John Updike’s story of a young man in 1950’s America in Rabbit, Run, published in 1962, is a perfect example of the
rejection of the expected gender roles established by the contemporary society
in the time period when the book was written .
This story clearly shows the consequences faced by those who refused to
cave to those expectations. Harry
Angstrom, nicknamed “Rabbit,” yearns to find happiness in his life, but finds
himself unhappy with his marriage, his family, and his job, although this is
his expected role in life. When he
first attempts to run, he winds up in a café in West Virginia where he makes
the observation that he does not fit in.
Rabbit realizes, “He had thought, he had read, that from shore to shore
all America was the same. He wonders, Is
it just these people I’m outside or is it all America?” Rabbit knows he was on the outside looking
in, trying to find inner happiness and not finding it in his expected role as
husband, father, and breadwinner.
Because he runs instead of owning up to his responsibilities as husband
and father, however, he is not well-respected by most of society.
Ruth, Rabbit's lover, shows admiration for Rabbit when she first encounters
him, however, she changes her attitude towards Rabbit when she inadvertently
falls into her expected role as a mother.
Ruth admits she likes Rabbit because he hasn’t “given up” and tells Rabbit, “In your own stupid way, you’re still fighting.” In spite of this, after Ruth becomes
pregnant, she sees Rabbit’s non-conformity in a different light knowing that
his responsibility as a father should take precedence. She admits Rabbit “just lived in his skin and
didn’t give a thought to the consequences of anything.” Rabbit is further dubbed as “the naughty man” by Reverend Eccles’
family for his appearance of selfishness in leaving his wife and taking up
residence with Ruth. Mrs. Springer
confirms this sentiment when she states, “The only thing special about him is
he doesn’t care who he hurts or how much,” when she discusses
Rabbit with Reverend Eccles. Because
Rabbit does not do what he is expected, most of society sees him as a selfish,
egotistic cad who only acts out of his own self-interests and for his own
immediate self-gratification.
Although Rabbit is admonished for attempting to break free
of his role in order to find his own happiness, he is also envied by Reverend
Eccles for his brevity in standing up against his expected, traditional
role. Eccles understands Rabbit’s
attempt to break away from the established expectations in order to find his
own true happiness because Eccles also struggles with his own established role
as minister and father. He has been
trying to please his own father by following in his father’s footsteps and
becoming a minister. Eccles, however,
never feels as if he has his father’s approval and feels his own life is a
“fraud” because he stands in
front of his congregation every week “mouthing our Father when his heart knows
the real father he’s is trying to please, has been trying to please all his
life, the God who smokes cigars” has never once shown
affection or admiration. Because Eccles
sympathizes with Rabbit, he makes every effort to try to help Rabbit find his
way even after Rabbit’s family denounces him.
Because of his efforts, Eccles is reprimanded by his older colleague
when he attempts to counsel Rabbit and Janice, Rabbit's wife, as this was not the expected role
of the older generational minister. Upon
consulting with Fritz Kruppenbach, the Lutheran minister of Mt. Judge for the
past twenty-seven years, Eccles is told in no
uncertain terms, “do you think this is your job, to meddle in these peoples’
lives? I know what they teach you at
seminary now: this psychology and that. But I don’t agree with it. You think your job is to be an unpaid doctor,
to run around and plug up the holes and make everything smooth. I don’t think that. I don’t think that’s your job.” Kruppenbach’s scolding proves that any
attempt to do more than the traditional function is denounced and criticized,
especially when the attempt is to help a non-conformist such as Rabbit. Unfortunately for Eccles, the approval he seeks
from the older generation is again not found because of his efforts to do more
than the expected. Rabbit also struggles
with gaining the approval of both his and his wife’s families; however,
Rabbit’s own happiness overshadows his need for the older generation’s
approval. Eccles admires this in Rabbit
because he wants to be able to break free completely, but knows he is bound by
his own responsibilities and his own need for approval and, therefore, cannot
completely abandon his established role.
Only the 73-year-old Mrs. Smith truly understands Rabbit. She hires Rabbit to tend to her late husband's garden. The elderly Mrs. Smith, ironically, is the only
person from whom Rabbit does not feel a need to run. Mrs. Smith admires individuality as shown by
her love of her only “true good pink” rhododendron,
Bianchi, which is said to be one of a kind. She also sees that in Rabbit, and admires his individuality as well. However, both Mrs. Smith’s appreciation for individuality and Eccles’
admiration of self-fulfillment are the exception, not the norm, as shown by
society’s hatred of Rabbit for his failure to conform.
A young woman lying in a hospital bed, her head wrapped in bandages, awaits the outcome of a surgical procedure performed by the State in a last-ditch attempt to make her look "normal".
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