The Winter of Our Discontent (1961) by John Steinbeck is the Nobel laureate’s final novel, a searing exploration of moral decay in small-town America. Set in the fictional New England town of New Baytown, the story follows Ethan Allen Hawley, a once-wealthy grocery clerk descended from proud sea captains, as he grapples with the temptation to abandon his crumbling integrity for financial gain. Spurred by his family’s desperation and the corrosive greed of the postwar “American Dream,” Ethan navigates a labyrinth of ethical compromises—from betraying friends to exploiting insider knowledge—all while the ghost of his honorable past haunts him.
Steinbeck’s prose is sharp and introspective, laced with biblical and Shakespearean allusions (the title nods to Richard III). The novel’s climax—a devastating act by Ethan’s son that mirrors his own moral slippage—underscores Steinbeck’s warning about the cost of societal rot.
A prescient critique of capitalism’s soul-eroding effects, The Winter of Our Discontent remains tragically timely.
