ABSTRACT
Sinclair Lewis's science novel Arrowsmithis an intriguing novel for various reasons, and may be read from various perspectives. The author's personal fascination with this 500-page romance stems from the fact that it is often regarded as the first real science novel, devoted to experimental laboratory research as a practice, a profession, an ideology, a worldview, a ‘prominent strand in modern culture’, a way of life. This chapter presents key dimensions of the novel, treating Martin Arrowsmith as a case study. It focuses on the organisational and occupational hazards of a biomedical career; the ‘cupido sciendi’ of pure science as a ‘divine madness’; Martin’s grand moment of discovery (the bacteriophage as the intrusion of the ‘real’); the core medical-ethical dilemma (the bacteriologist as a physician and as a researcher) and cabin science: Martin’s escape to a reclusive, scientific Walden, the novel’s final act. Finally, the chapter addresses the question of how analysing Arrowsmith may add to bioethical discourse.
