The Curse of Blood and Original Sin

“That’s something else – she never hung any undies on the back line. Not even Carrie’s, and she was only three back then. Always in the house.”

In Section 2, Estella Horan describes the Whites’ household. Carrie is barely out of diapers, but her mother considers her undergarments to be sinful. Margaret has previously referred to Estella, a teenager herself, as a “Whore of Babylon” for the “sin” of sunbathing in her own backyard for Margaret and Carrie to see. The fact that she hides Carrie’s undergarments and seeks to hide Estella’s exposed body from Carrie’s view suggests that Margaret believes that her young child is both capable of succumbing to sin and tempting others to sin. In the doctrine of original sin, women are responsible for leading men into temptation, and Margaret’s extreme interpretation of this leads her to remove every aspect of female temptation from view and castigate others who do not do likewise.

“And Eve was weak and loosed the raven on the world,” Momma continued, “and the raven was called Sin, and the first Sin was Intercourse. And the Lord visited Eve with a Curse, and the Curse was the Curse of Blood.”

In Section 3, Carrie is upset with her mother for not educating her about her menstrual cycle. Rather than illuminate Carrie about the mysteries of her own body, and the naturalness of it, however, Margaret informs Carrie of its inherently evil nature. In the doctrine of original sin, women are not only responsible for leading men into temptation, but they also bear the curse for doing so. Just as Margaret attempts to hide Carrie’s body from view, she seeks to hide the facts of this biological process from Carrie. Margaret’s interpretation of this doctrine also leads her to believe in the inherent weakness of women, and because of this she castigates herself for her own weakness and attempts to structure Carrie’s life so that she will be utterly free from temptation.

“As Jezebel fell from the tower, let it be with you,” she said. “And the dogs came and licked up the blood. It’s in the Bible!”

In Section 7, Margaret, an adult woman who cannot bring herself to utter the word “breasts,” castigates Carrie for exposing her “dirtypillows.” Because Margaret’s interpretation of doctrine holds women responsible for leading men into temptation, she believes that Carrie’s decision to wear a dress that reveals a glimpse of her breasts will inevitably lead to attention from boys who will lead Carrie to commit the sin of intercourse. She predicts Carrie’s demise which, because of Carrie’s original sin, has of course been predetermined all along.

Coming of Age

“Aren’t you getting to be the Joan of Arc around here! I seem to remember that you were in there pitching with the rest of us.”

In Section 4, Chris is upset with Sue for acting as if she’s better than the rest of them. Chris is used to being the alpha female among her peers and does not appreciate that Sue’s actions, while they do not directly impact Chris, make her look bad by comparison. Sue is hurt by Chris’ remarks but stands her ground and refuses to take part in any further torment of Carrie. This stance illustrates that Sue is gaining the maturity to pivot in the wake of a bad decision and distance herself from her peer group even though she risks their disapproval.

“You were kids,” he said. “Kids don’t know what they’re doing. Kids don’t even know their reactions really, actually, hurt other people. They have no, uh, empathy. Dig?”

In Section 5, Tommy tries to assuage Sue’s guilt about the fact that she and her peers treated Carrie so badly when they were younger. He invokes the concept of empathy to illustrate the differences between younger and older kids. Sue disagrees with his theory that as people mature they behave better toward others, because she believes that as people get smarter they also get better at behaving badly. Tommy’s ability to discern the differences between younger and older kids and to understand the concept of empathy illustrates that he is more mature than his peers, and Sue’s ability to debate this with him in a rational way illustrates that she has grown up enough to express a differing opinion from her boyfriend.

“I’m picturing your heart, Momma,” Carrie said. “It’s easier when you see things in your mind. Your heart is a big red muscle. Mine goes faster when I use my power. But yours is going a little slower now. A little slower.”

In Section 9, Carrie is at the peak of her powers, both in her ability to wield them and her understanding of them. Though she has only possessed her powers for a short time, she has matured rapidly since the onset of womanhood. It is only on prom night that she is finally able to identify and utilize her ability to see things in her mind, and already she can harness that skill in a quiet and deliberate way that stands in sharp contrast to the chaos that she wreaked earlier that same evening. She does not ponder the moral implications of the scores of others she has killed, but killing her mother in a nonviolent way is an act of mercy and empathy that requires a mature perspective. In these final moments, Carrie does not merely picture her mother’s heart as a muscle, she considers who her mother is and the role she has played in Carrie’s life, leading up to this moment.

Atonement for Sin

“I don’t know about anyone else, but I wasn’t being anyone’s pawn. I took the punishment because I thought I earned it. We did a suck-off thing. End of statement.”

In Section 4, Sue explains to Chris that her motives for going to detention are personal, not a rebuke of the rest of the group. Chris only understands the concept of revenge, not the act of penance, because she exacts penance from others without stopping to consider her own culpability. For Chris, there is no “end of statement,” as each statement fuels her endless rage. Sue does not yet know how to atone for her role in the locker room incident, but she accepts that she was a part of it, understands the hurt that she caused, and believes that accepting punishment is the first step to right her wrongs and assuage her own guilt.

“I don’t know!” she cried. “But someone ought to try and be sorry in a way that counts … in a way that means something.”

In Section 5, Sue continues to flail as she searches for ways to make up to Carrie for both the locker room incident and for a lifetime of torment. She understands the difference between a hollow verbal apology and a sincere attempt at atonement. Though Tommy had nothing to do with the incident and has never previously tormented Carrie, he has been Sue’s sounding board about her role in it for several days. Sue makes Tommy an active participant in her attempts at atonement when she enlists him to take Carrie to the prom. Given the significance of the prom in Sue’s life, she likely views staying home that night as a sacrifice that will help rid her of her sins against Carrie.

“Take it off, Carrie. We’ll go down and burn it in the incinerator together and then pray for forgiveness. We’ll do penance.”

Margaret’s interpretation of doctrine leads her to execute several symbolic actions in attempts to atone for her own sins and for Carrie’s, including locking Carrie in the closet to pray and clawing at her own face as visible proof of her repentance. Margaret’s world is small and so is her audience, but she seems to require an audience for her displays of atonement, and wants to join Carrie and bear witness to and participate in the act of atonement as they burn the red dress together. It is not enough for Margaret that Carrie simply stay home from the prom, because, in her eyes, only a physical act of atonement will save them both from their curse of being born women through the act of original sin.