Main Street

Over the next month, Carol diligently stays away from Erik, but she only becomes more convinced that she is in love with him. One night, she opens the door to find Erik and she agrees to go for a walk with him. As they walk, Erik tells Carol that he loves her. As he is speaking, Kennicott passes by in his car having been out to the country to visit a patient. Kennicott stops and gives Erik and Carol a lift back to town. While driving, he appears “blustrously cheerful” (354). At home, however, he reveals to Carol that he is well aware of the rumors that she and Erik are in love. He does not believe that they have acted on their infatuation, but he urges her to abandon her interest in him and understand that Erik will never amount to anything. Kennicott unexpectedly declares his undying love for Carol. He compares her to a sunset and begs for her to explain why she cannot just be happy with him. He is a good man, he claims, and he saves lives. The next day, Carol is hurt, and her mind scrambles for a way to break off any relationship with Erik. That evening, Kennicott brings her a letter from Erik. In the letter, Erik explains that he is leaving so as not to make problems for Carol. Later, Carol goes to Kennicott and, “for the first time in years [they are] lovers” (359). A week later, Erik’s father comes to the house and accuses Carol of having an affair with Erik. She vehemently denies his accusation and dismisses him. When Kennicott finds her, he suggests that they take a vacation, so long as she can wait three weeks for him to find cover for his patients. For the people of Gopher Prairie, Carol has made a mistake. Erik was well liked, and they blame Carol for his departure. Kennicott defends his wife, but he suggests that they go on vacation for a few months to escape the rumors, leaving Hugh behind with Aunt Bessie.

For three and a half months, Carol and Kennicott explore the west. The vacation helps to refresh Carol, and she is determined to rekindle her love for Kennicott. She wants to find in Gopher Prairie the good qualities she sees in her husband; she is sure that “everything will be different” (364). Their return to town is marked by a sudden sleet storm. They are forced to shelter in the Haydocks’ home. As Kennicott describes the vacation, Harry insists on one-upping every aspect. Eventually, Carol and Kennicott return home. They reunite with Hugh, and Kennicott is delighted to be back with their baby son. Yet Carol cannot ignore how little has changed in Gopher Prairie. Now that Erik and Fern are gone, she has “no one” (369) other than Hugh to justify her staying in the town. There is not even anyone whom she considers friendly or interesting. Carol feels ashamed of her dissatisfaction, but she cannot deny her desire to leave. She knows that she will have to tell her husband and that this will break Kennicott’s heart.

In Gopher Prairie, life continues as before. Mrs. Champ Perry passes away, leaving her husband distraught. Champ is one of the last living founders of the town, yet he is fired from his job. Champ does not have a pension, and no one wants to hire him. No one even seems to be concerned about what will happen to him, except for Carol. She works to find him a job, and eventually Champ is hired as a night watchman. The job is not much, but it at least ensures that Champ has a place to sleep. Vida’s husband Raymie returns from the war a serious, stern figure, unlike the young man who went off to war. Since he knows what people want to hear, he tells the townspeople that there is nowhere in Europe that can match Gopher Prairie for beauty. Every American soldier is an upstanding, moral hero, he tells them. For a month, Raymie is hailed as a hero, but this adulation quickly fades, and he is soon treated like everyone else.

The price of wheat and various land deals have brought wealth to the town due to the war, though the local farmers do not seem to profit. The increase in money around Gopher Prairie suggests the possibility of real change for the first time in years. Community leaders begin to plot the ways to expand the town. James Blausser is a professional “booster” (373), recruited to make the town more attractive to potential investors, including businessmen and the government. Blausser stands out for his blustering, rough attitude and his persuasive words. He launches an expensive publicity campaign to raise the town’s profile, including the installation of White Way, a type of street that has become popular across the Midwest. The street will be highly ornamental and lit by “high-powered electric lights” (375). A year after the campaign launches, however, only a single small factory has been set up in Gopher Prairie.

Carol’s apparent lack of interest in Blausser’s campaign frustrates Kennicott, who demands that she “play the game” (376). Their arguments become more frequent, taking in everything from the right to free speech to the role of women in the household. Their fighting comes to a head when a labor organizer comes to town. He is chased out by a mob of local people, which infuriates Carol. Feeling as though she cannot remain in the town any longer, she announces that she will take Hugh and leave. She may return in the future, she says, but she cannot stay right now. This announcement shocks Kennicott. He relents to her “freak notions” (380), offering Carol money to support her trip. Carol sets off for Washington as World War I is ending. In the local newspaper, an article explains that Carol (and Hugh) will go to Washington to assist in “multifarious war activities” (382).

