The image of Lena Kantor this Friday morning would make one think she was the epitome of studiousness. However, that wouldn’t be accurate. As she woke she pushed the copy of Babbitt off of her face and gently rubbed her eyes. The book fell to the floor and joined the clattering of Mohn Hall’s kitchen below (Hilleboe 57). Lena propped herself up to glance at the clock. “Fantastic,” she murmured to herself, “awake an hour before I have to be.” Dejectedly, she collapsed back onto her pillow. Instead of falling back to sleep, she found herself drawn into the deep blue of Babbitt’s cover (Babbitt First Edition). Before she knew it she was thumbing through the pages again. Lena’s literary society, Delta Iota, had taken up Sinclair Lewis’ most recent novel so that they may be representative “Torchbearers of Inquiry" (Lavinia 237). Though the conversation had happened weeks before, Lena had never gathered the energy to finish the novel. Mere moments after immersing herself in Babbitt’s affair Lena heard the feet of the freshmen she counseled scampering down the hallway (Hilleboe 58-59) (Lewis). Lena hopped out of bed, got dressed, gathered her things, and trotted down the steps to the basement where three quarters of the school were gathering for breakfast (Hilleboe 56).
Even within the chaos Lena could clearly see the divide between her class and the second and fourth years. As she stood at the large sliding doors that divided the dining room from the rest of the hall, she spotted her roommate, Sigrid Kolstad. After getting her food Lena begrudgingly walked over to eat with her (Hilleboe 56).
“Great morning!” Sigrid shouted far too loudly to be acceptable at this hour.
“You weren't in the room and woken up by the kitchen.” Lena grouchily replied.
“Oh come now,” Sigrid crooned, “Without that cacophony you wouldn’t have farm fresh milk to drink with your eggs this morning (Hilleboe 57)” She grinned and downed her glass of milk in one gulp. She had plenty of practice drinking.
“Good time with Knute last night?” Lena snarked back.
“Oh hush!” Sigrid hissed, slamming her glass back onto the table “It was nothing! We were studying for embryology.”
“Of course..."
Suddenly Sigrid’s hands became a whirlwind as she shoved a piece of toast in her mouth and grabbed the books from below her chair. "The assignment I worked so hard on all of last night will be late if I don’t hurry up. God, I hate walking all the way across campus for my first class...” Before Lena knew it, with a grin full of breadcrumbs, Sigrid waved goodbye and exited.
Lena took her time with her eggs, since class was just down the hall and down the stairs (Hilleboe 56). Most of the time Lena couldn’t stand Sigrid. Sigrid mirrored the constant airiness typical of this time. Her intolerable attitude and questionable activities constantly made Lena wonder how Sigrid passed her classes. Lena’s mind stomped out her loathing as her body meandered out of the cafeteria. She was among the last to leave and went straight to the home economics labs. There, she slid into the last chair as Professor Drotning began her lecture for the day (Catalog 50).
It was hard to pay attention to this professor. To Lena, a lecture on pairing root vegetables with a roast hardly felt necessary or relevant. Outside, America was going through an artistic and economic renaissance; yet Drotning only spoke of carrots and potatoes. Lectures anywhere outside the home ec labs were more engaging. St. Olaf was growing increasingly more aware of the world it existed in. None of the students could stop talking about the rising German national debt, or the mounting tension in Europe (“German National Debt” 28). Last year, William Jennings Bryan came to speak in chapel. The governor of Minnesota had made an appearance on campus too (Shaw, History 308)! With all of this, the small dealings of smoking and dancing just seemed so insignificant, but President Boe would have none it on campus. Dean Hilleboe frequently warned her women of these sins and the threat of expulsion should they partake (Hanson np). It seemed too absurd to Lena. By the end of class her carrots were hardly tender enough, but her mind was too occupied with these other issues to notice. She placed her product on Drotning’s table and ignored Drotning’s disappointed glare as she walked out.
Lena’s grades were good for not trying. After all, home economics was only questionably challenging… or interesting. But she didn’t have too much of a choice. Her father forbade all other majors for her; she was at St. Olaf to increase her marriageability. When the Kantors found out that Lena had spent a night at a dance club in Omaha, her father was incensed. He was convinced that her small German community had heard of her escapades and thought she had lost all hope to marry ("Omaha" np). So she used this to her advantage and convinced her father to send her to St. Olaf (Konig 107).
Sure, she spent time dancing. Like many Oles she would dance for fun, mostly clandestinely on campus, sometimes at Carleton (Shaw, History 315). But Sigrid, however, flirted, gallivanted, and drank more than she should. She was one of the few on campus who got swept up by the music in all the wrong respects (Hanson np). Only her astounding luck kept Hilleboe from catching her. It was a miracle Sigrid was allowed to be a junior counselor with Lena. Even more surprising were her and Knute’s escapades --
“Uff da!” Wyman Olson blurted out. Lena, engulfed in irritation, didn’t notice that her walk south across old campus ended by colliding directly into Wyman’s chest.
