Main Street

Carol’s “admirable” (10) friends, the Marburys, host a dinner. There, Carol is introduced to Will Kennicott, who strikes her as a handsome and pleasant man. He is several years her senior and comes from the town of Gopher Prairie. Carol listens to his stories and praise of the small town. He tells her about the town’s cement sidewalks and two lakes, which he claims are two of “the dandiest lakes” (12) she will ever see. Tentatively, Carol begins to believe that a doctor like Kennicott could change an entire community if he had the mind. When she says this to Kennicott, he is impressed. In turn, he comes to see Carol as the kind of woman who could “transform” (13) Gopher Prairie. He is impressed by the way she can communicate her ideas without sacrificing her feminine charm, as he believes other reform-minded women do. Carol and Kennicott begin to date, and as they spend more time together, Carol grows increasingly interested in the prospect of Gopher Prairie. Kennicott assures her that she could make the town “artistic” (15).

Carol and Kennicott date for a year, then marry. They travel to Gopher Prairie by train. The train is barely more than a box. It carries the families of farmers, who drop their junk on the floor. These people, Carol realizes, are the “American peasantry” (19) that she has decided to help. Carol is shocked by the “ugly” (20) appearance of the towns through which they pass. In contrast, Kennicott takes a more positive view. The families are happy, he says, and he assures Carol that great progress will be brought to the town as telephones and delivery trucks reach these people. When they arrive in their new home, Carol is even more horrified to see that Gopher Prairie is just a larger version of the ugly towns they viewed from the train. She views Gopher Prairie as depressing, ugly, and—most importantly—provincial. When she looks at Kennicott, she suddenly seems him as a stranger. He is not “of her kind” (23), she fears. On the platform, a group of “unadventurous people with dead eyes” (24) are gathered to greet them. Carol has a sudden urge to run, but she decides that she should make an effort to get to know Gopher Prairie and its people. In Kennicott, she hopes to find “a shelter from the perplexing world” (27).

Though she determines to familiarize herself with her new home, Carol is unimpressed with the limited choice of stores and their limited choice of products. To her, they vary from the strikingly basic to the irritatingly pretentious. The “unsparing, unapologetic ugliness” (33) of everything appalls her; nothing seems built with any cohesion, design, or plan. At the same time, the people seem as rough and as ugly as the town. Carol is introduced to a young woman around her age by the name of Bea Sorenson. Bea was raised in a town of just 67 people, mostly farmers. To her, Gopher Prairie is very impressive, with the electric lighting, movie theater, and stores.

Sam Clark, the owner of several businesses including the hardware store, throws a party to welcome Carol and to welcome home Kennicott. There, Carol is introduced to many of her neighbors. These include the richest man in town, Luke Dawson; the druggist, Dave Dyer; the president of the local bank, Ezra Stowbody, who looks down on the vulgar townspeople; Chet Dashaway, who is both the undertaker and the furniture man; and the tailor, Nat Hicks. In Gopher Prairie, people from different social classes mix often, and this surprises Carol. In this community, she discovers, hunting and fishing are as important as being rich and successful. Being able to tell a story well is as notable as being able to run a business well. Gopher Prairie also has its local intellectuals, known as the “smart set” (39), which is headed up by Harry and Juanita Haydock. The longer Carol spends at the party, the less impressed she is by the conversation. Every guest is sure to tell her that the millionaire Percy Bresnahan is from Gopher Prairie. Carol has never heard of him. When she tries to discuss the labor movement—or other subjects, such as welfare and women’s suffrage—with several men, they quickly move to shut the conversation down. Kennicott warns Carol about “shocking folks” (47) with her conversation.

Gradually, Carol settles into her new life. She and Kennicott go hunting, as she wants to understand his world. She finds the surrounding country to be beautiful. When they stop over at a farm, however, the farmer’s wife treats Kennicott like the “Lord of the Manor” (50). Reflecting on the previous evening’s conversation, she is swept up in a socially conscious tirade, complaining that the rich people of the town look down on their rural counterparts. Carol notices that she is making her husband uncomfortable, so she stops to admire the countryside. Outside the town, Carol finds “the dignity and greatness which had failed her in Main Street” (52).

Carol begins to set up their new home. She hires “plump radiant” (56) Bea and the two begin a friendship, enjoying the process of decorating the house. Carol also surprises herself by having entertaining conversations with the local store owners. In one store, she meets a high school teacher named Miss Vida Sherwin. Like Carol, Vida yearns for change to come to the “rough diamond” (58) that is Gopher Prairie. When Carol asks her for suggestions, however, Vida seems more invested in how the local Sunday School can be a good influence. She suggests that Carol join the local Thanatopsis Club, a woman’s study group. Carol is also introduced to a lawyer named Guy Pollock. Carol immediately takes him to be a “personality” (60), since he is well-read and witty. Carol is surprised that such a man should still be in Gopher Prairie. She asks her husband whether she should start a drama club.

By November, Carol’s decoration of the house is underway, and the house is becoming “her own” (61). The townspeople are intrigued by her modern and fashionable tastes. Mrs. Bogart, a widow who lives nearby, takes an interest in Carol’s efforts. When she visits, however, she criticizes what Carol has changed and hints that such expensive furniture is against her Baptist faith. Carol continues with her work, thinking about the problems faced by women who must ask their husbands for money to undertake such projects. Carol sets a budget for the household and tells Kennicott that she wishes to have an “allowance” (63), money that she can spend as she sees fit. Kennicott agrees that Carol should have more money to spend, but he remains in control of the household income, and Carol does not “do anything about it” (65). Carol decides that they should throw a party of their own. She decides that her own housewarming should raise the expectations of everyone in Gopher Prairie of what a party entails, serving as an “attack on Gopher Prairie’s timidity in pleasure” (66). Carol makes a plan, including games, Chinese costumes, and Chinese food, which is practically unknown in the small town. The guests are delighted by the party, and they congratulate Carol, so much so that she is acclaimed in the local newspaper. In Carol’s eyes, this is a vindication of her capacity to reform Gopher Prairie. When she attends more parties, however, Carol is disappointed that they are just like the old, dull parties from before.

As winter arrives, the townspeople retreat indoors. They want to seem sophisticated, so most recreational activity involves driving or playing cards. Feeling as though she has nothing to do—as the wife of a doctor, she is not socially permitted to work—Carol is frustrated. She feels as though she has a “working brain” (76) but no work to do. She begins to feel as though no one in the town likes her; she suspects that the townspeople are studying her, judging her, and gossiping about her. Striving to be more active, she attends a meeting of The Jolly Seventeen, which caters to “Nice Married [Women]” (78), but Carol feels as though she is not welcome. Her first issue is that she does not know how to play bridge. Even worse, her praise of the Scandinavian farmers who live outside of Gopher Prairie and her praise of Bea draws ire from the other women. While Carol would love to give Bea more help, the other women look down on “that class of people” (81). They believe people like Bea and the farmers are overpaid and ungrateful. When Carol reveals that she pays Bea $6 a week, the other women are indignant and accuse her of overpaying her maid. Carol is in danger of an angry outburst, but Vida intervenes. Carol calms down and tries again to endear herself to the group. When she praises Miss Ethel Villets, who works in the local library, she discovers an enmity between these women and Ethel. Carol learns that Ethel harbors a grudge against these women and, in particular, their children, as they pose a threat to the books in her library. Ethel would rather the books remain in their pristine condition. Carol is caught in a moment of despair, worrying that she will be surrounded by these kind of petty, provincial squabbles for the rest of her life.