Revolutionary Road

The novel’s structure loosely follows that of a three-act play. Part 1 establishes the setting and the major themes, and introduces the characters. We learn that it’s 1955 and that the suburban Connecticut community falls within the region of upper-middle-class. Important thematic elements are introduced through the name of the theater group, the Laurel Players, and through the play they enact, The Petrified Forest. That the amateur group of thespians named themselves the Laurel Players is ironic because, as it turns out, they are subpar actors at best. Laurel wreaths were awarded to exceptional actors in ancient Greece and Rome, and wearing a laurel wreath continues to symbolize victory. Unfortunately, the actors performing that evening leave little to praise. Simultaneously, the fact that the acting troupe consists of local community members lays the foundation of a motif that courses throughout the background of the novel, namely that the people are putting on an act, a façade of happiness and bliss in the safety, security, and affluence of the suburbs. This is further reinforced by the play they choose to put on. The Petrified Forest by Robert E. Sherwood was first staged in 1935 on Broadway and was turned into a film the next year. The play parallels specific aspects of the novel or vice versa. The most obvious parallel is the heroine Gabby’s (played by April Wheeler), desire to move to France and pursue the arts because she is unhappy with her life in Arizona. Another is the subtle indication the title provides the actors: petrified. The title refers to the play’s setting, but also the latent fears of the players. Likewise, an undercurrent of dread runs throughout the bulk of Revolutionary Road, creating an uneasy tone even in the book’s more optimistic moments.

The second chapter provides several key aspects that will have later repercussions in the novel. The play ends disastrously, and for April, it’s the trigger that causes her to awaken from the stupor she has been in for the past several years. She realizes just how unhappy she is with Frank and with the life they lead. This fundamental discontent is something Frank doesn’t notice because he’s too absorbed in his own unhappiness and embarrassment. Ultimately, Frank’s lack of realization and April’s taciturnity and reticence leads to the fight alongside the road, which causes Frank’s later introspection. This fight and introspection highlight the cracks in their marriage and the characters themselves. Furthermore, they point out many of the criticisms of 1950s conformist culture that will reappear throughout the novel. In short, the play’s failure forces both Frank and April to face the realities of their lives. Frank will be forced to see he is not who he thought he was, and April loses herself completely. During the fight, both accuse one another of misunderstanding what love means, though April comes pretty close to asserting the truth about Frank’s love for her: the possession and dominance of a beautiful woman. She also accuses him of having trapped her, though Frank feels equally as trapped. It’s a misunderstanding that eventually brings them to the breaking point in Part 3. The end of the fight and Chapter 2 illustrate two important characteristics in Frank and April. Frank seeks to establish harmony very quickly after the fight and attempts to apologize. The desire for harmony is one of the things that holds him to their life in the suburbs and will cause him to fight against the plan for Europe later on in the book. April, on the other hand, sleeps on the couch, her first instance of isolating herself from others, particularly Frank, whom she will come to realize she never loved.

The third chapter narrates Frank and April’s past, particularly Frank’s. The reader learns that Frank’s current life is not too dissimilar from his childhood and that Frank struggles with his masculinity through the memories he has of himself and his father. It is clear from the descriptions Frank gives that he wishes he could emulate his father’s masculinity, particularly the way he describes his father’s hands: “it wasn’t only their strength he envied, it was their sureness and sensitivity” (36). Conversely, April grew up without the familial stability Frank had, a life her children are doomed to repeat. Arguably, her lack of familial background is a reason she now struggles with family life, but whether that is true is not important. This background and April’s reaction to conflict establishes that April’s psychological stability is already being questioned by those around her, a dynamic that comes into play as the novel progresses. Frank will eventually use it against her. On Page 47, while Frank ruminates on the definition of masculinity, he also remembers scenes from his and April’s earliest times together. The memory sparks the question of how to define love, noting that Frank and April have different ideas of what it means, but it also foreshadows that April never loved Frank—not the way Frank wanted to be loved—which she will openly admit toward the novel’s end.

Chapter 4 continues with the fight between April and Frank, but it also introduces Shep and Milly Campbell, who have important roles to play in the book. A conversation between the two couples introduces much of the critique Frank and April (and thus the novel) have against 1950s conformist culture. Frank complains that American society has become decadent because of its reliance on and support of psychoanalysis. He argues that the US has lost its passion and that people mostly care only for their “own comfortable little God damn mediocrity” (60). With this, he disparages the desire for conformity in the suburbs. Also of importance is the fact that the friendship is waning. The four used to have great conversations but have run out of topics. The reason for this, which will continue to develop, is that Frank’s outward criticism of the system is a farce; while he outwardly rebels against conformity, Frank yearns for stability, validation, and comfort for the same reasons everyone else does. Through Frank’s ruminations, the reader learns that Frank has kissed another woman, Maureen Grube, a receptionist at his work. It foreshadows the affair he will begin with her, which also plays into his definitions of masculinity and his unstable self-perception.