From Innocence To Maturity: A Feminist Re-reading Of Carol’s Growth In Main Street

Main Street, the masterpiece of Sinclair Lewis(1885-1951), represents the heroine Carol Milford’s growing process from innocence to maturity. This thesis re-reads Carol’s growth from the feminist perspective, thinking that Carol’s returning to her family at last not only shows that the family is no longer a “cage” which hinders her development but a “Paradise Regained” but also shows that Carol has realized that the real obstacle which hinders her development is not her role of being a wife and a mother which the patriarchal family gives her and that only by truly getting herself integrated into the society to strive for a harmonious relationship with men can she ultimately achieve her own development. And at the same time, by re-reading Carol’s growth, this thesis also explores the plights faced by women in the process of their growth in the patriarchal society and the possible ways for them to realize their self-development and emancipation.This thesis is composed of three parts. The first part is an introduction to Lewis’ life and writings and his position in the history of American literature, the studies on Carol both at home and abroad, and the argument, the theoretical perspective and the layout of this thesis. The second part is the body of this thesis, consisting of three chapters. Chapter one explores the first stage of Carol’s growth: her innocence before marriage. At this stage, Carol’s self-consciousness is in a state of innocence. She embraces a fantastic vision of her life and career, which originates from her innocent view of the world. Chapter two mainly examines the second stage of Carol’s growth: her plight after marriage. At this stage, having a dream, Carol comes to the Gopher Prairie with her husband. However, the life after marriage leads her self-consciousness to a crisis. All kinds of conflicts and contradictions with the patriarchal society make her dream of reforming the small town shattered step by step. With helplessness and loneliness in her heart, she resolutely chooses to flee her family to Washington to achieve her dream. However, the boring life in Washington gets her into trouble. She is still unable to freely express her voice and her dream becomes disillusioned again. Chapter three mainly analyzes the last stage of Carol’s growth: her maturity after escape. At this stage, Carol gradually becomes mature after experiencing her inner awakening and development. Finally she decides to return to her family because she realizes that the family is no longer a “cage” which binds her development but a “Paradise Regained” that makes her regain happiness. In addition, Carol also realizes that a truly mature woman should have a peaceful mind and strive for a harmonious relationship between two sexes rather than blindly fight against the patriarchal society. Therefore, she has finally developed a harmonious relationship with her husband and realized her self-development. The third part is the conclusion, summarizing the major contents discussed in the foregoing parts and reiterating the main idea of this thesis: Main Street represents the plights faced by women in the process of their growth in the patriarchal society, and by representing the heroine Carol’s growth, Lewis tries to tell women: only by having a more peaceful mind to develop a harmonious relationship with men, change their consciousness of depending on men and set up an independent consciousness, can they achieve their self-development and self-liberation.