Sticking to your ideals is difficult when others pressure you to abandon them. Such is the story of Martin Arrowsmith, the protagonist of Sinclair Lewis’s 1925 novel about the medical profession.
Martin knows early in life that he wants to study bacteriology. Blessed with curiosity, cursed with poor social skills, he fumbles his way through college, rejecting temptations to enrich himself by engaging in unethical practices. He marries Leora Tozen, a nursing student from South Dakota, and tries to build a career as assistant to the county health officer in Leora’s hometown. The move is the first in a series of frustrations as he pursues his dream of saving humanity from epidemics.
Bouncing from one job to another, Martin gets a big break when his former professor, Dr. Gottlieb, persuades him to join the staff of the McGurk Institute in New York. There, an opportunity to stop a plague ravaging the West Indies brings Martin to prominence.
The pleasure of this novel is in the details, particularly Martin’s exasperating battles with the people of Wheatsylvania, whose narrow-minded citizens bully him mercilessly about his work and personal habits. The hilarity of this section alone makes the book worth reading. There are also colleagues at other postings who tempt Martin into shadowy career opportunities and social climbing activities which interfere with his research. The medical profession is a minefield for Martin. His only refuges are his lab, his long-suffering spouse, and a few fellow idealists.
Arrowsmith is a treasure chest of well-drawn characters, from the irascible Dr. Gottlieb to the annoying but loyal Clif Clawson, all of whom play major roles in Martin’s life. Amidst the drama and humor of his career there is also death, an inevitable foe.
Today’s reader can compare the medical profession a hundred years ago with that of the present and find that little has changed. Sinclair Lewis reminds us that in all human endeavors, the spirit in which we pursue them can be the difference between success and failure.
Featured by Chevron Ross
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Weapons of Remorse The Seven-Day Resurrection The Samaritan’s Patient
