Idealistic, city-bred Carol Kennicott marries a country doctor and moves to the stifling small town of Gopher Prairie, Minnesota, where her attempts to reform its smug provincialism meet resistance and quiet defeat.
Books mentioned in Main Street (20)
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes: “Westlake quoted the "Paradiso," "Don Quixote," "Wilhelm Meister," and the Koran, she reflected that no one she knew, not even her father, had read all four.”
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri: “When Dr. Westlake quoted the "Paradiso," "Don Quixote," "Wilhelm Meister," and the Koran, she reflected that no one she knew, not even her father, had read all four.”
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “When Dr. Westlake quoted the "Paradiso," "Don Quixote," "Wilhelm Meister," and the Koran”
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare: “Perhaps the best known of his plays was "The Merchant of Venice," having a beautiful love story and a fine appreciation of a woman's brains, which a woman's club, even those who did not care to commit themselves on the question of suffrage, ought to appreciate.”
Othello by William Shakespeare: “They were attracted to each other; a Swedish Othello and Desdemona, more useful and amiable than their prototypes.”
Hamlet by William Shakespeare: “Terry Gould had great applause for his burlesque of "Hamlet."”
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare: “I think it would be lovely to present 'Romeo and Juliet'!"”
The School for Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan: “Guy Pollock answered with disconcerting readiness, "I'll tell you: since we're going to try to do something artistic, and not simply fool around, I believe we ought to give something classic. How about 'The School for Scandal'?"”
Idylls of the King by Alfred Tennyson: “Well----Shall we try 'The Idylls of the King?”
Androcles and the Lion by Bernard Shaw: “She would let them compromise on Shaw--on "Androcles and the Lion," which had just been published.”
How He Lied to Her Husband by Bernard Shaw: “What's this junk you want to see? Hm. 'How He Lied to Her Husband.”
Barriers Burned Away by Edward Payson Roe: “Next I read 'Barriers Burned Away' and then Pope's translation of Homer.”
Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall by Charles Major: “I never read a novel till I got 'Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall' out of the library at Curlew.”
Frank on the Lower Mississippi by Harry Castlemon: “Miss Villets emphatically stamped a date in the front of "Frank on the Lower Mississippi" for a small flaxen boy, glowered at him as though she were stamping a warning on his brain, and sighed:”
An Old Sweetheart of Mine by James Whitcomb Riley: “As encore to "An Old Sweetheart of Mine," she gave a peculiarly optimistic poem regarding the value of smiles.”
We Are Seven by William Wordsworth: “And there's that 'I met a little country boy who----' I don't remember exactly how it goes, but the chorus ends up, 'We are seven.'”
Old Rail Fence Corners by Lucy Leavenworth Wilder Morris: “Carol read enviously in the admirable Minnesota chronicles called "Old Rail Fence Corners" the reminiscence of Mrs.”
The Two Orphans by Adolphe d'Ennery: “Once, strolling companies had used it for performances of "The Two Orphans," and "Nellie the Beautiful Cloak Model," and "Othello" with specialties between acts, but now the motion-pictures had ousted the gipsy drama.”
Nellie the Beautiful Cloak Model by Owen Davis: “Once, strolling companies had used it for performances of "The Two Orphans," and "Nellie the Beautiful Cloak Model," and "Othello" with specialties between acts, but now the motion-pictures had ousted the gipsy drama.”
Books that mention Main Street (2)
The Art of Fiction by Ayn Rand: “The theme of Sinclair Lewis's Main Street is the presentation of a typical American small town.”