The term New Woman means women have an independent spirit and are accustomed to acting on their own. Besides, new woman always refers to women who control over their own lives. Whatever in thought or in deed, they break through the traditional constraints. (Bordin 2) As a New Woman, Carrie is always chasing her dream though she encounters many difficulties when finding jobs, which indicates her positive spirit and strong will. Besides, we know Carrie comes from a worker’s family and many people may think that she isn’t satisfied with her life in rural home. Therefore she is quite eager for a better and richer life. More and more beautiful clothes and a higher social position are also her favorite. She thinks that if she tries her best, she will lead a better life as she can in Chicago, so she is quite desire and ambitious. It is undeniable that Carrie’s destiny was affected greatly by Drouet and Hurstwood. But actually the key to her success is her precious quality and characteristic. She makes great efforts to live a better life on her own. In my opinion, she is very positive and persistent. Her optimistic and mental state, strong will and inpidual development also make a deep impression on us and are deserve our study and research.
As a New Woman, she has a strong conscious of independence and relatively independent characteristic. She tries her best to succeed on her own. At the same time, she is not bound to the traditional attachment to the family. A new woman insists on that the responsibility of women is not restricted to giving birth to children. On the contrast, from her point of view, women should make themselves look beautiful and charming. She just wants to enjoy the life without any worries and hesitations. She also never depends on her husband for a living. Besides, she should be independent and positive, achieving her dream by herself instead of depending on men.
In Dreiser’s novels, this ideology is perfectly annotated. The author sets a character with a typical image of New Woman.                         
Chapter One Awakening Consciousness of Independence
For traditional female, they always pay more attention to families and they think their responsibilities are to give birth to children. They have no jobs, so they must depend on their husband for a living. However, Carrie is quite different. She realizes that she should try her best to live a better life by herself, which means her independent consciousness has awakened. Instead of depending on men, she begins to pursue her dreams with a positive attitude. She can solve difficulties on her own when encountering tough things. Besides, lastly she can support her family with a mature mind step by step. Everything shows that Carrie’s thoughts have changed and she becomes more and more independent.  
All in all, As a New Woman, she is so different from traditional women. Her thoughts begin to awaken and independent consciousness can be seen everywhere. 《嘉莉妹妹》新女性独立思想(2):http://www.youerw.com/yingyu/lunwen_29182.html