sister carrie

Chapter 1 Preface
前言
Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945), one of the founders of American realist literature, published "Sister Carrie" in 1900, which marked the entry of American literature into a new historical stage.Now when this new translation meets readers in our country, it has been nearly a century since the book was first "published" (named "published" as a banned book) in the brutal suppression. The publication of the new translation of "Sister Carrie", in a sense, brings readers information about the changes in the past 100 years.

In this soon-to-be centennial of "Sister Carrie," perhaps there are two things to consider.One is the dispute over the version of "Sister Carrie" - this may be said to have been basically resolved, or close to being resolved through the practice of the past ten years in the United States; but in my country, it has yet to be seriously studied and resolved.The second is the evaluation of the author. Dreiser, the author of "Sister Carrie", "The Financier" and "An American Tragedy", has experienced ups and downs in the past 100 years. The changes in the evaluation of Dreiser can reveal the recent history of American literature from one aspect. Information on developments and changes in 100 years.

Regarding the dispute over the version of "Sister Carrie", in the United States, Dreiser's "Sister Carrie" has two editions, one is the current edition since 1900, called the standard edition; the other is published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 1981 (later included in "Penguin Books", prefaced by the famous Dreiser research expert Alfred Kazin).What are the similarities and differences between the two books? Which book is more in line with the author's desire? From the perspective of aesthetic and social significance, as a kind of art treasure, which book is generally suitable for publication and appreciation?
The 1981 book is based on the first manuscript.In addition to this notebook, the 1900 edition is based on the author's revised manuscript of the earliest manuscript.The later manuscripts are the standard editions that have been popular since 1900, and they had to be deleted or revised in advance due to the ban or other foreign oppression.If people infer that this matter is related to the ban because of the dispute between the two books, it is purely a misunderstanding.This is appropriate to explain before describing the whole story.

The basic situation of the various books of "Sister Carrie" in the past hundred years is roughly as follows:

(One)
The original manuscript (original1 manuscript version), referred to as "manuscript version" (manuscript version), or "unedited original manuscript" (unedited original1 version) (1982 edition of "Sister Carrie" (Punton Company Edition) , New York, 405 pp.).Dreiser began work on "Sister Carrie" in the autumn of 1899 and finished it in March 1900.During the creation process, while Dreiser was writing, Miss Anna Malone, whom he fell in love with and who was running a typing agency, organized her female typists to type out the hands.During the typing process, Dreiser made revisions and deletions.

At this time, his wife Sarah? Whit and his good friend Arthur Henry helped him make revisions and deletions.In addition to the two of them, the female typists also made some corrections where they thought "can be corrected".This initial manuscript and the typescript that was finally typed while revising and typing are collectively referred to as the original manuscript, or manuscript, or unorganized manuscript. (The 1987 edition of "Dreiser Selected Works" ("American Series"), edited by Professor Richard Leheng, New York, 1159 pages.) The popular "Sister Carrie" published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 1981 in our country is the original The manuscript and the typewritten manuscript that have not been modified later are referred to as the original manuscript (origina manuscript version) (some of them are called "replicas" in our country).

(two)
The manuscript compiled by the author, the standard edition that has been in current use since 1900.The typewritten manuscript was typed and edited from the manuscript, and was revised and abridged by Dreiser with the help of his wife Sarah Whit (also known as Juger) and his friend Henry before sending it to the publishing company.In this modification process, Sarah played a considerable role.Some researchers pointed out that some aspects of Sarah's modification were relatively poor.But generally speaking, the modification of this book was mainly done by Dreiser.The revisions made by Sarah and Henry were approved by the authors, and according to the editor of the 1982 edition of Sister Carrie: "The 'unedited manuscript' published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 1981 shows Revision, Dreiser agrees, even welcomes." (Sister Carrie (Punton, 1982), New York, Preface, p. 12.)
It was this book, the revised typescript, that Dreiser sent to the publishing company for publication.After the manuscript was completed in March 1900, Dreiser first sent the manuscript to Harper's Brothers Publishing Company, but the manuscript was rejected.The date is May 3, 1990.The reason for rejecting the manuscript is: "The depiction of the heroine's long-lasting adulterous relationship will inevitably arouse readers' disgust." Made some modifications.Sarah, Dreiser's wife at the time, believed that part of the trouble, judging from the reason Harpers rejected the manuscript, was due to the sex life of the characters in the work.Dreiser cut them all out.According to the same material, before Dreiser revised it again, in the original unedited manuscript (that is, the 5 Penn State University Press version), the description of sex was "not originally explicit." (The 20 edition of "Sister Carrie" (Penton Company Edition), "Preface", page 1981.) At that time, Dreiser admired the famous writer Frank Norris, and his "McTeague" was the first in the United States. A Naturalistic Novel (1982).After Harper's rejection, he sent the typescript to Tabolde-Page Publishing Company, with Norris as reviewer.Norris was very appreciative and highly recommended, and Peggy, one of the bosses of the company, wrote back to Dreiser stating that their company would accept the book.