“Oh Gosh, I’m sorry Wyman. I get lost in my….” Lena apologized as she picked up her education psychology book that had fallen in the crash.
“That’s alright Lena, I’ll admit I quite frequently get lost in my own.” He straightened out his collar, leading to an awkward silent moment. “Anyway, if it’s chapel you’re heading for we should hurry, it’s starting soon. Though you don’t have to go if you don’t want to (Bensen 240). I just thought you might want to hear Boe talk about dancing… apparently that’s what his talk is on today.…"
Lena failed to see the issue in being late or the issue in dancing, but she hurried up the steps with Wyman anyway. The upper balcony was almost full, but Wyman and Lena managed to secure seats in the back of the main floor. The organ was still opening, so they were able to secure seats without drawing too much attention (Shaw, Dear Old 77).
Boe promptly started his speech after the organ. However, there were many more fascinating aspects of today’s chapel service than his words- the pleats in Lena’s skirt, for example.
“I will remind you that the principal task of this school is to educate, yes, but to educate students who will be good, Christian characters. We are a college, but more specifically, a college of the church (Bensen 228)…” Or the number of pipes the organ had... “I am not afraid to say that we who are responsible for St. Olaf many a time have wondered just what is right and square. More and more students are approaching me with issues of justice that they believe have been mishandled, or are not addressed enough on our campus on a hill (Boe 127)…” Or finding the complimentary colors in the stained glass window… “You are coming from hundreds of communities and have picked your ideas from all over. Everything is being batted around. I think it’s remarkable that we have been able to keep our faith at St. Olaf as much as we have (Boe 134)…” Or the evening she would be spending at the chemistry shack. However, his next words quickly drew her back in. “Supposing I said, ‘After this we will open up on dancing and smoking.’ Is that the St. Olaf you want? I don’t think so. Sometimes they come and ask me, ‘Is it a sin to do this?’ I am not bothered by whether anything is a sin except the things that Jesus Christ said were sin (Boe 134)”
Well, there was the climax Wyman was looking for. Lena’s frustration simmered within her, but only for long enough for her to hear “If we can send out men and women with the philosophy and honest and upright desire to be a child of God, I haven’t much worry about what you are going to do (Boe 135). Please Stand.” And with this, Boe indecisively concluded his talk for the day.
For the remainder of chapel Lena wondered whether Wyman would be happy with this conclusion. To her it seemed that Boe didn’t care about dancing nearly as much as he portrayed, but more about forming diligent students. She glanced at Wyman to see if she could read his face at all, but all she gathered was the furrow of concentration in his brow as he tried to sight-read the hymns. Wyman frequently wore this look outside of sight reading. He was known to be one of the standard pensive students on campus.
“Of course Wyman just scowled!” Sigrid blasted, with a mouth full of greens.
“No, you’re twisting-“
“Did you read that editorial he put in the Messenger the Tuesday before Easter (Catalog 1)? Sure, the editorial talked about ‘gaining satisfaction for ourselves.’, but it was totally a blast at having a good time (Hendrickson 2). Studying more literature my-“
“Okay, okay Sigrid, we get it. Finish chewing your salad.” Knute said.
Wyman’s most recent “anonymous” entry was supposedly about keeping St. Olaf literature study up to do date so that students may keep up with the times, but the more belligerent of students took it as a covert blast at their favorite pastimes of drinking, dancing, and smoking (Hendrickson 2). Lena read the article over again, thinking she would be enlightened to this hidden meaning. While Wyman was known for being vocal about modern hedonism, Lena couldn’t see it here. Rather, he was just being expressive about engaging discovering modern literary truths such as Lewis’. His, like many other editorials, encouraged students to remain engaged in the spirit of progress Boe had set forth for their college at the beginning of his term (Hendrickson np).
“It doesn’t matter anyway, it just means one less person at the chem shack tonight!” Sigrid sung as she walked with Lena and Knute out of the dining hall.
Once again Lena walked over to the home economics labs, this time for principles of color and design. Unsurprisingly, Drotning failed to make varieties of gingham any more interesting than tender vegetables (Terteling np). The rest of Lena’s day passed rather lethargically as well, as Lena passively wallowed in her education psychology class and study hall.
After dinner- which was punctuated by Sigrid’s loud shrieks about the chem shack- Lena debated doing homework. Part of Boe’s new era was an emphasis on “self-discipline”, meaning teachers expected increasingly diligent students . Most good Oles rose to the challenge and then some, becoming active in academics, oratory, literary societies, music groups and current events (Shaw, History 308). However, Lena found it difficult enough to stay awake in colors, let alone do the necessary reading. After dinner, she headed back to her room, not allowing Sigrid up because Lena's outfit “was to be a surprise”. In theory, she was forcing herself to do work.
