snow and ice.

*Chicago

*Chicago. Although Lewis uses Carol to dramatize his critique of village life, he does not elaborate on her city life. The narrative of Carol’s experiences while in a Chicago library school is little more than a list of features that no rural town can offer—the Art Institute, symphony concerts, theater, and professional ballet. Likewise, while she is a librarian in St. Paul, Minnesota, she reads widely, socializes briefly, and meets her future husband.

*Minneapolis

*Minneapolis. Minnesota’s largest city. After Carol settles in Gopher Prairie, Minneapolis functions as a place of cultural refuge; the sound of a passing train’s whistle holding out hope of escape from village limitations. However, when her husband takes her to Minneapolis for a week, she feels like a country bumpkin, confused by the crowds in the railroad station, shy and hesitant in the grandiose lobby of their hotel, and amazed by the conveniences offered in the hotel’s bathroom.

*Washington, D.C

*Washington, D.C. National capital where, during World War I, Carol escapes from Gopher Prairie for an extended period by working as a clerk in a government bureaucracy. Lewis uses the city and Carol’s experiences to elaborate on his own ambivalence toward small-town life. Washington offers Carol vast parks and splendid buildings whose absence disturbs her on her first encounter with Gopher Prairie. She particularly values lively political and cultural discussions with her new friends. However, she also soon discovers that two-thirds of her Washington acquaintances come from small towns. When Gopher Prairie residents visit, she welcomes them to Washington and shows them its many sights. Experiencing urban life as a mature woman, Carol becomes more sympathetic to Gopher Prairie, accepting the raw new settlement’s uncouthness. Eventually, she returns to her life within it.

The Emergence of the Middle Class
The American middle class, which encompasses most citizens today, began to take shape between the end of the Civil War in 1865 and the onset of World War I in 1914. During this era, industrial growth and the westward expansion across North America created unprecedented opportunities for accumulating wealth. Dominant industries like steel, oil, banking, and railroads were controlled by a small group of individuals who created monopolies, set prices, and made deals with suppliers to eliminate competition. Although income levels varied, the majority of people were closer to poverty than prosperity. This disparity became almost unbearable during the economic depression of 1893, which lasted four years. The nation faced severe financial struggles: over 15,000 businesses failed, and at least seventy-four railroads, which had been the backbone of the country's economic growth, sought government protection. Without modern social safety nets like unemployment insurance and Medicaid, many people experienced significant hardship and loss.

The economic downturn of 1893 led to the perception of wealthy industrial leaders as villains exploiting the country. Prominent figures like John D. Rockefeller of Standard Oil, Andrew Carnegie of United States Steel, and railroad tycoon J. Pierpont Morgan were labeled as “robber barons,” seen as adversaries of the working class. Politicians saw the benefit in enforcing laws such as the previously neglected Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, aimed at curbing the unchecked accumulation of wealth by those already holding substantial financial power.

As political conditions shifted towards a more equitable distribution of wealth, manufacturers began mass-producing consumer goods that the expanding middle class could afford. Items like vacuum cleaners, telephones, and phonographs became essential purchases at the turn of the century. Catalog retailers such as Sears, Roebuck and Company, and Montgomery Ward made these products accessible to homes nationwide. Those at the lower end of the social hierarchy were elevated by the influx of poor immigrants, marking one of the most significant population expansions the country had ever seen: nine million immigrants arrived in the first decade of the twentieth century. This surge of inexpensive immigrant labor allowed people more leisure time for activities such as reading, and mass-market magazines like McCall’s and Cosmopolitan provided advertisers a platform to showcase new fashions and inventions. As the middle class increased their spending, more middle-class jobs in manufacturing and distribution emerged.

Progressivism
As previously noted, the early decades of the 20th century saw a growing public preference for expanding government authority. This shift toward increased governmental involvement took various forms. One of the most prominent was the enforcement of antitrust laws. Theodore Roosevelt secured the 1901 presidential election by championing himself as a “trust-buster,” and William Howard Taft continued with similar initiatives during his subsequent presidency. Politicians who aimed to reform the political system by granting the government more influence and involvement in citizens' lives were known as “progressives.”

However, the Progressive Movement of the early 1900s wasn't confined to mainstream politics. Numerous smaller movements are now grouped under the “progressive” label, causing the term to lose some of its descriptive power. Essentially, movements aimed at improving conditions for the disadvantaged and struggling have often been deemed progressive. This includes the temperance movement against alcohol, the Socialist movement (which included Lewis as a member), farmers’ alliances, industrial labor unions, campaigns against child labor, support for mothers with dependent children, and efforts to combat racism.

The Women’s Movement
Many of the significant social movements at the start of the 20th century were led by women. The push for alcohol prohibition, for instance, had advocates since the nation's founding, but it wasn't until the Women’s Christian Temperance Union was established in 1873 that it gained enough momentum to become law in 1920. Women also played a crucial role in enacting new laws to ban child labor. Around the turn of the century, a movement to establish settlement houses to assist impoverished immigrants spread nationwide. These social centers, including the renowned Jane Addams' Hull House in Chicago, were typically founded and managed by women, marking a milestone for women eager to work and drive change in their communities.

The most significant period when women altered the political landscape was during the Suffrage Movement, positively referenced in the final chapters of the novel. It is one of the nation’s oldest political movements, with roots predating the Civil War. Throughout the late 19th century, the movement was both active and vocal, splitting into two factions: the National Suffrage Association led by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and the American Woman Suffrage Union led by Harriet Ward Beecher. These groups, representing varying levels of militancy, united in 1890 to undertake the challenging process of altering state laws to secure women’s voting rights and pass a Constitutional amendment. The effort culminated in 1920, when a wave of feminist activism in the preceding decade led to the Nineteenth Amendment, granting women the right to vote.

Point of View
The majority of Main Street is narrated from a third-person, limited omniscient perspective. This third-person viewpoint is evident because the narrator is not a character within the story; the speaker never uses "I" but instead describes what the characters do or say using "he" or "she." The omniscient aspect comes into play because the narrator can access the characters' thoughts, going beyond merely describing events as an outside observer might see them. However, it is considered limited because, throughout most of the book, the narrative primarily conveys thoughts and events experienced by Carol. The information available to readers is restricted to what Carol knows, and generally, the narrative does not extend beyond her experiences.

There are, however, instances where this usual pattern is broken. Occasionally, the narrator shifts perspective to share thoughts from other characters that even Carol would not be privy to. For example, chapter 25 opens with Will Kennicott's inner musings. “Carrie’s all right. She’s finicky, but she’ll get over it. But I wish she’d hurry up about it!” The narrative clarifies a few sentences later that these are Will's thoughts: “Dr. Will Kennicott was brooding in his office.” Later in the same chapter, another shift occurs as the narrative adopts Hugh's viewpoint, even speaking on his behalf: “In his office Father had tools fascinating in their shininess and curious shapes, but they were sharp.” It is clear these thoughts belong to Hugh because he refers to Will as “Father,” although the narrative employs vocabulary like “fascinating” that a three-year-old might not use to describe his observations.

Foil
A foil in literature serves to highlight another character's traits by presenting contrasting values. In this book, Aunt Bessie Smail acts as a foil for Carol, offering a completely different worldview. Aunt Bessie upholds traditional values, believes in conventional morality, supports the subservience of women to their husbands, and harbors anti-Semitic views. She opposes farmers' cooperatives, divorce, and alcohol. Both Bessie and her husband, Whittier, share these views and look down on anyone who sees the world differently: “They were like the Sunday-afternoon mob staring at monkeys at the Zoo, poking fingers and making faces and giggling at the resentment of the more dignified race.” Although Carol disagrees with many in Gopher Prairie, the condescending attitude of the Smails, along with Sinclair Lewis's clear disdain for them, marks them as examples of what he opposes. They exist in the narrative to contrast with the values Lewis aims to promote.

Mrs. Bogart serves as another example of a foil. From her introduction, Lewis makes it clear that she lacks the values the book upholds as important:

Mrs. Bogart was not the harsh type of Good Influence. Instead, she was soft, damp, overweight, sighing, and clingy, with a melancholy demeanor, and a depressingly hopeful nature. In every large chicken-yard, there are old, indignant hens resembling Mrs. Bogart, and even when served as fricasseed chicken with thick dumplings at Sunday dinner, they maintain this resemblance.

Mrs. Bogart and Aunt Bessie are not just foils for Carol because they hold different values; the book's central theme is that most people around her do. They are specifically her foils due to their close involvement in her life. While Carol can avoid the Thanatopsis Club or the Jolly Seventeen, Mrs. Bogart is her neighbor, nosy and intrusive. Aunt Bessie enters the story later to further disrupt Carol's privacy: as a relative of Will Kennicott, Carol must interact with her, whether she wishes to or not.

Few critics or literary scholars commend Lewis for the aesthetics of his work. It is reasonable to consider Lewis more as a social commentator than as a top-tier literary artist. He often wrote quickly and carelessly, leaning towards excessive melodrama and exaggeration. However, within his literary shortcomings are many excellent passages, and no American author captured the subtleties of language or the essence of a particular American archetype as effectively as Lewis did.

Numerous critics have noted that Lewis had two sides: the ironic and satirical, where his true talent shone, and the romantic, for which he never found a suitable literary expression. Nonetheless, his novels display structural patterns. In Main Street, the primary structural element is the contrast between illusion and reality. The novel unfolds through a series of episodes that place the idealistic Carol Kennicott in various situations, leading to her growing disillusionment. Babbitt (1922) is also structured around external contrasts, but it places greater emphasis on the main character's internal conflict, offering readers a deeper sense of character and fostering greater empathy.

1920: The year Main Street is released, the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution grants women the right to vote.

Today: Voting rights are rigorously enforced, and women are seen as a significant political force that candidates seek to win over.

1920s: KDKA in East Pittsburgh sends the first commercial radio broadcast, using technology that will soon allow people nationwide to share experiences simultaneously.

Today: Numerous local radio stations with low wattage are accessible worldwide via the Internet.

1920s: A town like Gopher Prairie might hire an advertising consultant to create a brochure that embellishes the town’s features to attract potential businesses.

Today: Small towns are even more inclined to employ media consultants to enhance their public image.

1920: The national prohibition of alcohol, mentioned at the end of the novel, begins on January 16, following the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Prohibition lasts for thirteen years.

Today: Many compare the government's failure to prevent alcohol consumption during Prohibition with the current issue of illegal drugs.

1920s: The United States has twenty million telephones, double the number from two years prior. A long-distance call from New York to Chicago takes twenty-three minutes to connect.

Today: Phone calls are transmitted at nearly the speed of light through advanced fiber optic cables.

1920s: For the first time, the census shows the urban population in America surpasses the rural population, with 54 million compared to 51.1 million.

Today: The urban population has grown to over three times the 1920 figure, reaching 187 million, while the rural population has barely increased, now at 61.7 million.

Sinclair Lewis is clearly part of a tradition of social critics that includes figures like Thomas Paine, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Mark Twain. However, among his contemporaries, he most closely resembled H. L. Mencken, who criticized American university professors and other groups with the same vigor that Lewis applied to critiquing the American middle class. The key distinction between them lay in their belief systems. Mencken held a predominantly negative view of the United States and its citizens, seeing Americans as a people corrupted by a legacy of bigotry. He argued that democracy, instead of fostering individual growth and success, functioned to keep power concentrated in the hands of the already powerful.

Conversely, a part of Sinclair Lewis still believed in the American Dream and ideals of chivalry and romance. However, he appeared to lack a philosophical foundation to justify this belief, which resulted in his novels missing a component of tragic confrontation with the real world.

In addition to Main Street, some of Lewis's finest novels are Babbitt, Arrowsmith (1925), Elmer Gantry (1927), and Dodsworth (1929). These works were released during the middle phase of his writing career. Each novel continues his critique of middle-class values through characters like Arrowsmith, a doctor; Gantry, a minister; and Dodsworth, a businessman. These novels significantly contributed to Lewis receiving the Nobel Prize.