But soon, the landlady Mrs. Tumbleday, who returned from a European tour, read the proofs of the novel and thought it was "vulgar and immoral".Her husband said he felt the same way.So began a series of negotiations.Paige, one of the bosses who at one time favored the publication of the book, wrote to Dreiser (1900719): "Your choice of characters in your work is very unfortunate... As a young writer's debut, this is not the most suitable work. Twice Paige tried to persuade Dreiser to agree to release the publishing company from its commitment to publish the book.With the support of Norris and Henry and others, Dreiser firmly rejected the company's request. On August 1900, 8, the two parties signed an agreement. After discussing with the lawyer, Taborday-Pegge Company came up with a ghost idea: the publishing company is legally obliged to abide by the contract and publish this book, but this Editions can be run in small quantities and are not mandated to be marketed.As a result, such a strange phenomenon appeared: "Sister Carrie" was published by Taborday-Pegge Publishing Company on November 20, 1900, and 11 copies were printed, but it was not publicly promoted.The reviewer Norris presented 8 copies to relevant people in the evaluation circle asking them to write reviews and recommendations.From its publication in November 1000 to January 127, a total of 1900 copies were sold, and the royalties totaled 11 yuan.The rest of the books are piled up in warehouses.This is the famous event in the history of American literature that the publication of "Sister Carrie" was actually a banned book-although it was not banned through government channels, it was still an American-style banned book!
What is the difference between the published book and the book handed over to the publishing company? Has the publishing company tampered with it?
According to Dreiser research expert Professor Bizet in 1982 (that is, after the 1981 edition was published), it is now known that the deletions made by Taborday-Page Publishing Company before going to press were "minimal (to the profanity and Some names of people and places, with a few changes)" (Betzer's "Theodore Dreiser", contained in "Biographical Series of American Writers", 1982, p. 150.).It can be seen that the negative effect of this publishing company lies mainly in the way of publishing and not distributing banned books, rather than in the minor changes made to the works themselves.

But after all, the publishing company still edited some things, such as deleting the words "you bastard" in the strike.It is also like the original manuscript that Carrie and Hurstwood got married on the second day after staying in the hotel after they left Chicago to Mondrian, but they got married on the day they arrived.This is a more important change.Existing materials prove that the proofs of the whole book were read by Dreiser himself before publication.The handwriting revised by Dreiser is still clearly recognizable.

(three)
1900-1908 version of the situation.

Except for "Sister Carrie" which was published by Taborday-Pegge Publishing Company in November 1900 but not released, there is a publishing company in London, England, whose boss is William Heinemann, who released the "United States Novel Series". , included in "Sister Carrie", but received an abbreviated version, published in August 11, the task of abbreviating was undertaken by Dreiser's friend Arthur Henry.Heinemann admired "Sister Carrie" so much that he wrote to Taborday, "I think Mr. Dreiser is a very remarkable writer... I should congratulate you for discovering him. You There should be a lot of praise for him." (Sister Carrie (American Series), 1901, pp. 8-1987.) Taboldie forwarded the letter to Dreiser without adding evaluate.After the British version of "Sister Carrie" was published, the response in the UK was also good.But in general, the publication of this abbreviated version in the UK has not improved the author's situation in the United States.

