Babbitt · Chapter
III explained
Babbitt wakes up grumpy on his sleeping porch, resenting the routine of his real-estate business and his family.
What happens
Babbitt wakes up grumpy on his sleeping porch, resenting the routine of his real-estate business and his family. His morning bathroom ritual is fraught with petty frustrations—a wet bath mat, a dull razor, and damp towels—culminating in his defiant use of the guest towel, which his wife Myra serenely notices.
Themes in this chapter
Conformity and Materialism
Babbitt's pride in his modern alarm clock and his obsession with the up-to-dateness of his garage and bathroom reflect the materialistic values of his social class.
Midlife Crisis and Disillusionment
Babbitt's resentment of the 'grind' of business, his dislike of his family, and his longing for the freedom symbolized by the camping blanket indicate early signs of disillusionment.
Gender Roles and Marriage
Babbitt's irritation with his wife's cheerfulness and his sense of returning from a 'bold man-world' to a 'restricted region of wives and stenographers' highlights gendered domestic tensions.
Characters to notice
- George F. Babbitt
Wakes up irritable, detests his business and family, struggles through a frustrating morning routine, and rebels by using the guest towel.
- Myra Babbitt
Cheerfully calls Babbitt to get up, combs her hair in the adjacent bedroom, and serenely questions him about using the guest towel.
- Verona Babbitt
Mentioned as having used a strong toothpaste and taken a morning bath, leaving the bathroom floor wet.
- Theodore Roosevelt Babbitt
Referenced indirectly as one of the family members whose wet towels Babbitt encounters.
- Tinka Babbitt
Referenced indirectly as one of the family members whose wet towels Babbitt encounters.
Key passages
“He sulkily admitted now that there was no more escape, but he lay and detested the grind of the real-estate business, and disliked his family, and disliked himself for disliking them.”
Babbitt grudgingly accepted that he had to get up, but as he lay there he hated the daily routine of his job, resented his family, and felt guilty for feeling that way.
Reveals Babbitt's internal conflict and dissatisfaction with his life.
“He wiped his face on the guest-towel! It was a pansy-embroidered trifle which always hung there to indicate that the Babbitts were in the best Floral Heights society. No one had ever used it.”
In a moment of frustration, Babbitt dried his face with the decorative guest towel, a symbol of their social standing that had never been used before.
Highlights Babbitt's small act of rebellion against social pretenses.