The Price Of Salt By Patricia Highsmith -

Carol’s former lover and loyal friend, who serves as a bridge between Carol’s past and present. 4. Themes to Explore

Highsmith based the character of Carol on a blonde woman in a mink coat she saw while working at Bloomingdale’s during the 1948 Christmas rush [2, 5]. 2. Plot Summary The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith

The story follows , a stage designer working a temporary job at a department store. She becomes infatuated with Carol Aird , an elegant suburban mother undergoing a difficult divorce. Their relationship develops during a cross-country road trip, but they are pursued by a private investigator hired by Carol’s husband to gather evidence of her "moral turpitude" to win a custody battle [1, 6]. 3. Key Characters Carol’s former lover and loyal friend, who serves

It was revolutionary for its time because it defied the "tragic lesbian" trope of the 1950s, where queer characters were typically punished, killed, or "cured" by the final page [3, 4]. Read the 1990 edition

Read the 1990 edition, which includes Highsmith’s afterword about the book's reception [2].