In 1901, Dreiser tried various methods to urge Te Bordeaux-Page Publishing Company to republish "Sister Carrie", but the appeal was fruitless, so that Dreiser suffered a very heavy blow both mentally and financially.

In 1904, while working as a low-level editor (15 yuan a week), Dreiser's friend McLean bought the book edition of "Sister Carrie" from Jeff Taylor for 500 yuan (Taylor purchased it from the Bourdain Company). In 1906, Dreiser bought the book version and printing sheets of "Sister Carrie" from his friend McClean for 550 yuan.

From 1905 to 1907, Dreiser made great contributions to running the publications, which made the publications sell well, so wages were raised and the economic situation improved.In 1907, with an investment of $5000, Dreiser became secretary and editor of the Dodge Publishing Company, and Sister Carrie was republished by the Dodge Publishing Company.After publication, the critics responded well and sold well.

In 1908, Glosser-Dunlap Company published the paperback edition of "Sister Carrie", and 5248 copies were sold out by the end of the year.Dreiser's masterpiece was finally accepted by American readers, and this ended the situation of "Sister Carrie" being banned by the publishing company as a banned book in the United States.During this period of nearly ten years, Dreiser suffered mentally and financially. According to the available materials, it is known that he was unable to support mentally and almost committed suicide. (Donald Beetzer, "Comment on the 1981 Edition ("Sister Carrie")", contained in "American Literature", January 1982, pp. 1-731.)
Both the 1907 and 1908 editions were in charge of Dreiser himself, and were not suppressed or restrained by outsiders. They both used the 1900 edition, that is, the edition published by Taborday-Page Publishing Company, or the standard edition. (Pinyin and punctuation were corrected by Dreiser before the 1907 edition was published).

(four)
The main situation of various editions between 1908 and 1981.From 1907-1908 to before 1981, for more than 1945 years, no matter during Dreiser's lifetime or after his death (died in 1900), the various editions were published in 1900 by Teboulday-Pegge Publishing Company. That book, it is worth noting that Dreiser has become more and more famous later, can decide which edition to choose without being suppressed or restrained, but he still uses the one published by Taborday-Page Publishing Company in [-] standard edition.Specifically, there are some standout cases.

Like in 1925, "An American Tragedy" was published, which established Dreiser's status as a first-rate writer.Riverlight Publishing Company, one of the famous publishing companies in the United States, began publishing his complete works in 1927, and published a library edition in 1929.The American Masterpieces Publishing Company is famous for publishing the "Modern Series". Since 1918, it has intended to include "Sister Carrie" in the "Modern Series". After years of negotiations, it finally published "Modern Series" as one of the "Modern Series" "Sister Carrie", and specially published a statement of the publishing company at the front of the volume, "proud" of this, and published Dreiser's "The Adventures of Sister Carrie" at the front of the volume, describing the "Sister Carrie" suffered substantial The passage of the banned book.This is a very important event in Dreiser's life. This time, the standard edition published by Teboulday-Page Publishing Company in 1932 is still used.

In 1930, although Dreiser did not win the Nobel Prize, public opinion from all sides favored Dreiser, who believed that he should be the first American writer to win the Nobel Prize.Even Sinclair Lewis, who later won the award, praised Dreiser's achievements in his speech at the Nobel Prize award ceremony in 1930, thinking that this award could also be awarded to Dreiser.Later, in 1937, the Limited Edition Club of the United States published a special edition of "Sister Carrie", which also adopted the standard edition of Taborday-Page Publishing Company in 1900.

Existing materials indicate that "in 1939, when the Limited Edition Club Publishing Company was preparing to publish a new edition of "Sister Carrie", the author could have revised the entire novel if he wanted to, or adopted the original original version. The entire unrevised manuscript" (that is, the 1981 Penn State University Press book), but instead of doing so, Dreiser "reprinted that standard edition throughout his life." (The 1982 edition of "Sister Carrie" (Punton & Company Edition), New York, p. 405.)
What can be added is that in 1940, RKD, an American broadcasting company, purchased the right to select and broadcast part of "Sister Carrie" for 4000 yuan, and purchased "Sister Carrie" for 4 yuan in the same year.This book is still the standard one.

