Sister Carrie and Their Eyes Were Watching God

The Struggle for the Perfect Man in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie and Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God

When we find a love interest and have an opportunity to commit to him or her, we usually do, not noting the consequences we may face by doing so. The first few times around, however, the outcome is usually not the one we had expected and hoped for. Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie and Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God portray two young women on their trek to find the perfect love. Even though Carrie Meeber and Janie Crawford have almost nothing in common, they both shared the impact of the same consequences. Carrie and Janie show how people of countless numbers of backgrounds can share the same experiences and consequences through their journey of love.

The first relationship often makes a big impact on the person, one that they will never forget. Carrie’s journey begins on her train ride to Chicago. A very handsome and rich man, Drouet, takes note of Carrie and begins talking to her. She becomes overwhelmed at his quick advancement upon her and becomes weak and vulnerable. She quickly takes interest in him and does not know how to act or what to think as shown in this passage:

There was something satisfactory in the attention of this individual with good clothes….She realized that she was of interest to him from the one standpoint which a woman both delights in and fears. Her manner was simple, though for the very reason that she had not yet learned the many little affections with which women conceal their true feelings.

(pp. 11-12, Sister Carrie)

Carrie didn’t know what to expect when she got together with Drouet. She loved the wealth and money, and believed she loved Drouet. After a while she began to realize that she really didn’t love him. But she thought that marriage would be a guarantee against losing his affection and generosity. Janie, on the other hand, was forced into her first relationship, in which this case was a marriage. Janie thought she could grow to love Logan, but did not. She soon learned that marriage did not make love. Logan did nothing wrong, Janie was just looking for something else, someone who could love her the way she wanted to be loved.

In the second relationship, things are often thought to be better, but it’s not always the case.