her youth and beauty gave her an advantage.
Shows Carrie's growing resentment and her blindness to the privileges of youth.