# Sister Carrie — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser.

- [I: The Magnet Attracting: A Waif Amid Forces](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/i-the-magnet-attracting-a-waif-amid-forces.md): Carrie Meeber, an eighteen-year-old girl from Columbia City, boards a train for Chicago in August 1889 with only four dollars and her sister's address. On the train, she meets Charles Drouet, a charming traveling salesma
- [II: What Poverty Threatened: Of Granite and Brass](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/ii-what-poverty-threatened-of-granite-and-brass.md): Carrie arrives at her sister Minnie's small flat in Chicago, where she is confronted with the harsh realities of poverty and the relentless cycle of labor. She observes the cramped, poorly furnished home and the subdued,
- [III: We Question of Fortune: Four-Fifty a Week](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/iii-we-question-of-fortune-four-fifty-a-week.md): Carrie Meeber, newly arrived in Chicago, spends a long day seeking employment. She is overwhelmed by the dazzling displays in department stores and feels the sting of poverty as she compares herself to well-dressed women
- [IV: The Spendings of Fancy: Facts Answer with Sneers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/iv-the-spendings-of-fancy-facts-answer-with-sneers.md): Carrie begins her new job at a shoe factory, but the harsh realities of factory work—long hours, crude coworkers, and a sordid environment—shatter her romantic fantasies of city life. At home, her sister Minnie and broth
- [V: A Glittering Night Flower: The Use of a Name](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/v-a-glittering-night-flower-the-use-of-a-name.md): Drouet spends an evening at Rector's restaurant and Fitzgerald and Moy's saloon, where he meets and converses with Hurstwood, the manager. The chapter contrasts Drouet's superficial pursuit of pleasure and status with Hu

> 42 more chapter companions — [open a free preview](https://www.betterreads.dev/reader?bookId=sister_carrie_se_1554kb&preview=1) to unlock the rest.

- [VI: The Machine and the Maiden: A Knight of Today](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/vi-the-machine-and-the-maiden-a-knight-of-today.md)
- [VII: The Lure of the Material: Beauty Speaks for Itself](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/vii-the-lure-of-the-material-beauty-speaks-for-itself.md)
- [Intimations by Winter: An Ambassador Summoned](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/viii-intimations-by-winter-an-ambassador-summoned.md)
- [IX: Convention’s Own Tinderbox: The Eye That Is Green](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/ix-convention-s-own-tinderbox-the-eye-that-is-green.md)
- [X: The Counsel of Winter: Fortune's Ambassador Calls](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/x-the-counsel-of-winter-fortune-s-ambassador-calls.md)
- [XI: The Persuasion of Fashion: Feeling Guards O’er Its Own](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xi-the-persuasion-of-fashion-feeling-guards-o-er-its-own.md)
- [Of the Lamps of the Mansions: The Ambassador’s Plea](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xii-of-the-lamps-of-the-mansions-the-ambassador-s-plea.md)
- [XIII: His Credentials Accepted: A Babel of Tongues](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xiii-his-credentials-accepted-a-babel-of-tongues.md)
- [XIV: With Eyes and Not Seeing: One Influence Wanes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xiv-with-eyes-and-not-seeing-one-influence-wanes.md)
- [XV: The Irk of the Old Ties: The Magic of Youth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xv-the-irk-of-the-old-ties-the-magic-of-youth.md)
- [A Witless Aladdin: The Gate to the World](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xvi-a-witless-aladdin-the-gate-to-the-world.md)
- [XVII: A Glimpse Through the Gateway: Hope Lightens the Eye](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xvii-a-glimpse-through-the-gateway-hope-lightens-the-eye.md)
- [XVIII: Just Over the Border: A Hail and Farewell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xviii-just-over-the-border-a-hail-and-farewell.md)
- [An Hour in Elfland: A Clamour Half Heard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xix-an-hour-in-elfland-a-clamour-half-heard.md)
- [XX: The Lure of the Spirit: The Flesh in Pursuit](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xx-the-lure-of-the-spirit-the-flesh-in-pursuit.md)
- [XXI: The Lure of the Spirit: The Flesh in Pursuit](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xxi-the-lure-of-the-spirit-the-flesh-in-pursuit.md)
- [XXII: The Blaze of the Tinder: Flesh Wars with the Flesh](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xxii-the-blaze-of-the-tinder-flesh-wars-with-the-flesh.md)
- [XXIII: A Spirit in Travail: One Rung Put Behind](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xxiii-a-spirit-in-travail-one-rung-put-behind.md)
- [XXIV: Ashes of Tinder: A Face at the Window](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xxiv-ashes-of-tinder-a-face-at-the-window.md)
- [XXV: Ashes of Tinder: The Loosing of Stays](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xxv-ashes-of-tinder-the-loosing-of-stays.md)
- [XXVI: The Ambassador Fallen: A Search for the Gate](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xxvi-the-ambassador-fallen-a-search-for-the-gate.md)
- [XXVII: When Waters Engulf Us We Reach for a Star](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xxvii-when-waters-engulf-us-we-reach-for-a-star.md)
- [XXVIII: A Pilgrim, an Outlaw: The Spirit Detained](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xxviii-a-pilgrim-an-outlaw-the-spirit-detained.md)
- [XXIX: The Solace of Travel: The Boats of the Sea](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xxix-the-solace-of-travel-the-boats-of-the-sea.md)
- [XXX: The Kingdom of Greatness: The Pilgrim Adream](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xxx-the-kingdom-of-greatness-the-pilgrim-adream.md)
- [A Pet of Good Fortune: Broadway Flaunts Its Joys](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xxxi-a-pet-of-good-fortune-broadway-flaunts-its-joys.md)
- [The Feast of Belshazzar: A Seer to Translate](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xxxii-the-feast-of-belshazzar-a-seer-to-translate.md)
- [Without the Walled City: The Slope of the Years](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xxxiii-without-the-walled-city-the-slope-of-the-years.md)
- [XXXIV: The Grind of the Millstones: A Sample of Chaff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xxxiv-the-grind-of-the-millstones-a-sample-of-chaff.md)
- [The Passing of Effort: The Visage of Care](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xxxv-the-passing-of-effort-the-visage-of-care.md)
- [A Grim Retrogression: The Phantom of Chance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xxxvi-a-grim-retrogression-the-phantom-of-chance.md)
- [The Spirit Awakens: New Search for the Gate](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xxxvii-the-spirit-awakens-new-search-for-the-gate.md)
- [XXXVIII: In Elf Land Disporting: The Grim World Without](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xxxviii-in-elf-land-disporting-the-grim-world-without.md)
- [XXXIX: Of Lights and of Shadows: The Parting of Worlds](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xxxix-of-lights-and-of-shadows-the-parting-of-worlds.md)
- [XL: A Public Dissension: A Final Appeal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xl-a-public-dissension-a-final-appeal.md)
- [The Strike](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xli-the-strike.md)
- [XLII: A Touch of Spring: The Empty Shell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xlii-a-touch-of-spring-the-empty-shell.md)
- [XLIII: The World Turns Flatterer: An Eye in the Dark](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xliii-the-world-turns-flatterer-an-eye-in-the-dark.md)
- [XLIV: And This Is Not Elf Land: What Gold Will Not Buy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xliv-and-this-is-not-elf-land-what-gold-will-not-buy.md)
- [XLV: Curious Shifts of the Poor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xlv-curious-shifts-of-the-poor.md)
- [XLVI: Stirring Troubled Waters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xlvi-stirring-troubled-waters.md)
- [XLVII: The Way of the Beaten: A Harp in the Wind](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xlvii-the-way-of-the-beaten-a-harp-in-the-wind.md)

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters