Main Street

Main Street is a 1920 satirical novel written by Sinclair Lewis. Set in the tiny town of Gopher Prairie, Minnesota, the story revolves around the trials and tribulations of Carol Milford Kennicott as she struggles to adjust to small-town living. In 1930, Main Street helped Lewis become the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

This guide is based on the 1995 Penguin Classics edition of Main Street.

Content Warning: This guide and the source material feature discussions of substance use and sexual assault.

Plot Summary

Main Street begins in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Carol Milford is a bright, beautiful young woman who attends Blodgett College. She dreams of moving to a small town in the American Midwest, believing that she has the talent and vision to transform it into a place of beauty, culture and refinement. Following graduation, Carol spends three years working as a librarian in St. Paul and begins to feel as though her life has stalled. She meets Dr. Will Kennicott at a friend’s party, and he begins courting her. After one year, Carol and Kennicott marry. They move to Kennicott’s hometown of Gopher Prairie, Minnesota. When they arrive, Carol is disappointed by the drab appearance of Gopher Prairie and the narrow-mindedness of its inhabitants. Carol finds that people in town gossip behind each other’s backs and are thoroughly uncultured. Kennicott’s neighbor, Mrs. Bogart, is a religious zealot who hypocritically gossips about others in town. Carol begins to feel as though her every action is being constantly scrutinized and discussed behind her back. On the same day Carol arrives, a woman named Bea Sorensen comes to Gopher Prairie. Unlike Carol, Bea is overwhelmed by the splendor of the town. Bea stays and becomes Carol’s maidservant.

Carol restores Kennicott’s old-fashioned doctor’s office with modern furnishings. She prepares to throw a party unlike anyone has seen in Gopher Prairie. In the process, Carol learns that the townsfolk do not embrace change. Every time she suggests that they try something new or different, their initial enthusiasm is followed by a swift return to their old ways. She also feels dispirited when they criticize her every action, including the way she dresses. Carol’s only friends are Guy Pollock, a lawyer, and Vida Sherwin, a high-school teacher. Over time, Carol befriends Bea as well as the town handyman, Miles Bjornstam. Though the town ostracizes Miles for his support of socialism and the Democratic Party, Carol likes him. Soon, Carol attempts to rouse locals to erect a new city hall, school, library, and more accommodating restrooms for farmers’ wives. She studies in the library to assemble a plan for the town’s future. However, nobody in town shares Carol’s concerns. They do not want to spend money, particularly to benefit poor farmers rather than wealthy local businessmen. In refusing to assist the poor, the townsfolk tell Carol they do not want to spend funds on her newfangled ideas. Carol shares her frustrations with Guy. He warns her about contracting the Village Virus, his term for those who have big city ideas bit who allow the small-town mindset to completely swallow up their ambitions. Guy himself has fallen victim to the Village Virus. Carol swaps her initial fascination with Guy for pity.

Carol enrolls in the Jolly Seventeen women’s social club and the Thanatopsis women’s study club. Carol attempts to change the boring curriculum of the programs but is ignored by her fellow members, who are only interested in gossip or rote recitations of artists’ biographies. They refuse to engage with any kind of artistic sentiment. Carol forms a drama club and directs a stage play that is painfully average. Afterwards, Carol is appointed to the library board, where she tries to foster change within the system. Carol wants to encourage people to read, but the old librarian rejects her ideas, as she would rather keep the books clean than advocate for literacy. Later, Kennicott accuses Carol of being an elitist. She accepts the criticism: Carol is an elitist, but she believes that the townspeople are just as elitist and snooty in their own way. A major argument ensues. Once they reconcile, Carol falls in love with Kennicott once more. One evening, Carol witnesses Kennicott amputate a farmer’s arm and envisions him as a heroic figure. Still, Carol is stifled by the simplicity of life in Gopher Prairie and by her husband’s limited intellectual ambition. She and Kennicott have a baby, whom they name Hugh after her late father. Kennicott’s aunt and uncle, the Smails, visit Gopher Prairie and become a nuisance to Carol. She believes that they have the exact same Gopher Prairie mindset, even if they are not actually from the town itself. They are from one of the thousands of identical towns from all across the Midwest, she decides.

Bea and Miles wed. The townsfolk still ignore Miles and refuse to visit his house, turning Bea into a social outcast. Carol herself is criticized by the local women for encouraging her maid to marry, thereby losing a reliable employee. Carol rebukes them by visiting Bea and Miles often, so that Hugh can play with their son, Olaf. Bea and Olaf die of typhoid, in spite of Kennicott’s best attempts to save them. Crestfallen, Miles departs from town and the people blame him for the death of his wife and son. Carol is forced to listen to the townspeople spread slanderous rumors about him. Vida Sherwin marries a local named Raymond Wutherspoon. When World War I intensifies, Raymond is enlisted in the army. Kennicott also wants to join, but is told he must remain in Gopher Prairie to continue his medical practice. Later, Carol finds some friends whom she considers cultured. Erik Valborg, the son of a Swedish farmer, and Fern Mullins, a young English teacher, arrive in Gopher Prairie. Carol is thrilled to learn that Erik has an interest in books, drama, dancing, artwork, and other cultural pursuits. In Fern, she finds someone who is not yet affected by the Village Virus. Mrs. Bogart’s son, Cy, the leader of the boys’ gang in town, sullies Fern’s reputation when he accuses the teacher of getting him drunk and making sexual advancements. Fern is forced to quit his job and leaves town immediately after. Though Carol tries to save her job, no one is willing to allow her to continue even though they all know that Cy is to blame for the incident.

Erik becomes attracted to Carol and begins taking long walks with her. Kennicott becomes aware of their relationship but initially does not mind, because he knows Carol and Erik are just friends who have similar scholastic interests. He has also pursued extramarital affairs, though Carol does not know this. Carol’s marriage becomes increasingly acrimonious as Kennicott is disturbed by false rumors that Carol and Erik are having an affair. Once Fern departs from town, Kennicott implores Carol and Erik to stop seeing each other in order to avoid another disgrace. Erik flees Gopher Prairie as a result. Later, Kennicott decides to whisk Carol away from Gopher Prairie by taking her on a long sightseeing trip in California. When they return, Carol is disheartened to see that nothing has changed in Gopher Prairie.

Carol decides to flee with Hugh. Kennicott is heartbroken to see her leave, but Carol says that she may return someday. Carol relocates to Washington DC, where she lives and works for two years. She loves the big, beautiful city but feels lonely with all the anonymous people around her. When Kennicott returns to woo Carol again, she recognizes his love and decides to move back to Gopher Prairie. Carol’s time in Washington gives her a new perspective. She feels as if she can make a small contribution to help change Gopher Prairie for the better. When she returns, Carol accepts the townsfolk for who they are. She continues to fight small battles to effect change. Soon, Carol gives birth to a daughter, whom she hopes can continue her legacy. In the end, Carol discusses her difficulty of reform as Kennicott inattentively ponders the weather.