Dreiser passed away in 1945, but until 1950, he was still highly regarded in American literary circles.

Taking 1950 as a turning point, during the long Cold War, Dreiser was under attack, and his reputation was naturally greatly affected.But despite this, "Sister Carrie" still appears in various versions, including 1961, 1970, and 1980. The "Postscript" written by Professor Thorp for the 1980 edition of "Sister Carrie" is still relatively fair.These editions are still based on the 1900 standard edition.

(Fives)
The book published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 1981 was based on the manuscripts from the autumn of 1899 to March 1900, including the typewritten manuscripts that were written, revised, and typed at the same time.Some revisions were also made by the author in this typescript, but these revisions are different from the larger ones that were later sent to Harper's Publishing Company and Tabolde-Page Company to become the standard edition. Organize and delete.Therefore, this book is also called "unedited original3 version" (in our country, it is called "reconstructed version").

This book included in "Penguin Books" was prefaced by the famous American Dreiser research expert Alfred Kazin.Kazin's opinion has some authority.He believes that this book "becomes a different book in many ways" compared with past books.Kazin made some analysis and argumentation on this.Despite the differing opinions of other Dreiser experts in the United States, it is clear that Kazin's excellent insights cannot be ignored.

(six)
From 1982 to 1991, the situation of various versions of "Sister Carrie" in the last ten years.

Academic progress is unimaginable without some form of contention among a hundred schools of thought. The practice of the past ten years has shown that the academic and publishing circles in the United States have not accepted the views of the University of Pennsylvania Press and Kazin in 1981, and have not followed their views. As a conclusion, editions with considerable influence have been published successively, and the basis of the book is still the standard edition of 1900, that is, the book that has been popular for 1981 years except for the 90 book (included in "Penguin Series").

①1982 edition.Immediately after the Pennsylvania edition in 1981, a book based on the 1982 standard edition published by Penton Company in 1900 appeared immediately.In addition to the United States, Penton Publishing Company has branches in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. It is a multinational company with considerable influence.The 1982 edition was prefaced by the famous critic Ile Doctorow, who commented on the author's works, and also published a comparative study of "The Two Books of "Sister Carrie"" as an appendix.The point of view of this book is that: "The two volumes of "Sister Carrie" are indispensable for literature researchers and Dreiser research experts, but for general readers, the 1900 volume is still the most convenient for this novel. book."

②1987 edition. Another version appeared in 1987, which was published by the influential American Classics Publishing Company as one of the "American Series".The authority of this "American Series" is recognized by all walks of life.The editor-in-chief of this book is Richard Lehen, a professor at the University of California (Los Angeles), and the author of "Theodore Dreiser: His World and His Novel", another Dreiser research expert.This 1987 edition of "Sister Carrie" is included in "Dreiser's Selected Works" edited by Leghorn, and it is also based on the 1900 standard edition.This edition doesn't talk about the 1981 Penn State Press edition at all (i.e., "the original unedited manuscript"), but says in the "Imprint" that after 1907, although Dreiser threw ownership of the book edition , and reprinted it many times during his lifetime, but he has never made any changes since.Even in 1939 "no changes were made when the Limited Edition Club Publishing Company published a new edition".This is of course some sort of critique of the 1981 edition.

