# Lola — Sister Carrie character guide

> Lola in Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Lo, little Lola

**First appearance:** 0037-xxxviii-in-elf-land-disporting-the-grim-world-without

## Snapshot

A small, warm-hearted chorus girl who becomes Carrie's first real friend in the theater, trading encouragement and rent money for companionship.

## Who they are

Lola is the little actress who shares a room with Carrie when the chorus pay starts coming in, quick to celebrate a notice and quicker to warn her to save for the summer. She is generous with praise and practical about money, and her easy pleasure in clothes, suppers, and carriage rides pulls Carrie into the metropolitan whirl. She matters because she makes Carrie's stage success feel real and social rather than solitary — the first person who treats her as a working actress rather than a kept woman.

## Relationships

### [George Hurstwood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/characters/george_hurstwood)

_social_

Hurstwood knows Lola as a friend of Carrie's, but their interactions are minimal and strained after his decline.

### [Charles Drouet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/characters/charles_drouet)

_social_

Drouet knows Lola through Carrie and the theater scene, but their connection is superficial and brief.

### [George Hurstwood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/characters/george_hurstwood)

_social_

Hurstwood knows Lola as a friend of Carrie's, but their interactions are minimal and strained after his decline.

### [Charles Drouet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/characters/charles_drouet)

_social_

Drouet knows Lola through Carrie and the theater scene, but their connection is superficial and brief.

### [George Hurstwood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/characters/george_hurstwood)

_social_

Hurstwood knows Lola as a friend of Carrie's, but their interactions are minimal and strained after his decline.

## In the story

### [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)

A friendly chorus girl who befriends Carrie, introduces her to young men, and encourages her to neglect dinner hours for social outings.

### [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)

Urges Carrie to ask for a higher salary and invites her to share a room.

### [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)

Lola, Carrie's friend and fellow chorus girl, offers encouragement and shares her own experience of having her picture in the paper.

### [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)

Lola shares Carrie's hotel room and tries to encourage her to socialize, but Carrie remains disinterested in the suitors who write to her.

### [XLVI: Stirring Troubled Waters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xlvi-stirring-troubled-waters)

Carrie's friend and fellow actress, to whom Carrie confides her thoughts about leaving comedy for a more serious role.

### [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)

Lola is present with Carrie in her Waldorf chambers, commenting on the snowy weather.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/characters/lola
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/characters