Babbitt (Sinclair Lewis)
Babbitt is a satirical novel by the American writer Sinclair Lewis from 1922 , which portrays the American middle class in the period before the Great Depression.
History of origin
After he had written several less noted novels since 1912, Lewis achieved great commercial success in 1920 with the novel "Main Street", a satirical representation of the small town myths of the Midwest . The novel "Babbitt" then followed in 1922, " Arrowsmith ", a novel about the problems in the life of an idealistic doctor in 1925 - but Sinclair turned down the Pulitzer Prize for it. The novel "Dodsworth", in which the small town of Zenith appears again as the setting, was published in 1929. In 1930, Lewis was the first American to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature , with Lewis receiving the award primarily for the novel "Babbitt", as did the jury emphasized at the time.
action
The novel depicts the life of 46-year-old real estate agent George F. Babbitt in the fictional small town of Zenith in the American Midwest. Babbitt has achieved all the comforts of being a middle-class American businessman but is dissatisfied with his bourgeois life. He is married to his wife Myra and has three children: Verona, Ted and Tinka.
Babbitt's closest friend Paul Riesling is even more dissatisfied with his life. If he wanted to become a professional violinist in his youth, he feels constrained in his average life and annoyed by the nagging of his frustrated wife Zilla. Although he often speaks of a divorce, he cannot part with his wife any more than Babbitt can part with his cigarettes. Riesling and Babbitt try to break out of everyday life at Zenith by taking a vacation together in Maine . However, their joy in the newly found freedom is short-lived. Riesling has an affair that prompts Babbitt to extol the virtues of a socially adapted life. Shortly after returning, Riesling and his wife have another argument that ends with Riesling shooting at his wife, whereupon he is imprisoned and sentenced.
Babbitt is devastated by the loss of the Rieslings that had taken a permanent place in his life. His own desire for rebellion manifests itself when the attractive widow Tanis Judique enters his life and he begins an affair with her. At the same time, Babbitt becomes more critical of the conservative opinions of his friends. When a general strike breaks out in Zenith, Babbitt dares to support some of the strikers' demands, alienating himself from his old friends. While Myra tends to her sick sister, Babbitt hangs around, drinks and partying with Tanis' unconventional friends. Babbitt's old friends are shocked by his rebellion and try to lure him back into their inner circle, but Babbitt defiantly refuses. Upon her return to Zenith, Myra becomes suspicious of Babbitt's activities. When he finally admits he's having an affair, he blames her for it. However, Babbitt is also disappointed in Tanis when he discovers that her life is just as conventional as his in many ways. In the meantime, Babbitt's friends are trying to get him back to his old ways. When Babbitt refuses, they avoid him and his business begins to suffer.
When Myra becomes seriously ill with appendicitis , Babbitt realizes that it is too late to leave the bourgeoisie. He becomes a loyal husband again and deeply regrets the pain he caused his wife. Babbitt's friends offer him their support in the crisis and Babbitt gratefully accepts the chance to return to his old life.
Meanwhile, Ted shocks everyone by running away with Eunice Littlefield. Babbitt takes him aside and has a fatherly conversation with him. Although he wants Ted to go to college, Babbitt accepts that Ted wants to drop out and work as a mechanic. Babbitt explains to his son that he has not been able to achieve any of his goals in his life. So he challenges Ted to withstand the intense pressure to conform to others' expectations. Babbitt admits that it's too late for himself to rebel, but Ted still has a chance to find his own happiness.
people
George F. Babbitt
George Babbitt is a successful middle-aged real estate agent in the fictional small town of Zenith. At the beginning of the novel he is a typical member of the city's conformist and ignorant middle class. He is vaguely dissatisfied with the monotonous, conventional lifestyle of his fellow citizens, but his escape from his bourgeois environment is short-lived.
Myra Babbitt
Myra is George's boring and devoted wife. She too is dissatisfied with the lifestyle of the middle class, but does not dare to break out.
Ted Babbitt
Ted is the only son of Myra and George, he has a younger and an older sister. The teenager no longer wants to go to college because he is more interested in a craft activity. Like most middle-class youth his age, he is interested in girls, expensive cars and beautiful clothing.
Tinka Babbitt
Tinka is the youngest child of Myra and George.
Verona Babbitt
Verona is the oldest child of Myra and George. She attended Bryn Mawr College and has a liberal worldview. She actually wants to take up a social profession, but her character and attitudes are still heavily influenced by her narrow-minded parents. She marries Kenneth Escott, a young reporter for the local newspaper in Zenith.
Henry T. Thompson
Thompson is Babbitt's father-in-law and business partner. Babbitt thinks he's provincial and old-fashioned since he doesn't have a college degree.
Paul Riesling
Paul was a college student with Babbitt and is his closest friend. At a young age he wanted to become a professional musician, but then, like Babbitt, got caught up in the conventional way of life of a small town businessman. He is very critical of the monotonous, lying bourgeoisie of Zenith, even if he is part of it.
Zilla Riesling
Zilla is the wife of Paul Riesling, she too is bored of the bourgeois small town life and takes out her frustration on Paul by constantly nagging him. During an argument, Paul shoots and injures her. After Paul has to go to jail for three years, Zilla becomes religious.
May Arnold
May Arnold is a middle-aged widow and Paul Riesling's relationship. Babbitt learns of the affair when he meets the two of them on a business trip to Chicago.
Seneca Doane
Seneca Doane was a fellow student with Babbitt and is a radical lawyer. He advocates workers' rights and wants - albeit unsuccessfully - to become mayor of Zenith. He criticizes the preconceived notions and materialistic values of the bourgeois middle class. When Babbitt opposes these values in his brief rebellion, he declares his support for Doane, to the annoyance of his friends.
Howard Littlefield
Howard Littlefield is an executive with the Traction Street Company and Babbitt's neighbor and friend.
Eunice Littlefield
Eunice is Howard's daughter. She loves movies and runs away with Babbitt's son Ted at the end of the novel.
reception
“Babbitt” became a synonym for “philistine” in the American language, as did the term “babbittry” for a certain form of conformist behavior, ie philistinism.
Film adaptations
Babbitt has been filmed twice in what Turner Classic Movies describes as "impressive for a novel that barely has a plot". Both films were made at Warner Bros.
The first film adaptation was a silent film released in 1924 starring Willard Louis as George F. Babbitt. According to Warner Bros., the film cost $ 123,000 and grossed $ 306,000.
The second adaptation was in 1934 as a sound film with Guy Kibbee in the lead role and directed by William Keighley . This film takes liberties with the plot, exaggerates Babbitt's affair and describes a real estate deal that does not appear in the novel.
Individual evidence
- ↑ tagesspiegel.de: “Babbitt” by Sinclair Lewis - Ewiger Jedermann
- ↑ Merriam-Webster: Babbitt
- ^ David Sterritt: Babbitt (1934) - Articles. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved May 15, 2020 .
- ↑ Babbitt (1924) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- ↑ Babbitt (1934) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
swell
- Babbitt , Rowohlt, Reinbek, 1953–1983, ISBN 978-3-499-14024-2
- Babbitt , Manesse, Munich, 2017, ISBN 978-3-7175-2384-0
Web links
- Babbitt , American Studies, University of Virginia