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Charles H. Drouet
Ames is a well-educated, thoughtful young man that Carrie meets in New York. Although Ames is Mrs. Vance’s cousin, he does not share her views on wealth and materiality: Ames deems luxury superficial and instead chooses to pursue the pleasures of art. Carrie looks up to Ames, viewing him as someone with better taste, and is eager to gain his approval. Indeed, Ames’s respect for theater inspires Carrie to pursue a career as an actress. Ames is the only notable character who appears to be unaffected by the standards and glamour of the city.
Robert Ames Quotes in Sister Carrie
The Sister Carrie quotes below are all either spoken by Robert Ames or refer to Robert Ames. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 32 Quotes
[Carrie] felt as if she would like to be agreeable to [Ames], and also there came with it, or perhaps preceded it, the slightest shade of a feeling that he was better educated than she was—that his mind was better. He seemed to look it, and the saving grace in Carrie was that she could understand that people could be wiser.
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Robert Ames Character Timeline in Sister Carrie
The timeline below shows where the character Robert Ames appears in Sister Carrie. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 32 (The Feast of Belshazzar: A Seer to Translate)
Carrie meets Mrs. Vance’s cousin, Ames. She finds him “an exceedingly genial soul.” Ames demonstrates a platonic attention towards Carrie: “He...
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Ames remarks to Carrie that “it is a shame for people to spend so much money...
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As Carrie talks to Ames, she feels that “he [seems] wiser than Hurstwood, saner and brighter than Drouet.” Ames relates...
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Much to Carrie’s disappointment, Ames leaves the company early. Carrie finds Hurstwood at home sleeping, with “his clothes […] scattered...
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Chapter 33 (Without the Walled City: The Slope of the Years)
Carrie does not see Ames anymore and goes on leading life as usual. Still, Ames becomes “an ideal to contrast...
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Chapter 34 (The Grind of the Millstones: A Sample of Chaff)
...in her mind.” She disdains poverty and desires a way out. Carrie also thinks of Ames and his ideas: “riches [are] not everything” as well as “the stage [is] good, and...
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Chapter 39 (Of Lights and of Shadows: The Parting of Worlds)
The dinner leads Carrie to recall Ames and “his ideals [burn] in her heart.” Carrie begins to think about her occupation—“What sort...
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Chapter 46 (Stirring Troubled Waters)
Ames returns to New York, having “made a little success in the West.” He meets with...
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Carrie and Ames meet one afternoon at the Vances’. Carrie feels that she is “now blessed with much...
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Chapter 47 (The Way of the Beaten: A Harp in the Wind)
At this time, Carrie is reading Père Goriot, a book that Ames has recommended to her. She realizes “how silly and worthless” her earlier reading was. Carrie...
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