Theses and articles on Sister Carrie are mostly centered on naturalism and feminism in the book. Several scholars pay attention to symbolism of the images such as the rocking chair, window, restaurants, fineries and houses, among which the symbolic meaning of rocking chair has been researched deeply enough. And several articles mention the symbol of “theatre”. However, those discussions on it are not thorough and deep going. Therefore, this paper focuses on the symbolism of theatre and its relationship with Carrie and Hurstwood’s destiny.

2. Theatre as a Symbol of Wealth and Status

During the post Civil War time, unprecedented industrial expansion came into being in America. Commerce playing a leading part in economy and big machines replacing traditional workers in the factories, America transformed to an urban and industrial country. Several decades after the war, American economy grew fast and at the same time accumulated a mass of capital and wealth. The pathologies and inequities of American life consequently arose, in particular, the profound gulf between rich and poor. A small number of people accumulated enormous wealth while the vast majority of citizens lived in abject poverty, working long hours at dangerous, soul-killing jobs for meagre pay. Due to the enlarging gap between the rich and the poor, entertainments like theatres and shopping malls came into being, which serve as indicators of people with high social status and wealth.

A well-established theatre is always located in downtown areas of a flourishing city, which embraces a high flow of people. The main environments in Sister Carrie are the booming city of Chicago and the established New York, which are the miniatures of the transitional American society. These two cities are thought highly in people’s heart because of their wealth. At the same time, transportation around is supposed to be convenient so that people are willing to go there. The decoration of the theatre inside is always luxurious and resplendent to satisfy audience’s emotional needs. People like to go to prosperous places to show their identities. It seems that the upscale environment makes them feel more superior.

2.1 The location of Theatres: Prosperous Chicago and Established New York  

In Sister Carrie, the protagonist Carrie is a young country girl who comes to Chicago to pursue new life. On the train to Chicago, Carrie meets Drouet from whom she knows that Chicago is a city full of attractions. With the train rumbling into Chicago, the face of the city gradually comes into view. From Carrie’s perspective, Chicago is a big vigorous city and everywhere is crowded, and people in this city are affluent and enjoy a good life. In short, Chicago was a city brimming with opportunities as well as dreams.

In the late of nineteenth century, Chicago took shape into a big city. Chicago is in a favorable geographical location. It is located in the southernmost part of Lake Michigan, which is the most optimal place to go to New York by water transportation. The south part of Chicago is confronted with the Midwest, the most prosperous area with wide range of land in America. From a macroscopic perspective, Chicago lies in middle part, being a hinge to connect with various areas in America. Under this circumstance, Chicago transformed from an agricultural city to an industrialized city in the nineteenth century.

Due to the industrialization and urbanization, the development of Chicago’s economy was flourishing and booming. In this situation, hotels, restaurants, clubs as well as theaters became common in urban life. With the development of commerce, the most bustling places in city were those consumption spaces. Consuming in these places became a kind of fashion, because it was able to reflect people’s identity in daily life. In these places, people can see a miniature of uppertendom. Hence, the emergence of these spaces drew people’s attention and the locations of these consumption spaces were in the favorable geographical location in the city.