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In the early stages of her stay in Chicago, Carrie resided in the home of her sister Minnie and her husband Hanson, a taciturn and stern family man. Together Minnie and Hanson make a parsimonious couple, given in to a lifestyle of frugal living because they are too poor to pursue or afford a luxuriant one. An important theme that would run throughout the novel to show how dehumanizing and depersonalizing social relationships became in the consumer society that Chicago was transformed into, is first evident on the fact that Minnie and Hanson invited Carrie to stay at their house not out of a desire for the companionship of a close family relative, but so they can make profit from her labor by charging her for board. Also immediately after arrival, Carrie's first few days in Chicago of looking for a job proved a difficult experience. Employers eyed her as some sort of commodity, assessing at every instance the applicability of her skills in their workplace and whether she is worth her cost or not. Carrie became easily discouraged by her attempts to find work. To add to her disappointments, she came to find out that Minnie and Hanson live on a meager income and practice frugality. Carrie's frustration is demonstrated by her actions of going to stand on the stoop every evening after dinner. To this and many other effects, Minnie and Hanson came to disapprove of Carrie's whimsical ways. .
Carrie's ever growing sense of frustrations is made even worst by her desire for consumer goods. In one of her job searches at a department stores for example, all of the trinkets and expensive stuffs seemed to be calling out her name in a resounding voice. She is easily embarrassed by her style and kind of clothing because it does not measure to those of the girls that worked in the department stores. Also, after much trying and finally getting a job in a shoe factory, Carrie became even more disappointed when she found out that she will have only fifty cents left after she pays Minnie and Hanson for her board.