Analysis Of 'The Man In The Grey Flannel Suit'

The Secret Love Letter to his Superwoman

Sloan Wilson published a great novel in 1955 based on his own life, The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit which is presented as an illustration of stereotypical 1950s conformity. In a time when the belief that the normal family was the most important part of America, Betsy Rath is rearing her children and is very influenced, consciously and subconsciously, by the existing thinking of that time. While being the perfectly supportive wife that Tom needs, she is far from the domestic goddess showed by the mid-century media. In fact, she is very human in her mistakes and flaws. Only her constant cheerleading has kept her husband from losing momentum, even as she struggles with their dissatisfying lives, their

Betsy has never been a quiet person and she has never been afraid to disagree or speak up to Tom. When she gets this new interest of hers she starts using her voice outside the house as well, and there is a significant scene during a town hall meeting. Without thinking or talking to Tom about it, she gets up and lets her voice be heard: “The Children need a new school,” Betsy continued “Don’t let our housing project be used as a weapon against…” (246). for the first time she does something where she can feel important. She is the one who does all the calculating and measuring to develop the property. She figures out how to make as much money as possible with the land they inherit, and there is a sense of her finding out that there is more to life than being a

The media influenced society consciously and subconsciously as demonstrated by the Rath’s love of television. Their three children cannot get enough of their constant western movies with lots of violence and blasting guns. Betsy realizes the inappropriate nature of this entertainment and it infuriates her: “No more television. I’m going to give the damn set away” (66). She devise alternative sources of entertainment “Instead of shooting them off to the television set, we’re going to sit in a family group and read aloud. And you ought to get your mandolin fixed up. We could have friends in and sing- we’ve been having too much passive entertainment” (66). She is forging a new, honest path for her family. They will develop the Rath property and make money while benefiting the community. Her family will be engaged and thoughtful rather than passive