I watched the movie on television last night and kept thinking about the narrow range of behaviour that is acceptable to men — back then in the 60's and 70's but perhaps also today.

It becomes very clear that the wives of Ennis Del Mar (the late Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) find it difficult to except the behaviour of their men. Their reasons for this seem to be slightly different, however. Del Mar's wife Alma (Michelle Williams) knows for certain that her husband has a sexual relationship with a man and her feelings of abandonment and loss are both understandable and expected. And it is a lonely burden she carries. Homosexuality (or in this case bisexuality) is clearly not something that ought to be talked about in the society in which they live. Nevertheless, and perhaps partly because of that, she does not leave Del Mar until she feels that he prioritizes his love for Twist higher than her and their two daughters. For Lureen (Anne Hathaway), Twist's wife, the most important thing seems to be that her husband is "a real man" in every respect. She does not seem to require closeness. She does not seem to need him financially. She seems to be married to him simply because she is supposed to be married. The only time in the movie when she clearly approves of his actions is when he tells her own father off, when he stands his ground as the "man of the house" in front of their son and her parents. This is also an incident that seems to put her father at ease, since he has had his doubts about the manliness of his son-in-law.

It is sad to see how all of the characters in the movie are stuck in rigid structures and modes of behaviour. Society does not approve of deviation, but at the same time it is very easy to become deviant since there are not many possible roles to choose between.

The image was found here.