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Amanda M. Labrado

Engl 110

Prof. Bliss

08/05/10

Feminism and the 50s: The Gender Roles and Portrayals of Frank & April

In the Novel Revolutionary Road, by Richard Yates, Frank and April Wheeler appear to

be – at least to their community – the ideal couple of the 50s. Though they sometimes fit into,

and are portrayed in, the gender roles of the era when in the public eye, both are trying to avoid

conforming to the ideals of the suburban society they live in. This is apparent when they are in

their home environment; April frequently emasculates Frank in order to feel that she is in control

of the house as the alpha male, and because of this, Frank often feels the need to prove his

masculinity. The Wheeler’s personalities’ feud with one another in their desire to attain the

dominant gender role because April is independent and wishes to maintain her independence, but

Frank complicates this for her by forcing her to acknowledge him; for he constantly needs

accolades from her. The theory of feminism ties into the way Frank and April Wheeler are

portrayed because Frank is displayed as less masculine, inferior to, and more in need of

accolades from April than the average man in that time; on the other hand, April is portrayed as

independent, as outspoken, as holding more influence over her husband, and as living a more

unfulfilled life because of Frank, – given that normally women of the time would depend and

abide by their husbands rules, and be completely happy with doing so.

The author’s use of feminist theory causes Frank to be an emasculate character because

of his wife. Frank frequently feels the need to prove himself to April, to fulfill his gender role in

order to establish his dominance in his household, and to feel loved by any woman other than
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April to make up for her neglect. Frank’s need to prove himself shows he wants to win April’s

approval, and by doing so win the alpha male gender role:

“Wasn’t it true, then, that everything in his life from that point on had been a succession
of things he hadn’t really wanted to do? Taking a hopelessly dull job to prove he could be
as responsible as any other family man, […] having another child to prove that the first
one had not been a mistake, buying a house in the country because that was the next
logical step and he had to prove himself capable of taking it. Proving, proving; and for no
other reason than that he was married to a woman who had somehow managed to put him
forever on the defensive” (Part 1 Ch.3).
Taking a job, having a child, and buying a house were all expected of a man in the 50s era, given

that, ideally, he would be the sole provider of the home, be married with 2.5 kids, and live in the

suburbs. Frank does these things because he thrives off April’s approval. If he had not, it seems,

she may have taken the male role herself, or simply left him, given her independent and critical

nature; thus, because Frank does not want her to leave him, and because he wants to secure his

gender role, he has to prove himself to her. By proving himself to her, he gains himself

masculinity, but also gives her more power over him. Frank’s desire to establish his control

within his home is also evident when he wishes to mow the lawn himself, instead of April doing

it for him, “He planned […] to go out and take the lawn mower away from her, by force if

necessary, in order to restore as much balance to the morning as possible” (Part 1 Ch.3).

Confiscating via force is something Frank wishes to do because he knows he cannot talk April

out of mowing the lawn, nor can he excuse himself from not mowing the lawn any longer. Frank

resorts to force because it is the only way he can win against his wife in their fight for the

dominant gender role – his physical strength is the only thing he has that she does not. “Balance”

is removed from the morning because a woman is dressed in men’s clothes doing a man’s work,

“[April was] stolidly pushing and hauling the old machine, wearing a man’s shirt and a pair of

loose, flapping slacks” (Part 1 Ch.3). The fact that April is dressed in man’s clothes shows that

she is further defying Frank, given that she is already doing his job for him. Furthermore, despite
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the fact that he and April both state that they despise suburban societal norms, Frank seems to

wish to fulfill them – perhaps subconsciously – in particularly because Frank sees April’s action

as against gender role norms. Also, because April tends to neglect Frank – as illustrated by

April’s choice to sleep on the couch after the play (Part 1 Ch.2), and by her failure to use loving

words such as “Darling” or “Frank” when speaking to him (Part 1 Ch.4) – Frank often feels the

need to be loved; hence, he uses other women to satisfy his need to be loved:

“And Frank would develop the theme. ‘The point is it wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t so
typical […] Nobody thinks or feels or cares anymore; nobody gets excited or believes in
anything […]’. Milly Campbell would writhe in pleasure. ‘Oh, that’s so true. Isn’t that
true darling?’” (Part 1 Ch.4).
In this instance, Frank says things he knows Milly Campbell will admire as to gain the

admiration he has been denied by April. Milly seems to be April’s foil – her opposite. When

Frank is with Milly, all the ways April does or does not treat Frank become apparent. For

instance, the above quote shows Milly’s empathy in contrast to April’s apathy. Milly satisfies

Frank’s cravings for attention.

Frank, ultimately, is portrayed as weak in comparison to April, and in need of love and

approval, in terms of feminist theory. April is empowered because of what she deprives Frank of,

be it love, belief in him, or power.

