Carol Milford attends Blodgett College in Minneapolis and dreams about settling down in a prairie village and transforming it into a place of beauty. After graduation, she works as a librarian at St. Paul for three years. She meets Dr. Will Kennicott at a friends house, and he begins courting her. After courting for a …
Summary Carol Milford attends Blodgett College in Minneapolis in the early 1900s. One day, she escapes from class to look at the city skyline. Beautiful and vivacious, she has several male admirers, including a classmate named Stewart Snyder. During her senior year, Carol feels uncertain about choosing a particular profession. She definitely wants to make …
Summary On her first day in Gopher Prairie, Carol goes for a walk to inspect the town. She covers the entirety of the small town on foot in thirty-two minutes. Most of the buildings and houses on Main Street appear haphazardly constructed. The Minniemashie House, the towns hotel and “fine-dining” establishment, has flyspecked windows, dirty …
Summary Winter arrives. Unfulfilled by housework and shopping, Carol longs for activity and tries unsuccessfully to organize skiing and skating parties. One morning, she gives in to the urge to run down the street and jump across a pile of slush. However, she notices disapproving ladies glancing at her from their windows. Carol becomes a …
Summary In March, Carol attends a meeting of the Thanatopsis Club, the womens study group. She is disappointed, however, when the ladies decide to discuss the whole subject of English poetry in one session. The ladies read dull, biographical statistics about English poets rather than reading or discussing actual poetry. The ministers wife reads a …
Summary One night, Carol and Kennicott have their first argument as a married couple. When she questions him about the other doctors in town, Kennicott tells her that they are not entirely honest and skillful practitioners. However, when Carol asks him if there is any professional jealousy between him and the other doctors, he feels …
Summary In January, the Kennicotts and a group of friends bobsled to their lake cottages. As the others dance and play games, Carol enjoys herself thoroughly. Inspired, Carol proposes that they form a dramatic club. In order to get ideas for staging a play, she asks Kennicott to take her to Minneapolis so she can …
Summary Fearful of remaining a spinster, Vida Sherwin marries Raymond Wutherspoon at the age of thirty-nine. She takes a very active part in all the activities of the town. She sometimes recalls how Kennicott had tried to woo her before he met Carol. Vida discouraged Kennicott but secretly hoped that he would continue to court …
Summary After her conversation with Bresnahan, Carol looks at Kennicott more critically. She realizes that he does not dress well and has uncouth table manners. The unbearable summer heat makes everyone in town very touchy, especially Carol. One evening, Kennicott casually informs her that his friends are coming over to play poker. After everyone leaves, …
Summary While Carol remains unaware of her husbands affair with Maud Dyer, Maud pretends to be Carols friend. At the Jolly Seventeen, Maud tells Carol about Nat Hickss new assistant tailor, a young man who looks and acts so feminine that people call him Elizabeth. He wears a coat and tie, talks in a refined …