The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Tom and Betsy struggle to sleep in the new house. Janey wakes up in the night, screaming and crying. She sleeps in her parents’ bed. The next day, Tom wakes up in confusion. He inspects his unpacked possessions, including his mandolin. Then, the family eats breakfast and begins to arrange their possessions in the new house. Betsy insists that they attend church, but Tom argues that he does not have time. Finally, he relents. Later, he speaks to his lawyer about the issue with Edward. The lawyer recommends that he ignore Edward for the moment and, instead, go to visit the judge who will preside over the will.

Saul Bernstein, the probate judge who will rule on Tom’s grandmother’s estate, receives a telephone call from Edward, who insists that he has a claim on the estate. Bernstein remembers Florence Rath, though none of his memories of the woman are fond. Bernstein dislikes the logistical difficulties that come with judging each case properly. A disputed will worries him, as does the potential zoning dispute that will occur if Tom tries to parcel up his grandmother’s land into smaller, more profitable lots. The locals, Bernstein predicts, will argue bitterly about the case.

Tom is surprised when Ogden takes him off speech-writing duties but does not assign him another task. Tom worries that he has failed. Then, he worries about Edward and his grandmother’s house. Rather than worry, he looks ahead to other ways in which he can help Hopkins establish a mental health committee. He decides to do more research on the subject, but he is interrupted by Caesar, who invites him to lunch. Tom picks a restaurant where no one will see him speaking to the elevator operator. As they talk, they agree that “things have gone pretty good for [them]” (141). Gardella talks about his postwar activities. He has a wife and children. Eventually, the subject turns to Maria. Gardella explains that Maria married Lapa, the owner of a bakeshop in her town in Italy. Tom, who remembers Louis as a friend, is surprised. Maria had a son, too, and the family struggled. Gardella wonders whether Tom wants to help Maria and her family. Tom claims that he has no money to offer. After lunch, Tom receives orders from Ogden not to do anything, but he decides to research mental health in the library regardless.

Tom does not speak to Betsy about his problems. At home, a man named Antonio Bugala is waiting to speak to Tom about his potential real estate project. Bugala inspects the property and conjures very profitable new ideas. He imagines being able to build 80 houses though fears that Tom may not have the necessary capital for this “potential gold mine” (147). This project, he imagines, could be his ticket to big-time property development. He resolves to strike a deal with Tom, who tempers excitement by reminding everyone of zoning and will issues, as well as the difficulty of raising capital. Bugala cites his credentials, including the work he recently did on Hopkins’s South Bay mansion, and Betsy chides her husband for his pessimism.

Hopkins wakes up, his thoughts preoccupied with his mental health speech. He follows his typical routine and arrives early in his office. His days are filled with important meetings about his various business and community projects. His secretary lists his schedule, including a checkup with his doctor who warns him to slow down. This is not the first time that Hopkins has received such advice; he has always ignored it. From his academic work to his career to his romantic life, he pursues everything with zeal and energy. Even his marriage and the arrival of his children did not slow him down. He argues about this with his wife, Helen, leading to sessions with a psychiatrist to talk about his preoccupation with work. The therapist suggested that the preoccupation was “an effort to punish and perhaps kill himself” (156). Hopkins ignored this advice and he became estranged from his family until his son Robert was killed in World War II. Helen lives in the mansion in South Bay with their daughter Susan, while Hopkins lives in an apartment in New York City. Sitting in traffic, he dictates his changes to the mental health speech.

Tom is anxious and unable to sleep. The next day, he is curt and irritable. As Betsy enrolls the children in their new school, Tom meets with Judge Bernstein. They talk about Edward’s claim on the estate; Edward claims to have official documentation of his entitlement to the house. Bernstein warns him not to worry about any property development until the inheritance case is settled. Later, Betsy complains about the state of the local schools. Tom warns her of the delays in the inheritance case. Driving home, they pass the place where Tom’s father died in a car crash. Tom walks alone around his grandmother’s estate. He worries about Edward, Maria, and his job. Amid his anxieties, he thinks about the men he killed and whether they had faith and optimism. He is called in for lunch.

Riding the train to work, Tom thinks about his job and his money. Ogden asks him to fly to Atlantic City to inspect the rooms where Hopkins will be staying when he delivers his speech to the conference of medical professionals. Hopkins has many demands for his rooms. Tom flies to Atlantic City and visits the hotel, making adjustments to the rooms. Sitting in the bar that evening, he remembers how he met Betsy in 1939. During that time, his thoughts had been filled with war when he attended Betsy’s coming-out party to “get some free champagne” (169). He fell in love with Betsy at first sight and eventually introduced himself. They dated for three years, and she agreed to marry him. Tom thinks how lucky he was to marry Betsy, who could have “married somebody with money” (171). He wonders whether Betsy regrets her decision to marry a man who went off to war. Their lives had seemed to follow the route they planned, with him returning from the war as a hero, but reality never felt as satisfying to Tom as had assumed it would be. He told her little about the war, and she spoke instead about the future. As he grew more disillusioned with society, Betsy retained her optimism. His thoughts are interrupted by a young girl named Marie who invites him to a party. Tom turns her down.