How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Even the girls who knew that they were going to be married pretended to be considering important business positions. (1.2.8)
At Carol's college, women have two options after they graduate: get a job or get a husband. In Sinclair Lewis's time, it was assumed that married women would quit their jobs to be full-time homemakers.
Quote #2
"Why do these stories lie so? They always make the bride's home-coming a bower of roses. Complete trust in noble spouse. Lies about marriage." (3.3.24)
Carol thinks that all the sweet stories she's heard about marriage over the years have been total lies. Now that she's actually married, she looks ahead to a life of boredom and dissatisfaction. Is there a middle ground between fairy tales and total dissatisfaction? If there is, Carol hasn't found it yet.
Quote #3
But the advocate of freedom in marriage was as much disappointed as a drooping bride with the alacrity with which he took that freedom and escaped to the world of men's affairs. (4.1.7)
When Carol and Will first arrive at their new home, Will asks permission to go check on his office to see if anything has happened with his work. Carol tells him to go ahead, but she secretly feels disappointed when he does. Even at this early point, she realizes that she will always have to compete for Will's attention with his job.