sister carrie

Chapter 14 (1)

Chapter 8 Winter's Apocalypse: A Messenger Called (1)
Among the forces of nature sweeping and manipulating the whole universe, a man who is not taught and instructed is but a blade of grass in the wind.Our civilization is only in the middle stage. It cannot be called a beast, because it is not completely controlled by instinct; it cannot be called a human being, because it is not completely controlled by reason.With a tiger there is no such thing as responsibility.We can see clearly that the Creator has tied it to the life force, and it is born in harmony with the life force, and it does not think that it is protected in this way.We see man far from the cave in the virgin forest, his natural instincts dulled by being too close to a state of free will, but his free will is not yet sufficiently developed to take the place of his instincts, and to impose upon him Complete guide.He was becoming so wise that he would not always be at the mercy of instinct and desire; he was still too weak to always overcome them.As a beast, the life force is tied to him; as a man, he has not yet fully learned how to be tied to the life force.

At this intermediate stage he vacillates--neither being drawn to nature by his instinct, in harmony with it, nor intelligently, by his free will, in harmony with it. (Some researchers believe that free will here refers to rationality. They think that this paragraph of discussion regards social contradictions as the contradiction between instinct and rationality, that is, the thought of "biosociology" under the influence of Darwin's theory. - Translator) He even Just a bunch of grass in the wind, blown by every desire, now at the mercy of his will; Arise—is a fickle creature.All we can take comfort in is that evolution is always at work, and ideals are unquenchable flames.Between good and evil, he cannot always maintain a balance.On this day, the quarrel between free will and instinct will be adjusted, and due to perfect consciousness, good can completely replace evil, and human beings will not change again, and the pointer of consciousness will never waver from beginning to end, forever The magnetic poles pointing to the truth in the distance.

In Carrie—like so many of us secular people, isn't it—instinct and reason, desire and consciousness, are always vying for dominance.Wherever her desire leads the way, she follows.She is being led more now than walking on her own.

Minnie found the note the next morning.The confusion and anxiety last night was not entirely out of worry, worry and love.She cried out when she saw the note: "Ah, what do you see here?"

"What's the matter?" Han Sheng said.

"Sister Carrie lives somewhere else."

Han Sheng jumped up from the bed, much faster than usual.He read the note, and the only indication of what he thought was a click of his tongue.Some people make exactly this kind of sound when they are riding on a horse and deliberately driving the horse forward.

"Where did she go, do you suppose?" asked Minnie, greatly excited.

"I don't know," he said with a look of insight in his eyes, "she actually did such a thing."

Minnie shook her head doubtfully.

"Oh, oh, she said, she didn't know what she'd done."

"Well," Han Sheng said after a while, stretching his hands forward, "what can you do?"

Minnie's womanly nature goes a step further than that.She speculated about the possibilities of such events.

"Oh," she said afterward, "poor Sister Carrie!"

While this conversation was going on, it was five o'clock in the morning, and the good-luck pawn was sleeping restlessly-alone in her new rented room.

It was a feature of Carrie's new situation that she saw possibilities.She is not obsessed with luxury like a sensualist.She turned over, apprehensive at her audacity, glad at her relief, wondering if she would find something to do, wondering what Drouet was going to do.The future of that character was already settled, there was no doubt about it.He couldn't stop doing what he wanted to do.It was impossible for him to see clearly how he should have followed another path.He is driven by his natural lust to play the stereotypical role of a chasing woman.He needed Carrie to be happy as much as he needed his morning meal.Whatever he does, he is free from the slightest censure of conscience, and it is in this respect that he is evil and sinful.However, if he may have a little conscience, it will be only a little, and you can rest assured.

Next day he came to see Carrie.She met him in the bedroom, and he was still in high spirits.

"Well," he said, "why are you so sad? Come on, go to breakfast. I have other clothes to buy today."

Carrie looked at him with a look of uneasiness in her large eyes.

"I wish I could find something to do," she said.

"You'll find it, no problem," said Drouet. "What's the use of worrying about it now? Get ready. Take a good look at this great city, and I won't hurt you."

"I know you won't," she said, a little dubiously.

"Put your new shoes on, eh? Stretch out and look. Goodness, how pretty. Put your coat on."

Carrie obeyed.

"It fits very well, doesn't it?" he said, touching the shape of his bodice, and taking a few steps away to look it over with a kind of gleeful expression. "What you need now is a new dress. Let's go to breakfast."

Carrie put on her hat.

"Where are the gloves?" he asked.

"Here," she said, taking it out of a dresser drawer.

"Okay, let's go," he said.

In this way, the doubts at the beginning were swept away.

Every time it is the same situation.Drouet did not allow her any more alone time.She also had time to hang out alone, but most of the time he took her sightseeing.In Billy's shop on Carlson Street he bought her a beautiful dress and a belt.She used his money to buy some gadgets like cosmetics, and then she turned into another little girl.The mirror confirmed to her the few things she had always believed.Oh, yes, she is beautiful! What a pretty style of her hat, and aren't her eyes beautiful? She bit her little red lips with her teeth, and felt her own charm for the first time in her life.Drouet was a very good fellow.

One night, they went to see The Mikado, an opera that was very popular at the time.Before going, they went to the Windsor Dining Room, which was in the Rue d'Arpon, quite a distance from Carrie's room.The cold wind was blowing, and Carrie looked out of the window and saw that in the western sky, there was still a pink color in the sky, but the clouds were dark blue, and there was a black cloud above.A long thin pink cloud hung in the air, like a small island above the distant sea.But the swaying dead branches on the other side of the road reminded her of the picture that was often seen outside the front window of her hometown in December.

She hesitated for a moment, rubbing her little hands together.

"What is it?" asked Drouet.

"Oh, I don't know," she said, one lip quivering.

Sensing something, he put his arm on her shoulder and patted her arm.

"There, there," he said softly, "you're all right."

She turned away and put on her coat.

"Better wear this leather collar around your neck tonight."

They walked north from Wabash Street to Adam Street and then west.The lights in the store were already glowing with streaks of gold.Arc lights flickered overhead, and high above were the gleaming windows of the office building.The cold wind was blowing, and at six o'clock, the crowd was bustling with their thin coats turned up to their ears and their hats pulled down.The young shop assistants laughed and laughed in twos and threes.A scene that makes people feel human warmth.

(End of this chapter)