Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Sinclair Lewis

  • Arrowsmith at 100 years

    George ChristopherMichigan, United States Sinclair Lewis’ novel Arrowsmith (1925) is a biography of the fictional physician Martin Arrowsmith that chronicles his life from childhood through the transitions of his medical career. The novel spans the protagonist’s years in medical school and subsequent roles as a hospital house officer, clinician in solo practice, public health official,…

  • Does art belong in a doctor’s office?

    Sally MetzlerChicago, Illinois, United States Does art belong in a doctor’s office? According to Sinclair Lewis, a resounding Yes!—so long as the art hangs on antiseptic white walls. In his 1925 novel Arrowsmith, Lewis described the ideal medical reception room—a combination of two warring schools of thought, the Tapestry and the Antiseptic. His father was…