③1991年版。《嘉莉妹妹》版本变化的最近的情况是1991年1月出了1991年版，出版的公司是又一家影响较大的诺顿出版公司，是作为“新诺顿评论版丛书”之一出版的。主编是又一位德莱塞研究专家道纳特?庇才教授(杜兰纳大学)。他是《西奥多?德莱塞小说研究》的作者。这个本子附有《版本说明》，讨论了1900标准版与1981年宾州版两个本子的关系。还附有非常宝贵的第一手研究资料以及各个名家的评价性质的论文。附录中还记叙了德莱塞和他的好友亚瑟·亨利怎样对打字稿本进行删改的。这个1911年版采用的仍是1900年标准版。

This has been the consistent proposition of the past ten years.Immediately after the 1981 Pennsylvania edition was published, Betsy published "Comments on the 1981 Edition of "Sister Carrie"", which demonstrated two points: the theory that Tabolde-Peggy had falsified during the publishing process, Bai Cai thinks it may not be true.The second is that Dreiser revised the typewritten manuscript (that is, the "unorganized original manuscript") before sending the manuscript to Harper's Company and Taborday-Pegge Company. Not without merit, but it should not replace the current popular edition as Dreiser's first novel and a milestone in the history of the American novel. (Donald Beetzer's "Comment on the 1981 Edition of "Sister Carrie"", American Literature, January 1981, pp. 1982-1.) The 731 edition reiterated this theme and strengthened the academic argument .

(Seven)
A brief comparison of the two books

1981年版(《企鹅丛书》)卡津的《序言》中讲了这个版本比1990年标准版的某些长处。1982年朋顿公司版主编道克托罗、1987年美国名著公司“美国丛书”版主编里查特?列亨、1991年新诺顿评论版丛书主编道纳特?庇才都讲了1990年标准版的某些长处，以论证他们为什么要采用这个标准版。关于1982年后各版的资料都已译出，作为这个新译本的附录，请参考。这里只是扼要提示一下比较研究的结果的若干主要方面。

Kazin argues that the 1981 edition, the unedited original manuscript of 1899–1900, "becomes in many ways a different book, fuller, less brutal, and more obviously Dreiser's own."Specific examples cited include: in the 1981 edition, it was pointed out that Drouet and Hurstwood were sexually promiscuous; Marriage by a genius.In addition, certain details of Carrie's internal descriptions in Chapters [-] and [-] have been omitted in the standard version, and so on.

The three important editions in the ten years around 1982, 1987, and 1991 affirmed to varying degrees the value of the 1981 edition, that is, the original hand-made edition without sorting out. The 1982 edition stated that the standard edition of 1900 and the 1981 edition are "indispensable for literary researchers and Dreiser researchers", but the standard edition is more suitable for general readers.And the standard version of 1900 is the version agreed to by Dreiser, who did not use "the original unorganized manuscript" if he had the opportunity to use it in his lifetime. The 1987 edition also emphasized this point. The 1991 edition was more explicit that the 1981 edition should not replace the 1990 standard edition.Regarding the deletions, (36000 words were deleted in total. This refers to the original text, not the translation). The 1982 edition pointed out that many deletions were done correctly, some were too long, repetitive, and hindered the development of the plot, and some were due to the author’s excessive philosophical Discussion and so on.He also pointed out that Drouet's dissolute nature is still mentioned in the standard version, and he still pays attention to the description of Carrie's heart.Famous experts unanimously pointed out that Dreiser completely overthrew the ending centered on Hurstwood in the "unorganized original manuscript", rewritten it, changed it to Carrie as the center, and ended the whole book. Very remarkable.Their unanimous conclusion is that the standard version of 1900 should be used.In fact, this was the basic tendency of the publishing and academic circles in the decade from 1982 to 1991.

In the author's humble opinion, this basic tendency of the last ten years is also the basic tendency of more than 90 years. It is in line with the laws of literary appreciation and criticism, and it is more in line with Dreiser's original intention, although this is not to deny the 1981 edition. The value of academic research.In fact, Dreiser also mentioned before his death that "Sister Carrie" had been "arbitrarily deleted and suppressed", (1982 edition of "Sister Carrie" (Punton Edition), "Preface", p. 12.) Therefore, the existence of the "most authentic unedited manuscript" was mentioned back then.It can be seen that if the research value of the 1981 edition is denied, it is also against the original intention of the author.Of course, if one mistakenly believes that the 1981 edition should replace the standard edition that has been popular in the 1900 years since 90, it will be even more contrary to the original intention of the author, and it is also contrary to the requirements related to literary appreciation and literary criticism.

