Medical Ethics
Sinclair Lewis had already written two highly regarded novels that revealed the insidious and deleterious effects that greed and corruption have on the lives of small town America and the world of business so it should come as no surprise that this theme persists in the world of medicine occupied by the title character. The big difference here is that while his businessmen and the cliques and organizations that direct the hierarchy of small town American are revealed to be perhaps irredeemable, Dr. Martin Arrowsmith provides hope that perhaps the medical community just may actually be able to resist such temptations. Needless to say, Dr. Arrowsmith practiced medicine long before the arrival of HMOs, insurance conglomerates and politicians willing to put Lewis’ faith to the test in ways he could never have imagined.
The Purity of Research
It is worth noting that even in that relatively unsophisticated world of medicine in which Arrowsmith orbits, he is faced with enough temptation to give into corruption that by the end of the story it may seem as if Lewis is suggesting the only real way to escape such ethical conundrums is to devote one’s work to pure research. In a very real metaphorical way—if such a thing actually exists—Arrowsmith the character traces a direct line back to Walden Pond. Just as Henry David Thoreau suggests that the only safe way to take part in American society is to withdraw from it, so does Lewis suggest that the only way to escape the greed of practicing medicine is to stop practicing it and research it. Again, this was before research also became big business and, as noted, the opinion Lewis had of any potential for remaining incorruptible in the world of business can be gleaned by reading his searing indictment of that world, Babbitt.
Religion v. Science
It is not just the effects of greed and corruption that obstruct Martin Arrowsmith from living the life of a happy doctor he always dreamed about; he must also deal with ignorance. His interest in the research side of medicine situates him in a position in which ignorance and a stubborn clinging to tradition and conventions takes on the character of put ignorance verging into stubborn stupidity. On this score, of course, the modern world is perhaps at its closest point of reference to the world of turn of the century America. The ability of Americans to reject scientific fact even in the face of overwhelming evidence remains as steadfast today as it was then with only the specifics of scientific advancement changing over the century.
