| Sister Carrie is one of the most important representative works of the famous American writer Theodore Dreiser,which was created in 1900 in the era of the rise of American consumer culture.The novel truly shows American capitalist urban life represented by Chicago and New York and profoundly reflects the value conflicts between luxury and puritanism in the United States.This thesis takes Sister Carrie as the research object to probe into Dreiser’s thinking on modernity by using Sombart’s theory about the secularization of love,the relationship between luxury consumption and capitalist development,and the conflicts between luxury consumption and puritanism.Sombart’s theory of modernity is rooted in the exposition of the genesis of capitalism.He disagrees with Weber’s view that the genesis of capitalism is combined with the protestant ethic.He regards puritanism as the antithesis of capitalism.Thus,unlike Weber,Sombart,who has no interest in frugality and abstinence,realizes the relationship between the secularization of love and the prevalence of luxury in society.He claims that consumption of luxury articles has played a key role in the scale and rationalization of production.As Sombart points out,“Luxury,then,itself a legitimate child of illicit love-as we have been seen-gave birth to capitalism.” As a classic text,Sister Carrie has been studied by many academic researchers.This thesis tries to put Dreiser and his text in the course of modernization of American society and interprets the growth course of the protagonist Carrie in the metropolis based on Sombart’s theory.This paper also discusses the paradoxes of modernity presented in Sister Carrie and tries to explain the reflection on the spirit of American capitalism contained in the text from quite a few perspectives.This thesis consists of the following five chapters:The first chapter introduces Dreiser and his work Sister Carrie.This chapter analyzes the current research status of sister Carrie at home and abroad,and elaborates Dreiser’s thinking on modernity by reviewing the modernity writing on his works.Consumer culture was very prevalent at the end of the 19 th century,and people’s moral concepts wereinfluenced by luxury consumption which aroused Dreiser’s concern,then he revealed the essence of the modern consumer society with Carrie’s experience.The second chapter analyzes the relationship between the secularization of love and the rise of luxury.This chapter clarifies the value orientation of secular love at the background of economy and culture and reveals the relationship between the secularization of love,luxury consumption and the alienation of love.This chapter then explains the transformation of Carrie’s consumption from basic living demands to conspicuous consumption.The third chapter examines the relationship between the prevalence of luxury consumption and the development of capitalism.The prevalence of luxury consumption creates conditions for the development of new stores and the modern commercial spirit,and it promotes the development of capitalism.The sensory satisfaction obtained by the characters through luxury consumption shows the conflict between irrational luxury consumption and the modern rational spirit of diligence,frugality and self-discipline.The fourth chapter mainly focuses on the conflicts between luxury consumption and puritanism.By discussing the identity anxiety embodied in the process of Carrie’s self-construction,and analyzing her reflection on liberation of sensibility and the ultimate value of belongingness under the stimulation of luxury consumption,this chapter explains the paradoxes between luxury consumption and puritanism in the process of modernization.The fifth chapter reviews the thesis and comments on the paradoxes of modernity embodied in Dreiser’s text.This part also analyzes the criticism and reflection of Sister Carrie on American society and reveals the literary value and practical significance of Dreiser’s novels. |
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