Chapter 9

Summary

Carol is frightened by the way people criticize her. She longs to be back in the city where she could be anonymous. She wishes to go away to St. Paul for a few days but does not know how to convey her wish to Kennicott. She feels painfully self-conscious in front of people and keeps wondering if they are laughing at her even when they greet her. She realizes that all she wants is to be accepted. Though she gets over her self-consciousness after a few days she keeps the habit of avoiding people. She keeps up the habit of acting all the time to avoid being criticized.

She realizes that Vida had told her the truth about people watching her all the time. Even as she convinces herself that villagers do gape at every one she notices that as soon as she entered LudlmeyerÂ’s shop, the grocer, his Clark and Mrs. Dave Dyer who were giggling about something, stopped giggling and started talking about onions. When Carol and Kennicott called on the Casses, they appear to be agitated at their arrival. She suspects that everyone except Sam Clark, Dave Dyer and Raymie wutherspoon is laughing at her. They pointedly remark in her presence that one man is as good as another is.

The merchants like Ole Jonson and Howland are bad tempered as if to prove that they are Americans, because American merchants are bad tempered. The customers are expected to fight back. Carol finds it difficult ‘to play the friendly game of rudeness’. Therefore she prefers to shop at Axel Egge’s. She prefers it also because Axel never bothers about her and his customers do not even know her. Carol becomes painfully conscious about even her clothes. Once when she wears a checked black suit, she finds Mrs. Boggart staring at her dress. Mrs. Mac Ganum asks her if it is very expensive. The boys comment that they could play a game of checkers on her skirt.

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