On Sister Carrie's Desire for Clothes Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

【Abstract】The American novel Sister Carrie told the story of a country girl's social climbing in the urban world. This paper used Maslow’s hierarchy of needs for an in-depth examination on the heroine's desire for clothes as it changed throughout her life.

【Key words】Sister Carrie； Maslow’s hierarchy of needs； desire

In Theodore Dreiser's novel Sister Carrie， the heroine is portrayed as a passive girl. The name Carrie has the same pronunciation as “carry”， this pun indicates the author’s belief that every person is carried by superhuman forces. The characters in this novel have no control of their own fortune； their success and failure are merely by chance， or fate.

But there’s something besides chance that helps Carrie to rise in the society―her desire. Desires are the forces that stimulate her to climb higher. Driven by endless desires， Carrie is always pursuing different things， such as clothes， security， love， friendship， and fame. To better understand the driving forces behind her endless desires.， this paper focus on her desire for clothes using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

According to Maslow， human beings’ needs fall into five hierarchical levels， from low to high 1） Physiology needs for food and clothes； 2） Needs for Security； 3） Needs for belongingness and love； 4） Needs for esteem； 5） Needs for self-actualization. If a lower level of need is satisfied， it releases a new and higher need， making desire possible.

In the whole novel， Carrie seems always in need of clothes. At the beginning， she judges men according to their clothes. When she is talking to Drouet， the well-dressed salesman， she becomes conscious of her inferiority because of her plain， even shabby dress and shoes. This feeling also haunted her when she works with the better-clothed girls in the shoe factory.

When Carrie lost her scantly-paid job， her situation becomes worse. Cold and in need of a new jacket， she accepted the 20 dollars from Drouet， as the author conveys， “She was still glad now. she would have a nice new jacket， a nice pair of pretty button shoes， stocking and a shirt.” Carrie’s desire to have the beautiful jacket and to live in the city together drive her to accept Drouet’s help. As Maslow pointed out， the physiological need is the most fundamental and powerful one among the five needs. Controlled by it， Carrie pushes aside her sense of shame.

Carrie’s sensitivity on clothes draws a line between two kinds of men： above the line are well-dressed men such as Drouet and Hurstwood， and below the line are poorly-clad fellows like her brother-in-law and her male colleagues in the shoe factory. Of course she is only interested in well-dressed men.

After Carrie lives with Drouet， she has fulfilled her basic needs. But she still desires for clothes. She dressed herself up out of an inborn love for beauty， and mostly， out of the need of safety. At this time， her desire for clothes has chanced from the physiology needs into the need for security. Because she is dependent on Drouet and the only thing she could do is to keep herself attractive to Drouet， by means of clothes. When she is seeing Hurstwood， she compares Drouet and Hurstwood， using clothing as a standard. Hurstwood， as the better-clad one， represents a better life.

The desire for clothes still haunts her when she goes to New York， especially after she makes acquaintance with the wealthy Mrs. Vance. Their visit to the broad way awakens her desire for luxurious clothes. At this time， the meaning behind clothes has changes into a social marker. Wearing beautiful clothes can give her the sense of belonging to a higher social class. Now， Carrie’s desire for clothes reflects her needs for belongingness.

When Carrie steps on the stage， she became more eager to put away some money for better clothes. Her desire for new clothes is the need for attention and esteem. But Carrie never really wants clothes out of the need for self-actualization， because she doesn’t know what kind of person she really wants to be. She is drifted by the waves to wherever fate brings her.

Through Carrie’s desire for clothes and the changes of the meaning of clothes， it is possible to track her rise in the society and to have a more insightful understanding of the author's connotation in the novel.

References：

[1]Donald L.M.，City of the Century[M].New York： Simon & Schuster，1996.

[2]Maslow，A.Motivation and personality[M].New York：Harper，1954.

作者介：徐淑颖（1983-），女，汉族，浙江慈溪人，硕士，讲师，研究方向：外国语言学与应用语言学。