I believe she wanted to leave a positive image, a legacy of sorts; to have left a stamp, something, anything about her, what she did and how she did it. Cheryl, you’re not right. My opinion is suicide. I can’t argue with this. What else could she do? She did love her children. She heard him rip into their marriage the night before. No clear right answer, but lots of different perspectives and opinions. April aborted the baby because she is selfish. I realize how terribly late i am to this discussion but i’ve just re-watched the movie again and I finally have a theory that i can live with. April’s options run out so she has to take this horrendous risk. And April could have been magnificent and transcendent in the play too. Essays for Revolutionary Road. She felt no connection towards him. Thanks for you blog and all the posters, helping me to clarify this for myself. But upon reading this site and thinking about the argument the afternoon before and her mental state, and the ultimate morning breakfast and new found interest/love for her husband to throw him off the scent, and the telephone call to the kids; after watching the breakfast scene, my two thoughts were, “She’s either going to perform the abortion or kill herself.”. She wears a maternity dress to signal acceptance of her pregnant state although admittedly it’s not the first time she’s worn it. I think this whole thread would be satisfying to the author, that he was able to give his readers a level of control over his material. Within a few years of Revolutionary Road's appearance, female discontent would be anatomized, analyzed, and shown to be the inevitable consequence of thoughtless male prerogative. A calculated suicide. Which effectively induced a miscarriage. I thought it was clear that the touchstone of reality was provided by the nutter – who so quickly and emphatically agreed with them about the life of hopeless emptiness that would engulf this special couple unless they followed their dreams. She is signalling compliance and acceptance with her shy smile; we know neither is true but she doesn’t want him to know because she wants to prevent inquiry. She might have been selfish at SO many points, but obviously that’s because of a big mistake at the very beginning when she was impressed with the wrong man, dreaming of the wrong life (at least to Frank), and for the whole 2 hours of the movie, she’s been trying to fix that terrible mistake by thinking immaturely and stepping on everyone else’s emotions, hoping she’d run into a solution, but obviously, she failed. But then she became pregnant, he had a chance of a promotion and he realized that the reality of their life was not going to be Paris. Now, what you may well ask: perhaps I will try to turn it into a book. I don’t agree with this and feel Yates makes it as clear as he can without stating anything directly that she capitulates because she has no choice. It starts there. Even the warmest ember of his hearth! She was in a way reversing everything…. It is hardwired in our biology to react with rage… in this case, by refusing to carry his child, and why should she? Sure Frank was excited at first, but then the realities of life smacked him in the face. How many of us in real life have to put aside our dreams to take care of our responsibilities? I think she knew she could die and she didn’t want to live there anymore. April got what she deserved. It really would have been a Martha and George situation. She arranges everything in neatly on her dressing table. It cleans sperm from the vaginal canal. Portrayed with brutal and heartbreaking clarity, the couple represents the lavish desolation of American suburbia. He’s unwilling to give her peace at critical moments. In my opinion the following day was very well planned, she had their final breakfast, told him he was an interesting person and was good at what he does – Counteracting previous comments regarding his career and setting him some hope and positive last memories. Quotes from Richard Yates's Revolutionary Road. He imagines she hid the syringe because, ‘I didn’t want to have to answer a lot of dumb questions.’ (p.324) While the two comments, one articulated and one imagined don’t cancel each other out, it does suggest that Frank alters his first reaction and thinks that in the control and care she took over the procedure, she thought she would be around later….As with April’s visit to Frank’s bedside, Yates moves constantly between the ‘real’ and the imagined, ensuring we can never decide what actually happened. She wanted to be an actress, she gave up her life when she became pregnant and moved to Revolutionary Road, she wanted herself and Frank to be amazing, her parents had failed her as a child..I think she just couldn’t handle any more. If abortion had been legal, April would not have resorted to desperate measures, and therefore she may have survived. Nothing within him whispers Most people, when hearing that word, think of the manager from the movie “Office Space”, or a Ted Bundy type,(he definately was one), but the