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Chapter 25
Themes
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
The war continues into 1972. Frankie cries watching the news reports of American atrocities and casualties, which increase the public’s disgust toward veterans. Even in Coronado, no one believes America is winning. Frankie finds another nursing job, comforted by routine. On July 4, Mom and Dad host their first party since Mom’s stroke. Frankie doesn’t want to attend but knows she must. The neighborhood is buzzing with celebration. Her parents’ backyard is full of people drinking, eating, and discussing the war. Frankie orders a drink. Mom and Dad thank everyone in attendance, particularly those who supported Mom through her recovery. Dad singles out a Lieutenant Commander who’s recently returned from Vietnam, thanking “the men who serve.” Frankie suppresses her anger.
That the wealthy military families of Coronado no longer believe in the war is evidence that the American government’s propaganda campaign is floundering. Though she wants the truth to be known, Frankie is also devastated by how civilians blame veterans for their government’s treachery. Despite her complicated feelings about America, Frankie attends her parents’ Fourth of July party to support Mom. Once again, Dad slights Frankie by singling out a male veteran and neglecting to mention either Frankie’s military service or her assistance in Mom’s recovery.
Themes
Wondering when she can leave, Frankie runs into Henry Acevedo. Mom invited Henry, who is a hospital board member for an addiction clinic for which Mom raised funds. Henry, with his long hair, doesn’t look like a board member to Frankie. Hearing an explosion, she screams and falls to the ground, but it’s only a firecracker. Henry helps her up, expressing irritation at the bottle rocket and implying Frankie’s reaction is unsurprising. He walks her home. Frankie asks if he is married. Henry explains that his wife died of breast cancer, and Frankie recognizes her own sorrow in him. She invites him inside, clarifying that she isn’t looking for love, just physical intimacy. They sleep together.
Despite her healing progress, Frankie is still uncomfortable in large social settings. Henry’s work with addicts and his knowledge of Frankie’s Vietnam flashbacks hint that he has experience working with veterans in a psychiatric setting. Frankie’s overreaction to the bottle rocket reignites her sense of shame, while also showing that her recent mental and emotional stability may not last. By sleeping with Henry, Frankie allows herself to be comforted in a way she’s refused since Rye died.
Themes
Frankie’s relationship with Henry is mostly physical and discreet. Their mutual loneliness and grief unite them. Frankie gets birth control pills from Planned Parenthood, now that it’s legal for single women to do so. Frankie doesn’t tell anyone about Henry, but Barb writes in August, sensing something is up. She lives in Chicago now, still struggling to be a “a woman in a man’s world.” Ethel, on the other hand, is a new mother. Barb plans to march on the Republican National Convention with the VVAW and convinces Frankie to join her. Henry drives Frankie from California to Florida for the protest, alongside a caravan of other veterans. Despite this generosity, Frankie still conceals her Vietnam-related trauma from Henry.
Frankie and Henry help each other cope with their sadness and trauma. Barb’s ability to sense something is up with Frankie speaks to the strength of their friendship, while Frankie, for her part, keeps what’s actually going on a secret. Similarly, despite Henry’s knowledge of Frankie’s trauma and support for her participation in the anti-war movement, something about Frankie’s experiences in Vietnam still feels too raw to share with him. In this way, the novel explores how trauma survivors struggle with vulnerability even as they desire understanding from their loved ones.
Themes
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The next day, Barb locates Frankie in the VVAW camp. Led by Ron Kovic, a paralyzed veteran, the veterans march in silence, implying “there’s nothing left to say.” Henry excuses himself, saying Frankie should be with the other veterans. The march blocks three lanes of traffic in front of the convention hall. National Guard helicopters whir overhead. Finally, a congressman allows three wheelchaired vets inside. On the walk back, Frankie and Barb discuss the protests’ efficacy and Henry. Barb likes Henry, but Frankie isn’t interested in love after Rye. The next day, the news reports the veterans allowed into the convention interrupted Nixon’s nomination acceptance speech. Later, Frankie wakes from another Vietnam dream. She blames the march and tries, repeatedly, to forget.
Ron Kovic is a wheelchair-bound veteran of the Vietnam War and prominent anti-war activist, portrayed here in the early days of that activism. Henry demonstrates true respect for the veterans by excusing himself from their midst, knowing it is rude to let others assume he has sacrificed as much as they have. That some veterans are allowed inside the venue suggests that politicians are finally bending to anti-war pressure. Still wounded from Rye, Frankie keeps a careful distance between herself and Henry, not wanting to be hurt again. Being among so many other veterans at the march triggers Frankie’s memories of Vietnam, which she tries in vain to repress.
Themes
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