In Washington, Carol finds work in the Bureau of War Risk Insurance. This administrative role involves a great deal of bureaucracy. Carol is bored, but pleased to have a job. Unfortunately, she soon discovers that the office is as rife with gossip and politicking as the town of Gopher Prairie. Similarly, the city itself feels as though parts of Main Street have been imported from the Midwest. Yet Carol loves the architecture of the city and the anonymity that comes from such a larger population. Carol finds a room in an apartment that she shares with a teacher and a secretary. Rather than feeling like a half of a marriage, she is soon feeling like “the whole of a human being” (383). In Washington, Carol is able to find more likeminded people than she ever found in Gopher Prairie, including the suffragists who fight for women’s rights. While Carol does not join them in their political activism, she is proud that there are women challenging the patriarchal status quo, even if she feels that she is slightly too old to become involved herself. She also learns about other towns, many of which seem much worse than Gopher Prairie. Rather than blaming individuals for her low opinion of Gopher Prairie, she comes to see the small-town attitude as a product of institutions such as the church, the family, polite society, and “Sound Business” (387). In Washington, the most important thing that Carol learns is how to be confident about herself.

After a year in Washington, Carol grows weary of her job. She begins to feel like a “faded government clerk” (388) from Gopher Prairie. One day, she runs into Harry and Juanita, who are visiting Washington on business. Carol feels suddenly homesick, wishing she were somewhere where people knew her. Another time, she sees Percy Bresnahan in Washington. The most famous and richest man from Gopher Prairie is described by the people of Washington as a “good-hearted idiot” (389). One day, Carol goes to the movies. There, she is surprised to see Erik Valborg on the screen. He has a small role in the film, and she finds him unimpressive. Disillusioned with both Percy and Erik, Carol has a new appreciation for her husband.

Kennicott visits Washington in November. Carol left Gopher Prairie 13 months earlier, and Kennicott is pleased to endear himself to his wife. To Carol, he seems “like an older brother” (392). He speaks of his plans to build a new house, just like they always talked about. Furthermore, he says, Carol can have the house built as she wants. Kennicott says that he will not beg Carol to love him. He will not beg her to return with him to Gopher Prairie and admits that he has not always been the best, most loyal husband. Instead, he wants Carol to come back home when she feels ready. As he is about to leave Washington, he invites Carol to come with him on a “second wooing” (395). Carol agrees, and they travel south on vacation. While traveling, Carol comes to understand that Kennicott is more complex than she believed him to be. He has his own “bewilderments and concealments” (396), just like her. Carol believes that she will return to him eventually, but she is determined that she will not consider herself defeated. Carol is brave. She embraces risk and asks questions; she wants to challenge the status quo. She is sure that she will eventually be able to love Gopher Prairie. Five months after Kennicott came to Washington, Carol finally returns to him. She arrives in Gopher Prairie already pregnant with Kennicott’s second child.

Having returned to Gopher Prairie, Carol discovers that most people welcome her back. On reflection, she decides that she is “neither glad nor sorry” (400) to return. She resolves to make an extra effort to be happy, including planning to give up her own room even though—much to her surprise—Kennicott does not want her to do so. Little has changed in Gopher Prairie, in spite of the booster campaign. Vida has succeeded in the construction of a new school building, which impresses Carol. She offers to work for Vida, who suggests that she can take care of the restroom used by the farmers’ wives. Carol takes on the role with relish and redecorates the restroom to make it more pleasant. This decoration leads some in the town to believe that Carol is back to trying to reform everything. Yet they are willing to accept her as she is “smart, even if she is skittish” (401). Some are even proud of her. Carol is considered to be a woman of Main Street who has come home. Carol gives birth to a baby girl. Carol allows herself to dream of a bright future for her daughter. She gradually becomes more comfortable in the town, though she knows that she will always have the capacity to stir up events. She tells her husband that she is still proud, even though she also feels “thoroughly beat” (405). Her daughter will live to see great change, she predicts, though Kennicott seems uninterested. In spite of his uninterest, Carol is proud of herself for having “kept the faith” (406).