The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Betsy waits for Tom at the Westport train station. When he sees her, he is reminded again of his good fortune in finding “such a pretty wife” (4). By now, however, he knows that she does not appreciate compliments about her good looks. Betsy reveals that their washing machine is broken and their six-year-old daughter Barbara has chicken pox. Their other children, Tom and Janey, will likely become infected soon. Tom buys a toy lamb for his sick daughter, angering his two healthy children. As the children play, Tom and Betsy sip martinis and stare at the wrinkled linoleum floor. Tom tells Betsy about the public relations job.

Tom dresses in his best suit, fashioned from gray flannel, and has his shoes shined in Grand Central Station. He visits the UBC. During their formative years, Betsy and Tom assured each other that “money didn’t matter” (7). Now, however, Tom cares less about finding work he really likes. He wants a big house, vacations, a new car, more money, and “plenty of life insurance” (7). An interview is arranged for Tom. He meets Mr. Everett, also dressed in a gray flannel suit, which is considered the “uniform of the day” (8). Five days later, another interview is arranged with Mr. Gordon Walker. The lavish office where the interview takes place assures Tom that he is being seriously considered as he debates whether to tell his current employer about his job search, lest the prospective employer ask for references.

Walker reclines in a comfortable chair as he quizzes Tom, who is hesitant to admit that he wants a new job because he wants more money. He speaks instead of his desire to find “something useful and worth while to do” (10). Tom is taken to a room with a typewriter, where Walker has asked him to write his own autobiography to explain why he should be hired. Tom struggles with the task, choosing to focus on statistical facts about his life and history including his height, weight, salary, and time in the military, wherein he killed 17 men. He also thinks about an Italian girl named Maria, whom he met during the war. Like the dead men, he does not think about Maria but cannot forget her. He stares at the blank pages and listens to his watch as the seconds tick by. Eventually, he writes a short biographical paragraph that ends with his honest statement that he does “not wish to attempt an autobiography as part of an application for a job” (14). He submits the assignment early; Walker promises to contact him in a week.

Tom downplays his prospects when Betsy asks him about the interview. She talks about potential new houses they might afford if he secured a better-paying job. Three days later, Tom is invited to another interview with Walker. Betsy is optimistic but Tom is hesitant. Nevertheless, he talks to his boss Dick Haver, confessing that he “[needs] more money” due to his growing family (15). Haver asks Tom not to quit, suggesting that he may be able to offer Tom more money, but Betsy dismisses this “offer of some piddling raise” (16). At Betsy’s suggestion, Tom visits his hometown in South Bay to speak to his grandmother, as she first put him forward for his current job. As he drives, he passes the spot on the road where his father died in a car crash. His grandmother lives in a large mansion which his now-deceased mother once compared to a castle. The return evokes a sense of nostalgia in Tom’s mind. His 93-year-old grandmother has refused to sell the house even as its upkeep eats through her diminishing fortune.

Tom has learned to piece together the unspoken, unpleasant truths about his dead father from his grandmother’s fond, distorted recollections. He tells her that he may leave his current job. She changes the subject, discussing the money she has recently spent on the upkeep of the large house, and Tom resents that she is spending his presumed future inheritance. He remembers hearing his mother criticizing the “deliberate pretenses” that his grandmother inflicted on his father. He offers to help his grandmother manage her money better, but she dismisses his concerns. Tom drives home, thinking about the separate worlds he inhabits: his grandmother’s ghostly world, his military past, his professional life, and his family life. These worlds are related but irreconcilably separate.

Tom meets Walker. Entering the building, he seems to recognize the elevator operator but cannot identify him. Walker explains that they are considering Tom for a position on a special project, working alongside the company president, Mr. Hopkins. The project aims to found “a national committee on mental health” (24). Tom feigns enthusiasm and then negotiates the salary offer, asking for more money. A meeting is arranged between Tom and Hopkins in the following days. After the interview, he meets with Bill Hawthorne, who first told him about the job. Hawthorne suggests that the secret project is actually to raise the profile of the wealthy, respected, but relatively unknown Hopkins. Tom suggests that Hopkins may have other motives, and the men speculate as to what these motives might be. Hawthorne describes the mysterious nature of Hopkins, who has a reputation for reclusiveness and ruthlessness. Tom hopes he will get the job.

Tom’s optimism is dashed when he returns home and finds the house in a state of chaos. Betsy is sick and the children have made a mess, though they all now have chickenpox. Tom contacts his asthmatic doctor, who agrees to pay a house visit. Tom takes the children downstairs, telling them their favorite story, one he invented about a “little dog named Bubbley” (33). The doctor diagnoses Betsy with chickenpox and suggests that she stay in bed for a week to allow the illness to run its course. Tom arranges for someone to watch the children, at considerable expense. Mrs. Manter, the new babysitter, is a stern and loud woman.

At work, Tom explains to Dick why he may need to reduce his current hours to care for the children. They discuss his potential new job and the risks it entails. Dick speaks positively about Ralph Hopkins, suggesting that the unique job will mostly be focused on “pleasing Hopkins” rather than a typically professional role. That evening, he returns home to find that Mrs. Manter has cleaned the house and cooked dinner. The next day, however, he has no clean suit to attend his meeting with Hopkins. In spite of her sickness, Betsy helps him to get ready. Betsy is confident that Tom will get the job, as she was confident that he would survive the war. Tom interrogates his nerves on the way to the interview. He recalls his old resentment and anger toward commanding officers who sent their men on dangerous missions while remaining behind comfortable desks. Tom studies the luxurious décor outside Hopkins’s office. Inside the office, he meets Hopkins, who invites Tom and the other employees to ride down in an elevator with him. Again, Tom feels as though he knows the elevator operator but cannot place him. They walk across to a private club and talk about the project. As they drink cocktails, Tom talks about ideas for the project. Hopkins invites Tom to his new home in South Bay. Hopkins leaves before the end of the meal and, after a long silence, Tom is told that a final decision will be reached soon.

Tom returns to his office and calls his wife, who tells Tom that his grandmother has broken her thigh in a fall. Tom takes the train out to South Bay and thinks resentfully about his dying grandmother. He dwells on his nostalgic, familiar memories of his grandmother. In her bedroom, she speaks frankly, insisting that she would “prefer to die [in her house]” rather than be taken to the hospital (47). She assures Tom that she has left everything to him, though it is not much. After, her doctor tells Tom that she may continue living a little while longer if she goes to the hospital. Tom does not intervene to stop her from going to the hospital.