# Mrs. Vance — Sister Carrie character guide

> Mrs. Vance in Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the young Mrs. Vance, the dashing Mrs. Vance

**First appearance:** 0029-xxx-the-kingdom-of-greatness-the-pilgrim-adream

## Snapshot

A dashing young neighbor whose easy elegance and casual friendship open Carrie's eyes to a New York she can see but not yet afford.

## Who they are

Mrs. Vance lives one floor away in the same respectable building, but her flat, her playing, and her manner belong to a more luxurious world that Carrie studies with hungry attention. Their acquaintance begins with a forgotten key and grows into visits, card games, and theater outings that teach Carrie how the comfortable live. She is not cruel, only oblivious, and that is precisely her function: she shows Carrie the standard against which her own shrinking circumstances will look unbearable.

## In the story

### [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)

Carrie's stylish neighbor who becomes her friend; her refined appearance and comfortable life highlight Carrie's own lack of luxury.

### [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)

Mrs. Vance invites Carrie to the matinee and later to dinner at Sherry's and the theater. She frequently advises Carrie on fashionable clothing and accessories, influencing Carrie's tastes.

### [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)

Announces she and her husband are giving up their flat for the summer, leaving Carrie without companionship.

### [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)

Carrie's experiences with the Vances have unfitted her for her current poverty, highlighting the allure of high society.

### [A Grim Retrogression: The Phantom of Chance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sister_carrie_se/chapters/xxxvi-a-grim-retrogression-the-phantom-of-chance)

Mrs. Vance accidentally encounters Hurstwood in his degraded state and later meets Carrie on the street, noting their reduced circumstances.

## Links

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