The evaluation of "Sister Carrie" involves the evaluation of Dreiser.Recently, my country's State Education Commission recommended three libraries to primary and secondary schools across the country: Children's Library, Juvenile Library, and Youth Library. Libraries, schools above the central school should gradually have libraries in every class." This is a great pioneering work for our country to do a good job in the basic project of cultivating talents.Among the more than [-] foreign literary works recommended, there is another masterpiece "American Tragedy" by Dreiser, the author of "Sister Carrie".One can foresee that Theodore Dreiser, together with Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Gorky and other great writers in the world, will become a good teacher and helpful friend to hundreds of millions of young people in our country within a few years.From this fact alone, it can be seen how much a correct evaluation of Dreiser and his works (including "Sister Carrie") is meaningful.

In fact, Dreiser's reputation in the United States has risen and fallen several times, all of which are related to the situation in the literary world, as well as the cultural and political changes in American history. "Sister Carrie" is the first sound to destroy the conservative "elegant tradition" in the history of American literature.It is not an isolated incident that Tabolde-Pace Publishing has imposed an American-style embargo on it—publishing and not distributing it.At that time, cultural celebrity Professor Stuart Schiemann denounced Dreiser as a "liar", "barbaric" and "indulging in writing about bestiality" (Stuart Schiemann "Mr. Dreiser's Savage Naturalism" (1915) , contained in "Twentieth Century Literary Criticism Series", Volume 10, 1985, pp. 165-167.), which aroused a debate between conservatism, realism (naturalism), and democracy in the literary world.And "Sister Carrie" finally made American literature enter the historical stage of realism in 1900, the beginning of the 20th century, in the literary world.And "American Tragedy" (1925) marked the victory of American realism starting from "Sister Carrie".Later, Dreiser joined the American Communist Party before his death in 1945, and American progressive writer Lawson called it "our Gorky, our Romain Rolland". (Michael Gauld, "The Dreiser I Know", quoted in "Translation", December 1955.)
However, the situation changed suddenly. After World War II, the Cold War era began. In the United States, McCarthyism once ran rampant, and progressive ideas were persecuted.With 1950 as the turning point, Dreiser has been demeaned and even attacked in the United States for decades.In the past few decades, my country's research on Dreiser and introduction and translation have made great achievements, which are commendable.The shortcoming is that, among other aspects, it fails to conduct independent in-depth research on Dreiser's depreciation and even attacks, and to express the research results of Chinese scholars with a clear attitude.

Is it an exaggeration to say that Dreiser was attacked after World War II? The voice of deep disapproval for Dreiser's siege came from the American academic community.In the 1982 "American Writers Biography Series", Professor Donat Bizet of Tulana University pointed out: "Five years after Dreiser's death, Lionel Trilling launched his Dreiser's famous attack (Trilling's "Imagination Without Prejudice"). People often assume that Dreiser writes like a journalist and thinks like a young man. But even if people continue to attack like this, Dreiser's best novels still stand firm and move on. The study of Dreiser is moving from defense and condemnation to a deeper understanding of the writer's temperament, ideals and creativity. Nature.” (Donat Bizet, Theodore Dreiser, Biography of American Writers, Volume 12, New York, 1982, pp. 145-165.)
What can be added is that the famous American literary theorist and critic is not the only one who attacks Dreiser.The attacks were indeed continuous, as Bieter said.As far as the author knows, it also includes several big figures in the American literary world, including the famous critic Irving Howe, and the writer Saul Bellow who is familiar to Chinese readers.There is no intention to deny the contributions of these writers and critics in their respective fields, and some contributions are commendable.But their attack on Dreiser was beginning to be rejected by American literature.As Saul Bellow said, Dreiser's writing is clumsy, so you might as well read his novels quickly and so on. (Long Wenpei editor-in-chief "Dreiser Commentary Collection", pp. 281-285.) That is an exaggeration (although there are some deficiencies in Dreiser's style of writing), and the crux of Bellow's attack is that he understands the point in the article Out of communism and Dreiser's distinct political stance.Owen Howe said that few young American writers have read Dreiser's works, etc. (ibid., p. 100.), and the key point is still to attack Dreiser's political beliefs.

