Geographic Escape and Social Norms in Sister Carrie and A Modern Instance

Introduction: Geography as Escape in American Realist Fiction

Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie and William Dean Howells' A Modern Instance are classic examples of the way people attempt to change their personalities and their lives through geographic relocation. Both stories test the belief that greater mobility translates into greater freedom, and both address whether social norms follow people when they move or whether new environments reset the terms of what is socially acceptable.

Throughout history, authors have used literature to convey messages — sometimes openly, sometimes as a subtle undercurrent of ideas. In these two classic stories of change and movement, the reader is taken on a journey through social change and personal growth as characters move to escape their realities. Both novels combine a deep need for self-reflection with the transformation of characters as they grow and work through their lives.

A Modern Instance: Character Flaws and the Move to Boston

A Modern Instance is a strong example of the changes that take place within characters who relocate. It also displays an understanding that social norms do not change; rather, the character changes the environment, which places them in a different context within the same framework of what is socially normal and acceptable.

When Bartley and Marcia meet and fall in love, they each have crosses to bear in the form of character flaws. Marcia suffers from extreme self-centeredness, while Bartley feels that the world is his for the taking regardless of what he must do to get what he wants. Between his lack of values and morals and her refusal to see beyond her own needs, the two run into trouble from the start. Her family opposes the relationship, and as the story unfolds it becomes apparent that her self-centered attitude has been promoted and reinforced by her family's behavior. Rather than confront their own flaws, Bartley and Marcia choose to blame the environment in which they live. They move to Boston in the belief that changing their surroundings will change their lives.

Of course, wherever they run, there they are. The same character flaws that existed before the move remain fully present after it. Because of Marcia's jealousy and self-centeredness, and Bartley's refusal to adopt any semblance of moral behavior, their marriage is tested even in the new environment. This is the point at which the reader becomes aware that social norms do not change with geographic relocation — they remain constant, and character flaws are just as evident in the new environment as they were in the old. The marriage falls apart, while others in their circle who do possess moral fiber begin to thrive. The evident moral convictions of these secondary characters serve as a reminder that social norms do not change unless one moves into an entirely different culture altogether.

The story is also a portrait of the dislocation one feels when making a geographic change and suddenly finding that the familiar places and routines are no longer available. When Bartley abandons Marcia, a friend of his harbors a secret love for her. He too chooses geographic change in an attempt to alter what he feels. Through that relocation, he manages to undertake a kind of personal penance and becomes a minister — yet he did not change social norms; instead, he changed himself.

In Sister Carrie, a similar lesson is learned — not only by the reader but by the characters themselves. Carrie makes several geographic moves in her attempt to change her life and her personality, but throughout the novel the reader understands that this transformation does not come from moving alone. Her first change is when she leaves the rural community where her family raised her and moves to the city:

Sister Carrie: Relocation and the Illusion of Self-Reinvention

"When Caroline Meeber boarded the afternoon train for Chicago, her total outfit consisted of a small trunk, a cheap imitation alligator-skin satchel, a small lunch in a paper box, and a yellow leather snap purse, containing her ticket, a scrap of paper with her sister's address in Van Buren Street, and four dollars in money" (Dreiser, p. 1).

In the city, she falls for a wealthy man and moves in with him, only to run away with another man. She is not as self-centered as Marcia in the other story, but she shares some of the same traits. She becomes caught up in the belief that having money is the way to change who she is, and because of that she moves toward a relationship with the first wealthy man she meets. Howells' own observation captures the broader pattern:

"When a girl leaves her home at eighteen, she does one of two things. Either she falls into saving hands and becomes better, or she rapidly assumes the cosmopolitan standard of virtue and becomes worse. Of an intermediate balance, under the circumstances, there is no possibility. The city has its cunning wiles, no less than the infinitely smaller and more human tempter. There are large forces which allure with all the soulfulness of expression possible in the most cultured human" (Howells, p. 2).

Carrie moves in the hope that Hurstwood will be able to change. He instead remains the person he always was. It becomes clear to Carrie that he was never a strong or goal-oriented person — he had only been propped up by the contacts and colleagues he had through his job. Once that position was lost and their geographic flight occurred, his true character emerged. Carrie, on the other hand, continued to believe that moving would cause others to treat her differently. It was only after several moves that she realized the only person she has control over is herself, and she begins to work on changing herself and letting go of her previous expectations.

Conclusion

Each book provides insight into the benefits and problems of making geographic moves to try and change one's life. Taken together, Sister Carrie and A Modern Instance make a compelling case that external relocation cannot substitute for internal transformation, and that the social norms shaping human behavior are far more durable than any change of scenery.