The Husbands: A Novel

The gold pen wives receive when they purchase a home in Dynasty Ranch symbolizes the control they gain over their husbands when they consent to couples’ counseling with Cornelia. The use of a pen highlights the social inequity between men and women outside the community and within it. It is phallic, representative of the social power most often associated with men. The person with the pen is, quite literally, the person in control. Ironically, it represents the emasculation of Dynasty Ranch husbands as they are stripped of power, a quality associated with masculinity, and the empowerment of the wives.

One might also consider the symbol in light of the expression, “The pen is mightier than the sword,” which suggests that the written word—by which one conveys intellectual work—is more powerful than physical violence. A pen is a rather innocuous, everyday implement, though its gold color certainly reflects the value of social control. However, the pen also secretly nods to the way Cornelia establishes and maintains control, by using the brain—both her own intelligence and the science of neurology—rather than physical force or violence. The husbands in The Stepford Wives, for example, control their wives by murdering them and creating look-a-like robots; they use physical force to overpower the women.