The liberal conservatives in American literature represented by Trilling, Irving Howe, and Saul Bellow are the continuation of the cultural conservatism that attacked Dreiser's "barbarism" in the early 20th century. They almost dominated the American literary world during the Cold War, so their influence is quite powerful.The academic circles in our country should have understood these situations in the past, but there were relatively few public discussions. Therefore, some people who have directly read the articles of Trilling, Irving Howe, Saul Bellow, etc. are unavoidably puzzled. , which is also understandable.

"Sister Carrie", a masterpiece that opened the door of the 1900th century in 20, was still highly praised by the American literary world even in the Cold War era, when Irving Howe said that young American writers rarely read Dreiser's works.Take "Sister Carrie" in 1961 and 1980 in the "New American Series" of the American World Masterpieces Publishing Company as an example. The preface of this book is written by Professor Thorp of Princeton University, the author of "History of American Literature". fair.He pointed out: "Sister Carrie" is an important milestone in the history of literature in the new century." "At that time, the disparity between the rich and the poor in the United States was clearly shown for the first time." Or a Zola...and 'Fate' made a singular choice, choosing Theodore Dreiser to write the most controversial novel of the new century. (Sister Carrie, 1980, New York, p. 467.)
The "Preface" (written by Doctorow) of the 1982 edition of "Sister Carrie" also pointed out, "This realist masterpiece takes us to the three major cities, vividly depicting most of the classes in American society, Allowing us to witness a life of poverty, homelessness and endless labor disputes, violent strikes at one extreme, and a life of luxury, comfort and wealth at the other, the countless characters in this novel are active in the streets , apartments, bars, office rooms, trains, small hotels, theaters, the work depicts these amazingly."

Regarding the artistry of the work, Doctorow said: "Some people say that Dreiser is a bad and annoying writer, but the picture depicted in this work is clear and consistent, showing his artistic excellence. There is nothing clumsy in the descriptions of the work, nothing in the pages of "Sister Carrie" but the brilliance of genius that rolls over each of us." (1982 edition "Sister Carrie," New York, "Preface," p. 11.) These comments contrast sharply with those of Trilling, Irving Howe, and Saul Bellow.

Qu Qiubai, a great proletarian revolutionist and writer, pointed out as far back as the Leftist League in the 30s that Dreiser's "genius, like a white gold star, radiates infinite brilliance, and cannot be overwhelmed by American-style philistine means." .Now, everyone (can’t deny that Dreiser is a great writer describing American life.)” (Qu Qiubai’s “The True Tragedy of America” (”Qu Qiubai’s Collected Works”), Volume 1, p. 390.) (emphasis number is Inherent - cited) Since Qu Qiubai wrote "A Real Tragedy in America", the historical situation has changed several times. The United States has experienced the New Deal after the Great Economic Panic, followed by World War II, the Cold War and the Cold War.The American literary world has also been left-leaning for ten years. After World War II, the liberal conservatives dominated the literary world and the various schools of realism, modernism, postmodernism, cultural schools, historicism, and other schools have disputes. The phenomenon of the return of realism full of new era characteristics appeared.At the same time, Dreiser's research "turned from defending and condemning to a new stage of in-depth understanding of the writer's works." The vicissitudes of the past 60 years did not explain Qu Qiubai's thesis at that time. Does it shine with wisdom?
The translator's ability to study Theodore Dreiser's works, as well as related cultural history research, critical history research, and style research is insufficient; in terms of semantic analysis and the ability to control Chinese grammar, rhetoric, and language art, he is also lacking in cultivation. Insufficient; therefore, the translation must have many errors and inaccuracies. Both the standard version and the 1981 edition of "Sister Carrie" have translations in my country, and both have their advantages, especially the commentary version of "Sister Carrie" by Comrade Pan Shaozhong (Business, 1979), which is very good. Translators benefit a lot.The translator sincerely invites experts, scholars and general readers to correct the errors and deficiencies of the translation.

Nanjing, May 1991, 5
(End of this chapter)