The Role of Women in Society

When considering the theme of the role of women in society, readers must remember that the story takes place in the 1950s. The odd nature of a woman traveling on her own for her job appears even before Catherine gets off the train where she has a conversation with a fellow traveler. When she tells him that she's going to Montana for her job, he calls her a modern girl. But all women aren't "modern" and Catherine's mother is one of the women who is not. These women think that women should stay at home and be housewives. Even though she was supposed to be a piano player, she was really supposed to get married and have children.

One thing that she was not supposed to do was to be an archaeologist. She wasn't even supposed to have her current assignment...