I could use the pliers and hammer twice as well myself. . ." (Ross 5). However, Mrs. Bentley lets her husband do this work because it is frowned upon by the other women in the town if she strays from her traditional role. For example, one day Mrs. Bentley was in the woodshed making kindling and one of the women in the town caught her and said, "Surely this isn't necessary, Mrs. Bentley - your position in the community - and Mr. Bentley such a big, able-bodied man" (Ross 5). .
Philip is the other central character that Ross reverses the gender expectations. Men are known to socialize a lot with other men in their communities. However, for a large portion of the novel, Philip likes to be alone and isolates himself in his study, either reading or sketching. He does this for hours on end. Philip is also not much of a "handy man" when it comes to fixing up the house. Traditionally, the man would do anything that needs to be done however, Philip has no desire to do so. For example, the roof of their house has been leaking for quite some time. When the President of the Ladies Aid says it will be a while before someone could fix it she asks Mrs. Bentley, "couldn't your husband get up on the roof and put a few new shingles on?" Another example of how Philip does not fit into his role as a traditional man is through their trip to the ranch. Instead of always being with the other men talking about the cattle, he chooses to be by himself a lot and sketch the scenery. He is not portrayed like the other men in the novel at all. .
Another character that strays from traditional gender expectations is that of Laura from the ranch where the Bentley's vacation. This character is very masculine compared with the other ladies in the novel. She has lived on the ranch for a large portion of her life and takes an active role in taking care of the ranch as well as riding and handling the horses. She wears men's clothing as well as chaps studded with silver nails.
