自然主义视域下《嘉莉妹妹》的阶层流转与需求异化研究

A Study of Class Mobility and the Alienation of Needs in Sister Carrie from a Naturalist Perspective

摘要: 《嘉莉妹妹》发表于1900年，是西奥多·德莱塞的自然主义代表作。小说以嘉莉的坎坷一生为线索，展示了社会底层青年在追寻物质成功与阶层跃升过程中的经历、理想的幻灭以及现代人的精神困境。文章摒弃传统的单一宏大叙事视角，以马斯洛的需求层次理论为主线，严格按照生理、安全、爱与归属、尊重及自我实现五个递进阶梯，深度剖析嘉莉从乡村女孩成长为独立新女性，却最终陷入精神空虚的心理演变轨迹。研究表明，在物欲横流的消费社会中，个体需求的高级形态往往被异化，真正的自我实现难以在纯粹的物质追逐中达成。

Abstract: Sister Carrie, published in 1900, is a representative naturalist novel by Theodore Dreiser. Tracing the vicissitudes of Carrie’s life, the novel portrays the experiences of young people from the lower social strata as they pursue material success and upward mobility, confront the disillusionment of their ideals, and ultimately encounter the spiritual predicament of modernity. Moving beyond a conventional, monolithic grand narrative, this study adopts Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as its principal analytical framework. It examines, in accordance with the five ascending levels of physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization, Carrie’s psychological transformation from a rural girl into an economically independent New Woman who nevertheless falls into spiritual emptiness. The study argues that, within a consumer society dominated by material desire, higher-order needs are often alienated; genuine self-actualization cannot be achieved through the exclusive pursuit of material gain.