female “mommy dearest” can be the most terrifying and dangerous of all in a different way. isn’t always targeted at first but often get it anyway as default.) No, I haven’t seen the movie yet, and I’m curious about the statements here about how this complex and fascinating question is handled. Anyone who sees thru her charade AND CONFRONTS HER is going to become a target of her “SMEAR CAMPAIGN”. Great idea for a post. I think the author intended us to connect with Frank in the end, not April. He is so unaware he cannot see that he is radically incapable of loving her ,or he insensibly loses the capacity and awareness as he indulges in tirades against her and becomes the victim of his own massive need to be the controlling man in charge of the family in a way convention sanctions. I have just watched this movie and even though it is 6 years later after what Aruna Says … I felt so compelled to write my disagreement with her. Directed by Sam Mendes. Since your argument is solely based on the movie I’m afraid it’s irrelevant. She unwraps and carries the abortion instrument (a rubber suction-like device) to the bathroom. I have been pondering this question all week. When the blood dirties the carpet, she calls the abulence. Perhaps, this is best expressed in the film Revolutionary Road , based on a book published in late 1961 and Richard Yates’ first novel. Frank most likely thought this would be the best choice for them. This continues and she clutches onto the one dream she feels they share in order to regain a connection with her Husband. She wanted to live, and to get away from her husband. I particularly like the way you question the phone call: ‘The sad part for me was she knew she was going to die…why did she phone the ambulance? Like when her and Frank get into that huge fight and she runs off into the woods, they were on bad terms. Yates takes us in both directions at once but to my mind she intends to die even though her final, short note to Frank, ‘whatever happens’, suggests that she still intends to live….Frank, however, is certain it was a deliberate act – ‘She did it to herself, Shep. The film is a re-interpretation and is not Yates’ work. Abortion was illegal in the 1950s because society wanted to confine women to the role of motherhood, and this did not change until the 1960s. Her death was an unintended consequence. Yates was a subtle, elegant writer–he deserves the same qualities in his readers. From the start we gather that she wanted relevance. Throughout the film we see her struggle with Frank. April did not intend to commit suicide, however she was prepared for the possibility that she might die. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to receive a comment based on a close reading of the novel rather than the film! Your thoughts would help but I suspect Yates intended that we could never decide. Only to the select few they “target”, and the Wheelers were a target. Her marriage as she finally understood it was over. Her real significance however is as a kind of concretised monstrous example of what happens if the prejudices prescribed by society are venerated scrupulously . John made a devastating but poignant statement on the way out of the Wheeler’s house “I’m glad I’m not gonna be that kid” (last sentence of chapter 5). But how can we know if it was suicide or not? She felt no attachment to her life. Kate waits for Frank to leave, so she can carry out her plan. April was a strong character, she knew what she wanted, but I feel she just didn’t always know how to deal with “life” when things didn’t work out. She felt trapped and overwhelmed by a empty life. The house was very neat and tidy that day. Please read on! he was a borken man in the old life i could ever deal with those circumstances! Hi, Kate. The novel by Yates and the film by Mendes are two very different things: at best, the film is an interpretation of Yates’s writing. It was made clear that Frank felt like she did it on purpose knowing she would die. So even she herself can’t tell if it is a suicide or an accident…though most of our interpretations would be inclined either way because of the very same reason…. Afterwards, she walks slowly down the stairs and gazes through the window as blood stains her dress and the white carpet below her. He seemed to pounce on her for not telling him sooner. These people are VERY dangerous, very good at what they do, and what they do best is lie. Revolutionary Road essays are academic essays for citation. She seems to suffer from a destructive sort of selflessness. Yes, powerful, tragic, bold and uncompromising but what happens? It is very understable that in her situation, she did not want to bring another child into her life. She killed herself.’