Krishna
I get the urge to read classics from time to time. Often, it is rewarding. Sometimes, like this book, it is likely to cure me of that urge!
What is the story?
Carol Milford was studying in Blodgett College and she was slim, moderately pretty, was a versatile singer, acted well and could play the piano. In other words multifaceted.
She is not interested in any man romantically until she meets Dr Will Kennikott and they feel mutual attraction. He wants her to move to his village and is not averse to her desire to be a builder and says that she can transform his small and pretty town where he is practicing. She feels attraction to him too.
They marry, and she goes to Gopher Prairie, her new home. Everything depresses her. She goes to see the town. The people are bland, the town is bland. And in her inspection of the town on the first day, the author chooses to describe every (yes, I mean every) shop in the street and what they contain. You can hardly keep your eyes open with such droll descriptions.
Carol slowly comes to love the town she loved to hate. She sees people’s friendliness, simplicity and honesty.
She arranges a kick ass party, trying to shock them from their routine. They all tell her how much the enjoyed it and promptly sink back to their usual fashion. Also Carol learns that the whole village, which seemed so nice in front of her, are laughing at her behind her back for ‘trying to show off’ and ‘start a competition that others could not keep up with’. She feels totally betrayed.
She tries to conform somewhat. (Yes, I know, this is cyclical and does not move the story even an inch in any direction so far).
All of Carol’s plans are thwarted by the village, and even Kennikott is not supportive. She then devices a plan to help the poor to help themselves and this is also labelled as ‘charity’ because the Bible recommends ‘charity’.
Kennikott and Carol have a flaming row where he accuses her of ‘trying to be too big for her shoes’ and she of ‘treating her like a slave, dispensing money in trickles so that she could spend on the house improvements’.
Meanwhile, Carol gets introduced to the daily excitement of a doctor’s life through travels with her husband and this opens her eyes to how resourceful her husband is.
But he has no heart in improving the city, and Carol sees that even her ‘friends’ who encouraged her back off when it comes to the real work to be done. She is determined to go on, Kennikott or no Kennikott.
They stage a play that Carol sees as an utter failure, despite kindly statements in the local journal. She is disillusioned with the entire city.
More blah blah in terms of pushy visitor relatives etc. A son is born to Carol and the doctor and they name him Hugh.
She is still disappointed in everything Kennikott does and also not impressed with the industrialist son of the soil who comes back and has everyone worshipping him.
Now, Carol does not even sleep in the same room as Kennikott and he is tempted by the “availability” of other married women in his village.
There is a new guy in town. He is a dandy in dress and works at a shop stitching clothes but seems to be well read. Finally Carol can talk about books to someone who is well read. The townspeople, of course, ridicule him behind his back. This includes Kennikott.
She realizes that she and this man Eric are kind of in love. She draws back from the idea which would end in ruin and scandal. However, he comes once when Kennicott had gone out on a client visit.
The story is slow moving but when Carrol confronts Kennicott about her love for Erik he skilfully handles her, pointing out the pitfalls. Erik leaves for a job with Minneapolis, and Kennicott, shaken at her wife’s deep frustration with the town and him, resolves to help her in every way. Told in a plain, non dramatic tone, this story nevertheless rises up (alas, but briefly) from the supine narration and then falls back again.
She then resolves to go to Washington alone and lives there for something like three years. Once, after a long absence, Kennicott visits her and surprisingly does not force her to come back. He still pines for her but can understand that she has her own goals. He takes her on a trip down South and in her mental estimate, Kennicott gains respect.
Having seen all she wants to see, she thinks she can now go back to Gopher Prairie, which was her home with Kennicott. A second child is stirring within her when she does. She thinks that with her new experience, she can stand up to the things she did not like earlier.
3/10
— Krishna