The main conflict of the novel stems from Carol's desire to change the town in the face of the town's resistance to such change. This conflict creates an atmosphere of hostility and suspicion that pervades the entirety of the novel. Though Carol is unable to bring about any radical changes to Gopher Prairie, she does partly triumph in the sense that she puts up a fight. She does not, unlike most of the other townspeople, mindlessly conform to Gopher Prairie's standards. Carol heroically tries to maintain individuality in a society that demands her conformity. She remains friends with many outcasts of the community, such as Miles Bjornstam, Fern Mullins, and Erik Valborg.
             As the heroine of the novel, Carol reflects the spirit of the Progressive movement in America in the early twentieth, under the banner of which many people took an interest in social issues such as the labor movement and the suffrage movement. A career woman before she marries Will Kennicott, Carol reflects the position of the modern "emancipated woman". Reflecting the spirit of the Progressive era, Carol represents change. It is not surprising, then, that she finds herself out of place in Gopher Prairie, a place that steadfastly resists change. Carol opposes modern industrialization and materialization because they destroy the land's natural beauty and the spirit of adventure of the early pioneers. She feels that materialism has forced people to lose their sympathy and humanism. She rebels against the American standardization and uniformity and the exploitation of the farmers and laborers.
             Carol was college educated and culturally sophisticated. She often grieves the loss of her father and constantly yearns for his understanding, love, and protection.
             She was startled by the return of her father, startled by the sudden conviction that in this flaxen boy she had found the gray reticent judge who was divine love, perfect ...