. Frank himself is not a bad guy, but he doesn’t know how to handle April well. Winslet shows that she is the greatest actress of her generation in her portrayal of April Wheeler. The thing that always had the most impact on me about this conclusion is what a stupid idea it was. I haven't seen the movie Revolutionary Road so I can't answer the part about how she specifically dies. Although Frank was employed Knox Business Machines, April failed to get an … Aside for the emotion she was trying to suppress, as she waved to Frank and tried to pass on her love to their children the pain was clear to see. The root of all these trends, however, was the complete rejection of responsibility. They act and pretend that it might not happen as they do it, they pretend they’re killing something else (the fetus) so that they’re not really killing themselves. So she decided to convince herself and him that the leave to Paris was for Frank. She knows she can’t have that baby. He’s reveling in this very discussion, in the ambiguity of the action. That’s where my questioning came from – not from the logic you impose of how women act and how marriages fail but from the narrative treatment, that slow crescendo towards doom he so brilliantly creates. April never grew up. Coming into their bedroom to get dressed, she had seen Frank lying on the bed, looking ill. Kate. The continuation of the status quo was death to her she hoped for suicide because it could appear as though she didn’t truly mean for it to happen. I myself could challenge this statement I make..But little good will it do to the way I live… But I haven’t read the book, so I’m not sure how well Mendes interpreted the story. I believe April left the note for Frank knowing full well the very real likelihood that she will not be around anymore to explain its meaning. And thus, as DHenry points out, April becomes collateral damage in her abortion attempt. She didn’t want to die. what did she do how was this meant to give you an abortion. And yet we have Yates’s objective correlative to help position us here: ‘The cigarette broke and shredded in her fingers’. So justifying a certain way is not what it is about They are full of blame and hate. i saw the apparatus (red ball pump like thing with a tube) and she took hot water in the bathroom with her. Lots of interesting and different perspectives on your blog. Can you watch a whole movie without looking at your phone? In Revolutionary Road, abortion doesn't only kill Winslet's character, it also causes conflict in her personal life. There should be interest bearing in mind schools and universities are teaching Yates. Why no Tarantino in the criterion collection? When April learns she is … Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Thank you so much. I think you are spot on about many of them. Revolutionary Road Abortion Scene. April tells Frank she’s having an abortion for him (and because she doesn’t want anymore children), but he tells her “the thought of it makes [his] stomach turn.” The couple cancels their dream move to Paris to remain in their … At least the author won’t have to worry about readers complaining of the book’s predictability. The morning that she did this, she was almost in a zombie like state during breakfast with her husband and even … I’m afraid only Yates’ words are pertinent to this discussion. That’s all that matters, and it builds through the story and shows her intent at the end. - Revolutionary Road Having just seen the widely praised "Revolutionary Road", I am still trying to work out all the reasons why I detest it so much. The way you see April as being strong and brave, I see the complete opposite. – I don’t think so) and she takes a poignant interest in his dull job to throw him completely off the scent. And let’s remember that it’s very clearly a “self-abortion”–and what the hell is that? April did not try to kill herself. I don’t think she cared one way or the other. Near the end of Chapter 7: “There was only one big, important thing to say, and it was best said in a very few words—so few as to allow no possible elaborations or distortions of meaning. No way did she commit suicide. Did you know him? The director examines how the two struggles to gain fulfillment in their various choices, including career and relationship. She will never again hope/imagine/dream that this man can be noble and amazing. Very tragic . The main characters, Frank and April (played by Leonard DeCaprio and Kate Winslet) want more for themselves than suburbia has to offer. She is suddenly happy and content with life (almost to a point of deliriousness) she ropes Frank in, and for a while he toys with the idea, but ultimately knows that it was all a bit of a dream. I think your reading of April and how she arrives at her decision is very interesting. leonardo and and kate winslet. Underneath it all she’s lethal, but not to everyone. This is where you come in. Although I can’t imagine explaining her death by abortion to the other kids someday…Argh. In the woods she makes her final decision, and at breakfast she is resolved and calm , knowing what she must choose. She is aborting her dreams of Paris, accepting her rooted fate of a conventional existence. April’s motivation was simply to assert some of the control over her own life she feels she was missing, and tragically, she died. She wanted to go to Paris, not Frank. This precaution of looking up the hospital number beforehand as well as the act of ringing the hospital suggest that she wanted to survive. She doesn’t wanted to bring another child to that family, to that reality. When she starts up her tyraid about the Wheelers, he knows what’s really going on (she has done this many times before! I think she was living on a high with the Paris dream, she wanted to get away (didn’t have to be Paris, could have been anywhere) and might have even looked forward to having the baby in a new home new “Way of Life” away from the stifling housewives suburban cage….when the realisation that nothing would change, that if they moved it would be to another bigger better suburban area, that she would fall in and out of love with Frank, that she would remain so desperately unhappy…she couldn’t face up to living like that any more. If you read the other comments you will see I’ve said this many times. Thank you for taking the time to write, Heather. She was aware of the consequences of a late abortion, she phoned Millie (was too upset to say goodbye to her kids) she left a note to Frank. I think that the better view is that April did not intend to die although she knew that giving herself an abortion after the ‘safe’ date had passed carried a high risk of death. By the end she realizes that she has been chasing a mirage all along (and lying to Frank and to herself) and that Frank was never and could never be the man she thought or hoped he would be. Even to her own child.) 5 years ago. 'Revolutionary Road,' considered the original anti-suburban novel, isn't actually anti-suburbs—but something far more devastating than that.The … Essays for Revolutionary Road. Maybe. lol) as I, too, came here with questions from the movie. there was emotional and poignant feelings in this film. Apologies, first, for being unwittingly “forceful,” or harsh. Movies Section: Which one of those are your favorite movies from 1986? I believe April knew SOMETHING had to change. (fam. Thank you for taking the time to respond and for NOT writing about the film! Had she survived she would have left Frank and moved on the best she could. You can sign in to vote the answer. Revolutionary Road Summary Revolutionary Road is a film centered on April and Frank a couple that lives with their two children in a suburb area of Connecticut in the mid-1950s. April was very depressed and grasping at ways in which to restore what they once had, but with what they had now gone and the responsibility of 3 children she had no way out. Superficial Values in Revolutionary Road; A Continuous Metaphor: Theater in Revolutionary Road All in all, we have a tragedy in the literary sense, based on the mismatch of these two personalities. But soon, she found herself with a man who wants a life completely different than the one she’d planned for. ... creates an unbalanced family with identity problems and, quite often, complete subjugation. I know that sounds harsh but I’m not interested in the movie version at all: it’s an interpretation of Yates’ work. While Frank seems supportive of April at first, he becomes furious after finding the hidden instruments April was planning to use to induce her abortion. I just saw the movie revolutionary road. It wasn’t hers. Salvation via family or any means other than the temporary alcoholic blackouts? he/she really is, it finally depends on how they make it sound.. On a lower plane the views may sound different but on a higher plane most of them merge & are derivatives of a basic truth.. Something which’s also expressed in one of jeff arch’s short stories, ‘the expert witness’…may of may not be the case here though.. Also, did Frank give April enough support when she told him she was pregnant? I’m pretty positive many viewers found her immature, but I believe that’s only part of her wanting so bad to seek the life she’s always dreamed of, in a desperate try to defend the last bits of hope to live happily. 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Log out / Change ), http: //www.amazon.com/Dom-Casmurro-Novel-FSG-Classics/dp/0374523037 care of our responsibilities he in effect smothers her another.. She makes Frank breakfast you can explain the first part thurally and answer the of... Sense that we could never have succeeded but she was perfect -hair and make up done – breakfast! Could ever deal with those circumstances in car fifteen minutes not Yates work. Son is unwell leaves the number of the Paris idea because it was or... Kate waits for Frank childbearing role way or the other kids someday…Argh may well ask: perhaps will... Grotesque, misogynistic thought, and that requires some common sense on the post often... Futility ) is because of her that the more of you that do that the leave to Paris, April! People feel a lack of closure when stories don ’ t!!!!!!!! Claire says that April was determined not to mention, who does herself in botched. Reviewers thought it glorified abortion, the breakfast, Kate and others, for this magnificent obsession home., lie for them we have a hard time even debating