Went to the library today and picked up Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser. It was amazing. I ended up watching the movie as well, because I'm the kind of person who always fantasizes about what book characters look like in real life! To be honest I'm also the kind of person who wishes they existed in real life too. Couldn't do that of course, so I'm deciding to imagine my encounter with one of the main characters. Here we go.
Interview with George Hurstwood
About the Interviewee
George Hurstwood is the manager of Fitzgerald and Moy’s, a
reputable saloon in Chicago. He is a man of distinction: wealthy, classy, and
refined. However, as his affection for his wife begins to deteriorate, he falls
in love with Carrie Meeber, the beautiful mistress of a businessman named
Drouet. He subsequently steals a large sum of money from a colleague and
sacrifices his family, status and job to run away with Carrie to New York,
where he marries Carrie but is forced to return the money to protect his
reputation. When his business in New York fails, he declines into obscurity and
Carrie leaves him to pursue a career on stage. As Carrie becomes a famous actress,
Hurstwood becomes a homeless beggar and commits suicide.
<This interview
occurs in Hurstwood’s shabby flat in New York City, shortly after Carrie leaves
Hurstwood. >
Interviewer: Hello, Mr. Hurstwood. For your information sir,
this interview is completely private.
Hurstwood: All right.
Interviewer: Thank you. A few months back there was an
article published in the newspaper regarding your crime back in Chicago. Would
you mind presenting you side of the story?
Hurstwood: You are talking about the one reporting my “stealing”
from Fitzgerald and Moy’s, I suppose? Their safe was left open that day. I took
out the money but the safe snapped shut while I was acknowledging the sum. I
don’t know the password so I wasn’t able to put it back.
Interviewer: So you decided to take it.
Hurstwood: Well, I was going to be accused of taking it
anyway. The safe was in my office. But at that time I was filing for divorce
with my wife and all my property was under her name. I needed some money to get
by.
Interviewer: And what did you do with the money?
Hurstwood: I had to return it. A detective came knocking at
my door back in Montreal.
Interviewer: What were you doing in Montreal, Mr. Hurstwood?
Hurstwood: My Carrie and I escaped to Canada so we could get
married.
Interviewer: You say, “escaped” like it was a mutual
agreement. But according to my sources Carrie wasn't all too willing at the
time.
Hurstwood: Yes, I lied to her that Drouet was hurt in a
hospital outside of Chicago so she would board the train with me. She wouldn’t
leave Drouet.
Interviewer: But you were confident she loved you.
Hurstwood: Oh, I was, very much so. She was quite certain of
her love for me as well, she said so herself. She was simply a bit shocked
after Drouet revealed to her my status as a married man.
Interviewer: Did you think you deserved her more than
Drouet?
Hurstwood: Drouet is a charming man, but he is a shallow
one. Those who know him well know he does not take any of his romance
seriously. Carrie is a smart woman; she knows that. I thought I could provide
her with much more.
Interviewer: But it’s not going so well is it? You’ve been
unemployed here in New York for quite some time.
Hurstwood: Yes, well, it’s quite hard to find a job when
you’ve got a criminal record. Even in another state, news still manages to
spread. It’s quite a dramatic shift for me. You see, I used to be the manager of
the best saloon in town. Now I’ve become a trolley driver. I got the job only
because the worker’s have been going on strike. They think of me as a scab.
Interviewer: And Carrie doesn’t know this?
Hurstwood: I’ve never told her about the theft—she didn’t
understand that that was the true reason I couldn’t find a decent job after all
this time. She thought I was being lazy.
Interviewer: I see Carrie has left you.
Hurstwood: I have become a burden to her.
Interviewer: Do you regret what you’ve done?
Hurstwood: I was stuck in the moment. I was infatuated and
thought I had nothing to lose. Now that I’ve lost everything, I realized I did.
I’ve lost everything and now I’ve lost Carrie too.
Interviewer: What was it about Carrie that gave you courage
to sacrifice everything?
Hurstwood: She had a sort of tenderness and empathy my wife
never had, and at that time, it was what I desperately desired.
Interviewer: And that is all?
Hurstwood: She made me feel young. Her presence made me feel
like the young man I was fifteen years ago. Without her I was alone. Nothing in
my life was pleasurable or exciting; it was all work and worry with people who
meant nothing to me.
Interviewer: But you had a family. Didn’t they mean
something to you?
Hurstwood: My wife married me for my wealth. I provided her
with the social statues she desired. As I’ve mentioned, she had all our
property under her name and that is why I am in this state, now that we’re
divorced.
Interviewer: And your children?
Hurstwood: My children have drifted apart from me. They
respected me, but that’s about all the affection they had for me. They probably
don’t want much to do with me now, after all that’s happened. They’ve got their
own lives to handle.
Interviewer: What do you think the future will hold?
Hurstwood: I’ve always believed that it is useless to
struggle against the tides of fate. I will go wherever time leads me, but I
will continue searching for jobs to support myself. But my age is working
against me, and I fear I will be trying in vain—
Interviewer: Do you worry about Carrie?
Hurstwood: She is still young. She will find a way to live.
<End>
By Julie Chen