In actuality, there was little productivity. Lena decided it would be more fruitful to finish Babbitt than to pretend to be interested in color theory. As the novel drew to the close, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for Babbitt. All he attempted to make an individual of himself failed; in the end his only action to free himself was let his son elope (Lewis np). At Delta Iota, they mentioned that the novel made a satire of their society. Nowadays, Americans were superficial and lacked originality and sought only that which benefitted themselves. But did this apply to St. Olaf? And of course it didn’t to Lena…
“Lena, what are you doing, get up!” Sigrid shouted. Lena awoke with a start, clutching the open novel to her chest. “Getting dressed, huh? Well put down that trash and let's go have fun!"
Lena reluctantly succumbed to Sigrid’s nagging and put on her dancing outfit. She wore a black top that cut somewhat low in the back, with a skirt that came slightly below her knees in a large black and white plaid. Her tights matched her shoes, which had enough of a heel to make her a bit taller without making it difficult to walk. She put her hair back in a pin, and with a fluff of her locks she was ready to go (Steele 348).
Together Knute, Sigrid and Lena made the stealthy trek across campus to the chemistry shack. Lena was surprised the intoxicated Knute and Lena could find their way without the moon (“Moon Phase Images” np). Just west of Steensland Library, this glorified hut was built in three weeks, which showed in its plain grey exterior and lack of ornament (Shaw, Dear Old 98). It may not have been as glamorous as a club in Omaha, but tonight Lena found it more than tolerable (Tvedten np).
A song from "Runnin' Wild" played as the group cracked open the door and snuck in ("Charleston" np). The scene possessed some energy. Oles deftly weaved between lab benches in a slightly awkward dance. Lena couldn’t help but notice the contrast between Knute and Sigrid’s inebriated stomps and the smooth steps of the student dancers across the floor. As the couple stumbled into the blur, Lena found herself starring at the whir of dresses and slacks, lost in a room full of motion and noise.
At the next break, Lena pulled herself to the center of the room. The music began, and once she had the beat she began a solo Charleston. Her rock step, kick step soon pulled in everyone’s attention. One man in particular grabbed her eyes, and as soon as she saw that, Lena snatched his arms. Commandingly she lead him around the dance floor, knees flying in and out. His embarrassment was obvious in his tense arms and small kicks, but she didn't care. Judging from their perplexed looks, Lena guessed that most Oles hadn’t seen this dance before since tt was actually fairly new. When the music stopped, she thanked her partner, and stepped out of the limelight ("Charleston" np).
Lena spent the rest of the evening as follow. It was not nearly as enjoyable, though Lena would admit it was a tad more entertaining root vegetables and Sigrid’s yelling. Her mood soured whenever she noticed Lena and Knute, but her discontent drowned with her complete immersion in the motion and noise.
Lena slipped out the door after an hour. She was careful as the approached Mohn's doors; while it wasn't too late, she would rather not have Hilleboe question her location this evening. The doors creaked quietly open as Lena slipped in. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a few figures sitting in the parlor. She turned toward the stairs but stopped when she heard a "Psst!" from the room behind her.
"Lena, Lena hold on!" a man whispered from the parlor. Lena paused and turned around. Once again, the furrow in Wyman's brow suggested concentration beyond this moment. Suddenly his look turned sour. "You were at that dance, weren't you?"
"What?" Lena questioned. "Since when did you care?”
"I... I was just wondering..." Wyman's brow creased further. "I don't get it... I just don't see what's so appealing. Not to mention what Boe thinks.."
Lena was confused. "What? Wyman, I just like to go out! What’s with you all of a sudden?" Her step back was matched by his step forward.
"Oh, it's nothing. Wait, please don't get nervous." Wyman must have noticed the look of confusion on her face. "I just worry about you sometimes, Lena. When I see you, you always look so dreary. It's obvious you're not happy about much. And you spend so much time with Sigrid, I worry she’ll pull you into all sorts of activities." His voice trailed off at her look of displeasure. "What? She’s not the epitome of a good student!”
"Wyman, I don't need your lecture. I'm going to bed." Yet her feet stayed planted, ears full of listening, mind echoing with his words and Boe’s words earlier today.
"Fine, I'm done. But all I ask is you take a look at what you're doing. Just make sure you're doing what you're doing because you want to. Not because of anyone else, just because you want to. Sigrid may give me grief for being so intellectual all the time, but that's because I enjoy thinking. I've taken responsibility for what I love and I hope you may do the same. I hope you realize that doing anything else would be a waste of your time here (Bensen 241). Good night Lena."
With those final words, he left.
Lena stood, shocked and perplexed. Without the story of Wyman’s home life this conversation lacked coherence. As she soaked in his words she climbed the stairs once more to her room. She undressed before Sigrid came home and slid into bed. Her own unhappiness hadn't struck her until now. "This is the time, " she thought to herself, "to choose to be inert or dynamic. Wyman is pushing me to make that choice." Was the path of St. Olaf-- one of engagement and world vision with a vocational place-- worth the strife? All against her roommate, her family, society’s values, and.. herself? Her weary eyes wandered over to the copy of Babbitt on the floor.
"Perhaps this is the unease Babbitt had felt moments before allowing his son to pursue love and elope (Lewis)." She wondered. She no longer wanted to be the typical of her age. With this, she drifted off to sleep...
