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Sister Carrie
"A Strangely Strong Novel in a Queer Milieu" | 
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Rare Book & Manuscript Library University of Pennsylvania | ||
 Marceau Photograph proof of Dreiser New York, 1900 | One hundred years ago the first novel by American journalist and editor
Theodore Dreiser was issued by Doubleday, Page & Co. At the outset the work was
primarily distributed to and read by book reviewers. Among the mixed reactions printed
in the initial year of publication came a prophetic analysis by William Marion Reedy in
the St. Louis Mirror; it was entitled "Sister Carrie: A
Strangely Strong Novel in a Queer Milieu" (3 January 1901). Although he admits that
the novel is neither "nice" nor "nasty," Reedy identifies one of the enduring powers of
Dreiser's tale: "the strong hint of the pathetic in banale situations which is
more frequent than often imagined." In a review dominated by plot summary and
frequently acknowledging Dreiser's uneven craft, Reedy always returns to his own
captivation with Dreiser's remarkable blend of veritism and art: "at times the whole
thing is impossible, and then again it is as absolute as life itself." Sister Carrie remains vital for many reasons: as an historical marker for the turn away from sentimentality, romance, and moral rectitude in the American novel at the brink of the twentieth century; as a text that influenced--pro and con--succeeding American novelists over the next several decades; and as a conundrum that never ceases to provoke debate for readers both general and professional. While the first half of the twentieth century produced a diverse range of critical opinion on Sister Carrie by reviewers and essayists, the second half has been witness to an abiding argument within academia regarding the quality, value, importance, and interpretation of this signature text.
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