# Mrs. Bogart — Main Street character guide > Mrs. Bogart in Main Street by Sinclair Lewis. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** the Widow Bogart, Ma Bogart, Auntie Bogart **First appearance:** 0006-iv ## Snapshot Gopher Prairie's self-appointed conscience, a widow whose piety runs to spying on her neighbors and whose charity always arrives with a verdict attached. ## Who they are Mrs. Bogart presides over the town's moral weather from a porch chair, cataloguing sins she has mostly inferred and reporting them as fact. Her righteousness is genuine but inseparable from her appetite for other people's business, and she treats Carol's city manners as evidence requiring investigation. She matters because she gives a face and a voice to the surveillance that makes Gopher Prairie feel airless, turning neighborliness into a test Carol keeps failing. ## Relationships ### [Carol Kennicott](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/characters/carol_kennicott) _rivalry_ Mrs. Bogart is a judgmental, hypocritical neighbor who constantly criticizes Carol's modern ways and serves as a symbol of Gopher Prairie's narrow-mindedness. ### [Carol Kennicott](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/characters/carol_kennicott) _rivalry_ Mrs. Bogart is a judgmental, hypocritical neighbor who constantly criticizes Carol's modern ways and serves as a symbol of Gopher Prairie's narrow-mindedness. ### [Carol Kennicott](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/characters/carol_kennicott) _rivalry_ Mrs. Bogart is a judgmental, hypocritical neighbor who constantly criticizes Carol's modern ways and serves as a symbol of Gopher Prairie's narrow-mindedness. ## In the story ### [Chapter I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/chapters/i) Visits Carol, representing the town's conservative and intrusive social expectations. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/chapters/iii) Mrs. Bogart's simpering vicious comments about the new furniture stir Carol to economize, influencing her behavior. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/chapters/ii) Referenced as an example of fussing over housework to fill time. ### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/chapters/ii) Cy's mother, a pious widow who spreads gossip about Carol, claiming she is stuck-up and exaggerates her past salary. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/chapters/vii) Gossips extensively about the moral failings of various townspeople, revealing her self-righteous and judgmental nature. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/chapters/i) The Widow Bogart visits Carol with saccharine baby talk and intrusive advice, which Carol sharply rebuffs. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/chapters/ii) Brought along by the Smails to visit Carol, representing the invasive older generation. ### [Chapter XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/chapters/xxi) Represents the judgmental and moralistic attitudes of the community, particularly regarding Carol's behavior. ### [Chapter XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/chapters/xxii) Represents the gossiping and judgmental nature of the town's women, adding to Carol's sense of alienation. ### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/chapters/ii) Mentioned among the older women who fill dressings with hate for enemies. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/chapters/ii) Visits Carol to spread gossip about Mrs. Swiftwaite and hints at Dr. Kennicott's potential unfaithfulness. ### [Chapter XXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/chapters/xxvi) Mrs. Bogart embodies the town's gossip and moral judgment, spreading rumors about Carol and Erik's friendship. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/chapters/i) Watches Carol and Erik from Aunt Bessie's window, contributing to the town's scrutiny. ### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/chapters/ii) Mrs. Bogart visits Carol and probes about the picnic and Erik Valborg, embodying the town's prying and gossip. ### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/chapters/ii) Reported seeing Carol and Erik walking together, contributing to the gossip. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/chapters/i) Mrs. Bogart is the self-righteous widow who evicts Fern Mullins and spreads a scandalous story about her to the town, including the school board. ### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/chapters/iii) Mrs. Bogart waits up for Cy and Fern, then drives Fern out of the house with accusations, embodying the town's moral judgment. ### [Chapter IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/chapters/iv) Mrs. Bogart spreads vicious gossip and pressures the school board against Fern. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/chapters/iii) Mentioned as giving Hugh cookies and religious instruction, influencing his questions. ### [Chapter IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/chapters/ix) The Widow Bogart appears in Carol's nightmare as one of her torturers. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/chapters/iv) Expresses her narrow-minded views on prohibition and Sabbath observance. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/characters/mrs_bogart - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/main_street_se/characters