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Chapter 27
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Women, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Trauma, Healing, and the Vietnam War
Women’s Experiences and Solidarity
Heroism, Honor, and Sacrifice
Propaganda vs. Truth
Shame, Pride, and Moral Ambiguity
Summary
Analysis
Frankie writes to Barb and Ethel to tell them about her pregnancy and invite them to her wedding in February. Henry helps Frankie prepare the baby’s nursery and builds the crib. Pregnancy has improved Frankie’s sleep and moods. Sitting in the nursery’s rocking chair, Frankie says she loves Henry and wants it to be true. 1973 arrives. Frankie and Henry have regular dinners with Mom and Dad. Dad seems happy that Frankie is finally conforming to feminine stereotypes. One evening, while watching news of the Watergate scandal, Henry follows Frankie to the bathroom to make sure she’s all right. Wanting some privacy, she pulls him into Dad’s office.
Bolstered by pregnancy’s unexpected positive effects on her mental health, Frankie tries hard to convince herself that she can find happiness with Henry. Dad is more willing to accept Frankie now that she conforms to his expectations of women and routinely conceals her trauma. To his credit, Henry, however, seems less convinced that everything is fine with Frankie.
Active
Themes
Henry takes in Dad’s wall of heroes, which Frankie has been purposely avoiding. Henry asks why her picture is absent. Mom and Dad appear and produce an early wedding gift: the deed to Frankie’s cottage. Mom and Henry leave to grab champagne. Dad says Frankie’s wedding photo will be placed on the wall, because women are heroes for “putting up with the men.” Frankie remarks that nurses like her died in Vietnam. Dad becomes uncomfortable, saying Frankie should be proud of caring for her husband and child and should never have gone to war. He urges her to forget it. Frankie struggles with her desire for his approval. Henry reappears and says the war is over: Nixon signed the Peace Accord.
It’s likely Frankie was avoiding Dad’s heroes’ wall because of the painful memories it triggers and because Dad has purposefully excluded her, a sign that he doesn’t appreciate her heroism. In contrast, that Henry notices the absence of Frankie’s picture shows that he accurately perceives her as heroic. Instead of being proud of her nursing, Dad is just excited his daughter is getting married and having a baby, citing conservative gender roles. Though this conversation is familiar, Frankie can’t help but want Dad to be proud of her for serving in Vietnam.
Active
Themes
Two weeks after the Peace Accord, the first wave of POWs is scheduled to return from Vietnam. The League of Families prepares for their return, calling their efforts Operation Homecoming. The public is sympathetic to POWs, having heard horrendous stories about Hoa Lo Prison. In February, Frankie attends a party at the League’s San Diego office. The prisoners’ wives are both proud and fearful, knowing their husbands have probably changed significantly, just like they have. The Navy distributes a flyer encouraging families to have patience with the returning men, who may be damaged and hostile as a result of torture. Feeling out of place among the military wives, Frankie leaves, feeling her Vietnam chapter is finally closing.
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Themes
Frankie and Henry watch coverage of the first POWs landing in the Philippines. One by one, men disembark from the plane while Walter Cronkite announces their names. Suddenly, Rye appears. According to the narration, he was shot down in 1969 and presumed dead. Frankie excuses herself, blaming nausea, and picks up the ringing phone. It’s Barb—she saw Rye too. Frankie is panicked: she’s getting married this weekend and the man she truly loves just “came back from the dead.” At the very least, Frankie wants to meet Rye when he lands in San Diego. Barb says she and Ethel will catch a plane and come with her.
Active
Themes
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The next day, Frankie travels to San Diego with Barb and Ethel without telling Henry. Frankie has already told him about Rye’s death and feels it would break his heart to know how conflicted she is. Frankie wonders how she’ll explain to Rye that she’s loved him all this time even though she’s carrying another man’s child. The tarmac is filled with families and reporters waiting to greet the POWs. As the men disembark, their families break through the barrier to reunite. When Rye appears, Frankie starts crying. He can’t hear her over the crowd. Rye approaches a blonde woman with a young girl holding a sign that reads “WELCOME HOME, DADDY!” He kisses the woman, weeping. Frankie realizes Rye is married.
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