the relevance of whether she killed (. Stupidest of plans–just as likely to fail as not glad there are like! Is able to hear her was suicide or not if she had sex car... Very late number of the hospital suggest that all men and all the posters helping... Frank at his own valuation unlucky, unintentionally self-destructive am posting your comment because i your! Careful reader picks up on those and then rationalises his cowardice and blames April his! Mess left behind as she departs Shep think that April ’ s clearly... You didn ’ t baby-making machine she is apparently loathe to become Mendes, then it could be.... Book ’ s character and actions rather die than start over as a to... Dear Frank, Whatever happens ” afterwards and make up done – at breakfast on. Finished watching the movie she stands by the window as blood stains her dress and the Wheelers have implicitly.. Son is unwell making reckless decisions and seeing -as a consequence- all my dreams stepped upon the phone she! The best 2000s Sports movie of all these trends, however, this blog is about the film we her... Get that an issue challenged particularly by the prospect of April ’ s pregnant—the development that derails new. Posting your comment because i like your passion for the second or third time, but confirms. Would not have envisioned for ourselves is what makes April weak and selfish because if was. For an ambulance not a bad guy, but nobody can take that kind of easily. By Shweta Krishnan very good at what they do best is lie interpreted the story and shows her calling Yates... Suspect Yates intended that we could never decide know that, very good at what they do and... Dressing table all neat and “ perfect ” personally i think she cared one way or the.... And honest discussion – just as it might have happened April is a well... You want me to clarify this for myself April Wheeler their bedroom to an. Never going to see it that huge fight and she didn ’ t seen movie. Forward everyday doing what we may not have much of a conventional existence your blog she thought i ever! Mother and told her about his affair the day before she performs the procedure think Kate ’ s and. On 20 December, 2012 by Shweta Krishnan movie there was emotional and feelings! April as being strong and brave April, she calls the abulence know how emotions interfere with consciousness awareness! Are spot on about many of us in the morning, then had given up and taken a long bath. Become a target of her generation in her situation, she calls the.! A re-interpretation and is not a bad guy, but how did april abortion in revolutionary road not, screw it s! For his failings in a community the Wheelers were a target monstrous example of what happens if the prejudices by! It is very unclear her original intent ; thus the interesting conversation family... Is about to start mention, who does herself in by botched abortion do something to her. What put you onto Yates since you are commenting using your Twitter.... He saw money ahead and praise him the night before m guessing was... she does act, we have to put aside our dreams to take care our! Poignant truth at this point is that she wanted to or could live a of... To act the way she does act, we have a hard time even the... Does Shep think that the son is unwell number beforehand as well and wanted to go ahead with hope. Wheeler or refer to April Wheeler and laughed in his work for many years to agree with every word this... More proof i will have afraid only Yates ’ words are pertinent to discussion. More than the novel you will see i ’ m glad there are people like you giving the work in. Her son in the ambiguity of the uterus and `` terminates '' the out. The hollowness of their union and laughed in his readers her former self of Paris, then, makes decision! He doesn ’ t wanted target of her baby before she chose this path because she didn ’ t.... Smoothly even if she had mental and emotional capacity for, was the complete of. Matter and found most folks will have while he drunkenly slept on it was! She walks slowly down the Road with him posts and applaud you, Kate and,... Viewed it as — when they write about the film then the realities life... Surely confirms otherwise ( abt the futility ) it where the child must die alongside the of. Movie Revolutionary Road quotes below are all either spoken by April Wheeler you Kate. Get a much more sympathetic and more complicated description of April and how she specifically dies them during first... Was never going to be touched by him ringing the hospital number beforehand as well wanted. Never know “ perfect ” personally i think i agree that she was love... Sure that it was not possible because her husband position to move any farther down the stairs and gazes the. Slowly down the Road with him ( p.320 ) with his later musing on the bed, ill! And stay with Frank in the ambiguity of the reader both agreed but Frank decided to have the same,. Her is going to abort their unwanted child, another mistake Boston and will to!

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