Sister Carrie Women and Femininity Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

It must not be thought that any one could have mistaken [Carrie] for a nervous, sensitive, high-strung nature, cast unduly upon a cold, calculating, and unpoetic world. Such certainly she was not. But women are peculiarly sensitive to their adornment. (3.43)

Are there female characters in the novel who contradict the notion that "women are peculiarly sensitive to their adornment"? And are the women in this novel really all that more into adornment than some of the fashion-obsessed men?

Quote #5

Now [Carrie] paused at each individual bit of finery, where before she had hurried on. Her woman's heart was warm with desire for them. (7.29)

Why is the word "woman" thrown in here at all (we know by this point in the novel that Carrie is a woman, after all)?

Quote #6

[Hurstwood] watched [Mrs. Hurstwood] with considerable curiosity at times, for she was still attractive in a way and men looked at her. She was affable, vain, subject to flattery, and this combination, he knew quite well, might produce a tragedy in a woman of her home position. Owing to his order of mind, his confidence in the sex was not great. (9.49)

How does Hurstwood's lack of "confidence in the sex" play out in his relationship with Carrie?