《嘉莉妹妹》故事中，嘉莉到芝加哥探亲，在火车上结识了推销员杜洛埃，她不堪工厂的艰苦生活，和杜洛埃同居，从而结识酒店经理赫斯渥。赫斯渥迷恋她的美色，竟盗用公款和她逃到纽约，过起同居生活。嘉莉因偶然的机会登台演出，渐渐获得成功，赫斯渥却逐步潦倒。两人分手，赫斯渥最后自杀。一九00年三月德莱塞完成了《嘉莉妹妹》的初稿。一个世纪以来，《嘉莉妹妹》尽管受到某些非议，但始终是读者爱不释手的一部名著。(Sister Carrie Caroline "Sister Carrie" Meeber takes the train to Chicago to visit her relatives, and meets Charles Drouet, a traveling salesman on the train. Failing to stand the tough work in the factory, Crarrie chooses to live with Drouet, under the introduction of whom she met Hurstwood, the manager of a hotel. Being obsessed with her beauty, Hurstwood steals a large amount of cash from the hotel and escaped to New York together with Carrie and the two live there. While Carrie becomes successful on stage after she received a chance of being in a performance, Hurst wood keeps meeting frustrations in his life. After their broke-up, Hurstwood commits suicide in the end. Dreiser finished first draft of Sister Carrie in the March of 1900. Though having received certain criticism over the century, Sister Carrie has always been a loved classic to the readers.)