Family values in Sloan Wilson's The man in the grey flannel suit

Abstract: There were certain behaviours that were more or less correct during the 1950´s Cold War. Men had their fixed positions in society and women theirs. Men were the breadwinners and women were house makers. (McEnany, 52) Single men could easily become homosexuals or go to prostitutes and it was the women´s duty to tame those wild men. It was women´s obligation to make sure that their men were satisfied sexually so they didn´t feel the need to have another woman on the side. My purpose with this essay is to investigate how and if these traditional gender roles can be applicable to a work of fiction written in the decade after the Second World War. My primary source is Sloan Wilson´s The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit which was first published in 1955. This essay will focus on the rules and norms that seem to have been widely accepted by the majority of people in America. Can these rules be applied to the characters in The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit and how well do they actually follow the codes of conduct?