Sister Carrie: Chapter 35 Summary & Analysis

The next morning, Hurstwood notices two advertisements: one as a cashier in a furniture house and another as a salesman for a whiskey house. The latter interests him and he sets forth immediately. Hurstwood informs the manager that he once managed liquor houses. The manager is doubtful that Hurstwood would want such a position but tells him to send his references.

Hurstwood then visits the furniture house but finds the place small and insignificant. He leaves thinking, “They want a girl, probably, at ten a week.” Hurstwood eats and then sits in the lobby of another hotel. Despite the “slight consolation [of] the few hundred dollars he had in his purse,” Hurstwood is “still gloomy and disheartened.” He returns to the apartment at four in the afternoon.

Hurstwood is afraid that Carrie will think he’s lazy if he comes home early. He finds Carrie reading alone in the dark apartment and tells her about the whiskey house. Carrie is pleased. Hurstwood spends the evening reading newspapers. While reading, “his difficulties vanished in the items he so well loved to read.”

The next day is difficult, as Hurstwood cannot think of where to go. Carrie asks him to leave money for the week, and Hurstwood complies, leaving twelve dollars with a feeling of dread. Carrie can feel that “to pay her would soon become a distressing thing.” Carrie feels no sympathy for Hurstwood: “What have I got to do with it […] why should I be made to worry?”

That day, Hurstwood merely gets a shave and sits in a hotel. This continues: “each day disgust, depression, shamefacedness [drive] him into lobby idleness.” Then, “three days [come] in which a storm [prevails].” Hurstwood stays home and runs domestic errands for Carrie, spending the remaining time reading by the radiator. Carrie observes this “ease with some misgiving.”

On the fourth day, Hurstwood leaves the house at noon. However, after reaching a saloon that had advertised, he changes his mind, thinking that he couldn’t afford buying into it anyway. He then proceeds to sit in a hotel lobby.

In the lobby, Hurstwood encounters Cargill, an acquaintance from Chicago. He remembers how “this individual brought up his wife to shake hands” at a hall. Hurstwood feels “greatly abashed.” The two chat awkwardly before Cargill leaves. Hurstwood feels frustrated by this encounter.

Feeling cold, Hurstwood returns home to a surprised Carrie at a quarter after three. Hurstwood falls sick and Carrie takes care of him. Carrie notices that “he looked haggard about the eyes and quite old” and this “did not appeal to her.” Carrie feels quite despondent and cries. Hurstwood sees and simply tells her, “Things will come out all right.” 

Hurstwood shortly recovers but remains indoors, as the weather is rough. He leaves the house a few times after, but comes home early every day and soon “made no pretense of going anywhere.” Hurstwood begins to notice that Carrie is “far from perfect in household methods and economy.” He begins to suggest options for cheaper living, which Carrie dislikes. Carrie soon loses the weekly payment of twelve dollars and feels only “gnawing contempt” for Hurstwood.

With only $500 left, Hurstwood becomes even more frugal and decides “to wear some old clothes he had.” This becomes permanent. He also cuts shaving to once a week, so that “on Saturday he was a sight to see.” As Hurstwood loses self-respect, Carrie also loses respect for him. Carrie resents Hurstwood for not trying, as “she had never ceased trying” during hard times in Chicago. Carrie and Hurstwood begin to sleep separately.