Chapter XXVII:
In September, there are worker strikes and protests that turn Zenith "into two belligerent camps" (p. 279). All of the newspapers and the white-collar members of Zenith oppose the strike and try to reinstate order. Babbitt suddenly becomes publicly liberal, siding with the feared Seneca Doane and criticizing political services. In front of Chum Frink, he calls "rot" Dr. Drew's sermon about how love should prevent this chaos (p. 281).
At the strikers' parade, Babbitt becomes conflicted. Initially, he feels viscerally that the strikers are "scoundrels who [are] obstructing the pleasant ways of prosperity" (p. 282), but when he sees Seneca Doane and a State University Professor among the marchers, he decides that the strikers have "just as much right to march as anybody else" (p. 283).
At the Athletic Club, Babbitt opposes popular opinion about the strike, arousing the disdain and suspicion of Vergil Gunch. At home, George argues with Myra, who warns him that he will be misunderstood if he takes such a rebellious position. Babbitt is confused by this change as well, and he is frightened by the dismay of his friends.
Chapter XXVIII:
Tanis Judique calls George at the office about a leak in her apartment, and George goes to look things over. To him, Tanis represents the height of feminine class and grace, and he is enchanted by her. He stays for a cup of tea, and they talk for a great while, agreeing about most things as George basks in the "glorious state of being appreciated" (p. 290). He confides in her about his friendship with Seneca Doane and about the tension that developed with Vergil Gunch at the Athletic Club (although the strike is now over). They rejoice in mutual understanding and comfort, and Tanis reveals herself to be somewhat of a rebel as she smokes a cigarette. They decide to have dinner together, and George calls Myra from the deli with a lie about being out on business. They talk through the night, feeling utterly content in each other's company, and George returns home at dawn.
Chapter XXIX:
Tanis Judique's approval makes Babbit more confident and daring about advocating for Seneca Doane and his liberal politics at the Athletic Club, which only further convinces his friends that he has "'turned crank'" (p. 296). He becomes enamored of her, meeting her at the movies and at her flat as often as he can. He is, however, often afraid that someone will see them together or that Myra will learn of the affair. When George returns from a brief visit with Tanis at Christmas, Myra's reaction makes it clear that she suspects his infidelity.
Myra suddenly and uncharacteristically leaves, supposedly to care for her ailing sister. Babbitt becomes involved with Tanis's group of friends. They are a varied set of middle-aged bohemians who throw parties every night, and Babbitt awakes every morning with "his head throbbing, his tongue and lips stinging from cigarettes" (p. 299). At first, he does not like "the Bunch," but as he spends more time with them, he starts to enjoy and embrace the feeling of being wild and free. As a result of his new lifestyle, Babbitt begins to understand the Doppelbraus, whom he previously abhorred. He even goes to a party at their house, where he flirts more successfully with Louetta Swanson.
After attending parties every night, George stops feeling as ill and miserable from all of the alcohol, and "to be the 'livest' of them [is] as much his ambition now as it had been to excel at making money" (p. 305). One night, Fulton Bremis warns George that he is drinking too much. He even overdoses on womanizing, flirting with so many women that Tanis no longer seems like his "one pure star" (p. 306). At the Athletic Club, his friends (especially Vergil Gunch) are angry and suspicious, and Babbitt senses that they are always talking about him.
At a skating rink one day, Professor Pamphrey sees Babbitt as he is skating with the Bunch and as Tanis kisses him. At lunch at the Hotel Thornleigh, Vergil Gunch sees them together. Later that afternoon, Gunch approaches Babbitt at the office to request that he join the Good Citizens' League in order to check the influence of the liberals, socialists and, specifically, Seneca Doane. George declines the offer, saying that he will think it over. Gunch takes the opportunity to inform him that everyone at the Athletic Club is confused and angry with him. They are upset by his politics and by his affair, and there is a subtle threat behind Gunch's final request for George to join the G.C.L.
Chapter XXX:
Myra returns to Zenith, confessing her fears that George neither missed her nor needed her. As soon as George feels the pressure of obligation to satisfy Tanis while keeping the affair a secret, he is suddenly resentful of Tanis and of "women and the way they get you all tied up in complications!" (p. 312). Still, he continues the affair somewhat carelessly and unapologetically. During an argument about George's smoking and drinking, Myra reveals that she is resentful of the fact that George gets to "run around with anybody" (p. 316) he pleases while she stays home, still a slave to routine. When George blindly agrees to help her gain culture, she requests that he accompany her to Mrs. Opal Emerson Mudge's New Thought meeting on Cultivating the Sun Spirit.
Mrs. Mudge's speech is hypnotizing and incoherent, concluding with an announcement about the monthly magazine that costs a "mere pittance" (p. 318) per year. Though the audience (mostly women) listens with rapt adoration, Babbitt is unimpressed by this form of escapism, which upsets Myra. After another argument, George is unable to offer any assurance as Myra insinuates that their marriage is ending.
Analysis
Even at his most rebellious, Babbitt is plagued by the indecisiveness that is inevitable for someone without any thoughts or beliefs that are entirely his own. Although it is not necessarily inconsistent, he still vacillates between an elitist disapproval of the protesting workers and a feeling that they have "just as much right to march as anybody else" (p. 283). He requires the influence of Seneca Doane, once again, to temporarily subscribe to the liberal support of the strikers. Even still, he refers to them as "a bad element" (p. 283) and is confused by his own contradictions. This is, perhaps, the result of his living and having bought into a society so focused on conformity and so saturated by various forms of mass media. Finally, though, he is bold enough to support the socialist agenda in front of the men at the Athletic Club, and this results in the manipulative disdain that soon will contribute to Babbitt's renunciation of this rebellious phase. His rebellion is not strong enough to withstand such disdain among his colleagues.
Although Babbitt believes that his relationship with Tanis Judique is based on a strong connection, mutual understanding, and respect, Lewis suggests that it is, like most things in Babbitt's life, a mere frivolity. During the long evening that they spend talking together, Babbitt feels as if they agree on everything. This, of course, might be an indication of their deep compatibility. Yet, Lewis informs us that "They agreed that Prohibition was prohibitive. They agreed that art in the home was cultural," and they agreed that short skirts were short. The utter lack of substance in these impressions is made even more ridiculous by the fact that they interpret so much from this "frank speaking" (p. 290).
Lewis also emphasizes that Babbitt's attraction to Tanis results mainly from her willingness to offer him unlimited attention and sympathy. She feeds his ailing ego, but the moment she becomes burdensome, he no longer cares to exert the energy on their relationship. His eventual carelessness and lack of discretion in the affair may also indicate that his commitment to her is never as strong or complete as he believes it to be.
Mrs. Mudge is one of several characters in the novel through whom Lewis critiques and satirizes the state of Jazz Age religion. She is a representative of the all-inclusive, nondescriptive religious category of New Thought, and her hour-long speech sounds (like her name) like nothing more than verbal sludge. Although her sermon hypnotizes the audience, leaving them mesmerized, no one can extract any comprehensible message from her great ocean of words. The entire sermon contains no punctuation whatsoever; it is merely a blur of pseudo-spiritual phrases that the audience clearly does not understand, even though they seem to carry significance. The lack of grammatical meaning is reflective of the sermon's lack of meaningful content, revealing Mrs. Mudge as a religious quack and suggesting that real spiritual salvation is especially needed in a culture so concerned with material objects.
