An Interpretation Of Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie From The Perspective Of Gaze Theory

Theodore Dreiser is one of the most successful realistic novelists in America in the 20 th century,and Sister Carrie is his first novel.Owing to its practical significance and different values from the society at that time,it has received extensive attention at home and abroad.Dreiser has many sisters,and his sister Emma is considered to be the prototype of Sister Carrie.The hero Hurstwood has changed to a beggar from a successful manager,which is thought to be a disdain for the society.The study on this novel at home and abroad mainly concentrates on American dream,feminism,consumerism and so on.However,less study focuses on the gaze theory.Gaze theory is a way of watching the world and exploring the truth with power operation and desire entanglement.The subject is called gazer,while the object is gazee.Gazer has power and desire.Through gazing,gazee gradually assimilates,loses itself and becomes the spiritual captives.Lacan puts forward “the mirror stage”,which believes that gazer can also be gazee to some extent,and it is beneficial to the construction of self-identity.In Sister Carrie the two protagonists Carrie and Mr.Hurstwood are gazed at from different aspects,meanwhile,they also gaze at others.They are both gazer and gazee.Carrie is a poor country girl.When she comes to Chicago alone,she has received the gaze from three men,including her brother-in-law's gaze towards her money,Drouet's gaze towards desire and Hurstwood's gaze towards spirit.Thanks to her own efforts,she becomes a successful and independent actress,who has got the right to gaze at others.She thinks Drouet doesn't love her at all,so she chooses to leave.Then when Mr.Hurstwood is unable to get together after a fall,she also leaves.As for Mr.Hurstwood,he has invisible gaze at his wife and Carrie.In New York,he is deeply attacked and chooses to yield.Based on the analysis of the phenomenon of gaze in the novel,this paper aims to explore the causes of the fate of the two protagonists and how they complete deconstruction and reconstruction through gazing and being gazed.In this way,this paper hopes to call on everyone to correctly treat the gaze,use gaze and achieve their own liberation.