Abstract: Sister Carrie is the first novel of Theodore Dreiser, an American realistic writer. In this novel, Carrie is a representative of American new women of the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. As a successful actress, she has ideas of her own and dares to challenge the traditional morality, thus achieving both material and spiritual independence. This paper aims to analyze the new female images of Carrie — her awakening of self-consciousness, her change of attitudes towards life and her departure from the traditional morality. It concludes that with the rapid economic growth of American capitalism, Carrie has courage to take risks and competes with men in order to adapt themselves to the social progress, and makes her great efforts to get rid of the shackles of patriarchy.

Key words: The Sister Carrie; Carrie; New Women; Self-consciousness

CONTENTS

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction .1

1.1 Introduction to the Novel

1.2 Introduction to the New Women

1.3 Literature Review

2. New Female Image of Carrie3

2.1 A woman with Awakening Self Consciousness

2.2 A woman with Changed Attitude towards Life

2.3 A woman Against the Traditional Morality

3. Conclusion8

Bibliography.10

Acknowledgments11