April Wheeler is portrayed as an iconoclastic woman of her time and in her suburban

society. This is apparent in the scene when the narrator states that, “[April] had spent the day at a

kind of work she had always hated and lately allowed herself to neglect: cleaning the parts of the

house that didn’t show” (Part 2 Ch.6), illustrating that April despises house work. Furthermore,

given that April “allowed herself to neglect” this kind of work, it seems that this was a duty to

women of the 50s. Feminist theory frames April’s character in a way that makes her seem

different in comparison the other women in the book, and stronger than her husband; she shuns
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his support and commentary, making her more independent, since she does not desire to heed his

demands, which is unlike women of her time. Milly epitomizes the ideal wife of the 50s. Milly

frequently shows affection to her husband, and is docile to his abusive threats: “one Sunday

night, after [Shep had] been drinking all day and snapping at the children, [Milly] found herself

cowering in tears with the baby at her breast while her husband called her an ignorant cunt and

broke three bones of his fist against the wall” (Part 2 Ch.2). Milly’s passivity to Shep’s abuse

reveals the weakness of the women of the era. Milly does not have a will to fight against Shep,

and the baby at her breast further emphasizes her helplessness. In this instance, Milly is trapped

by Shep in a similarly to the way April is trapped by Frank. Milly and April are both subject to

any abuse their husbands may impose on them, and are trapped depending on their husbands

because of their society’s morals, for they are hardly allowed to support themselves. In

comparison to Milly, April rebels against her husband: “‘Oh, you’ve never fooled me Frank,

never once. All your precious moral maxims and your ‘love’ and your mealy mouthed little – do

you think I’ve forgotten the time when you punched me in the face because I said I wouldn’t

forgive you?’”(Part 1 Ch.2). April’s retaliation shows the unconventionality of her relationship

with Frank. In this scene, April shows that she is wittier than women of her time because she

bluntly tells Frank that he does not love her. She tells him that she does not believe anything he

has ever had to say to her. She is even more intelligent because she knows the possible

consequences of her actions, showing that she is brave and outspoken. She uses these

characteristics to her advantage because by using them she makes Frank feel small, and

emasculates him by saying that she does not care for his beliefs or if he loves her.

April Wheeler’s plan to move to Europe is conjured up by her desire to escape the

conformity of the suburbs. April decides that Europe will offer both her and Frank great
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opportunities: April will work, while Frank will find himself, and decide on what he would like

to do with his life:

“ ‘The point is you won’t be getting any kind of a job, because I will.’ […]
‘What exactly am I supposed to be doing while you’re out earning all this dough?’ […]
‘You’ll be finding yourself. You’ll be reading and studying and taking long walks and
thinking. […] For the first time in your life you’ll have time to find out what it is you
want to do, and when you find it you’ll have the time and freedom to start doing it’” (Part
1 Ch.7).
April’s desire to move, and persuade Frank to go with her, is fueled by the knowledge that she

will be able to support herself without Frank’s help in Europe, meaning she will gain a great deal

of independence from Frank. Also, April’s hope to gain the ability to support herself implies that

she would like to let herself get caught up in her work when she is in Europe. The distraction of

work would allow her to slowly move away from Frank psychologically, and later physically, so

that leaving and divorcing Frank in the future would be easier. In Europe, Frank’s dependence on

her would weaken him – emasculate him –, and cause him to be less controlling. In addition, his

dependency would allow April to be the main decision maker, in effect, granting her the alpha-

male role she is fighting for throughout the book.

Though April would gain the alpha male role in Europe overtly – since Frank would

acquiesce to it – April already has it, but tacitly, because of the amount of influence she holds

over her husband. The level of influence over Frank that April holds becomes evident when

April is discussing his abilities with him:

“ ‘Oh, hell, I was a little wise guy with a big mouth. I was showing off a lot of erudition
I didn’t have. I was–’
‘You were not! How can you talk that way? Frank, has it gotten so bad that you’re lost all
your belief in yourself?’
Well, no; he had to admit it hadn’t gotten quite that bad. Besides, he was afraid he could
detect a note of honest doubt in her voice – a faint suggestion that it might be possible to
persuade her he had been a little wise guy, after all – and this was distressing” (Part 1 Ch
7.)
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In this chapter of the novel, Frank’s attempt at humbleness causes him concern because it causes

his wife to question his belief in himself, in turn, causing her to doubt him. Without his wife’s

admiration, Frank feels worthless and “distressed”. April’s ability to influence Frank allows her

to be able to propel his actions. By calling him a man, and by acting as a wife should ideally act

in this scene, April is able to persuade and influence Frank to agree with her; simply by showing

her affection for him which causes him to think of himself as more masculine.

Ultimately, in Revolutionary Road, the author’s use of feminist theory propels him to

portray Frank as a man who lives off of his wife’s compliments, and who cannot fulfill his need

for her womanliness since she acts as an equal to him in terms of his abilities. Feminism also

contributes to the way April is portrayed, because it portrays her as superior to her husband, and

with more command over him. Furthermore, it seems that she is unhappy with her life, but only

because of the norms of the era – because Frank is useless and unhelpful.