Dreiser's response to the critical appraisal of Sister Carrie

Abstract

Enthusiastic acceptance of a first novel by a reputable publisher followed by its almost immediate ?suppression? and condemnation is an unpleasant experience. Such was the experience of Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945) with Sister Carrie. How did he respond to this hot-cold treatment? With calm and dispassion as one critic suggests, or with despair?