Among his later works, several stand out for their particular relevance. In It Can't Happen Here (1935), Lewis speculates that "it" indeed can occur—a Fascist leader could seize power in the United States and rapidly dismantle the country's foundational freedoms. Kingsblood Royal (1947) shifts Lewis's focus to another form of social criticism. This novel explores racial prejudice in its most grotesque and irrational forms.

Main Street has not been turned into a film, though several of Lewis's other novels have been. For more information on these adaptations, refer to the biographical entry on Lewis.

Sinclair Lewis: Main Street Revisited is a videocassette released in 1998 by the Thomas S. Klise Company. It features photographs of Lewis and his childhood home, while exploring his renowned works, Main Street and Babbitt, and how his personal history influenced these novels.

Sinclair Lewis: The Man from Main Street is a videocassette produced in 1986 by WBGU in Bowling Green, Ohio, and is distributed by the Ohio Humanities Resource Center.

Books on Tape, Inc. released an audiocassette version of Main Street in 1987, which is slightly edited. This edition is divided into two parts, each containing seven cassettes.

An unabridged version of Main Street, narrated by Barbara Caruso, is offered by Audio Books, Inc. and can be downloaded from Amazon.com’s audio platform, Audible.com.

In 1980, Jabberwocky Studios produced a radio drama adaptation of the novel Main Street, which is available on cassette.

Encyclopedia Britannica Educational Corporation and Lewis biographer Mark Schorer collaborated in 1975 to create a videocassette titled Sinclair Lewis, as part of the series The American Experience in Literature.

Also in 1975, Minnesota Public Radio released a cassette featuring a program by Roland Paul Dille, titled Sinclair Lewis. This program delves into Lewis’s writings on small-town life, American society, and ethics. Dille was an English professor and the president of Moorehead University.

Sources
Grebstein, Sheldon Norman, Sinclair Lewis, Twayne Publishers, 1962, p. 38.

Mencken, H. L., “Portrait of an American Citizen,” in Sinclair Lewis: A Collection of Critical Essays, Prentice-Hall, 1962, pp. 20–26.

Van Doren, Carl, Sinclair Lewis: A Biographical Sketch, Kennikat Press, 1933, p. I.

Wilson, Edmund, “Salute to an Old Landmark: Sinclair Lewis,” in New Yorker, October 13, 1944, pp. 101–102, 104.

Woodburn, John, “Lament for a Novelist,” in New Republic, May 16, 1949, pp. 16–17.

Further Reading
Bucco, Martin, “Main Street”: The Revolt of Carol Kennicott, Twayne, 1993. This is one of the rare comprehensive analyses of the novel, examining it from multiple perspectives. The book largely consists of essays that suggest various theoretical interpretations.

Davies, Richard O., Main Street Blues: The Decline of Small-Town America, Ohio State University Press, 1998. While Davis draws inspiration from Lewis’s novel, he primarily explores his own hometown of Camden, Ohio. Nevertheless, his insights on small-town life in the twentieth century connect the themes of the novel to contemporary issues.

Light, Martin, The Quixotic Vision of Sinclair Lewis, Purdue University Press, 1975. This comprehensive look at Lewis’s career focuses on his resistance to dominant societal ideas. The book effectively compares Lewis and his characters to Cervantes’ Don Quixote.

Lingeman, Richard, Sinclair Lewis: America’s Angry Man, Random House, 2002. This biography is the latest account of Lewis’s life by an author known for previous works, including a biography of Theodore Dreiser and Small Town America: A Narrative History, 1620–Present.

Parrington, Vernon, Sinclair Lewis: Our Own Diogenes, Haskell House Publishers, 1974. Parrington offers a highly respectful, though somewhat subdued, portrayal of Lewis that may not fully capture the author’s passionate spirit.

Schorer, Mark, Sinclair Lewis: An American Life, McGraw-Hill, 1961. Schorer, a leading Lewis scholar, penned this authoritative biography, which has remained a definitive work for four decades.