Far From Heaven

What is the significance of Frank and Cathy's role in terms of female and male?

In the movie 'Far From Heaven', Housewife, Cathy Whitaker finds that her husband, who is a respected business man, has been cheating on her with men. Conflicting with his own identity, we see the Frank and Cathy begin to switch roles on the movie. Cathy, at first glance appears to be a housewife whose skills are limited to homemaking and motherly duties. As the film progresses, not only do we see Cathy begin to become more than a housewife; we see her "wear the pants".
An example of this is when Frank falls in love with the blonde-haired boy from Miami and Cathy simply says "So I assume you want a divorce then" in a cold and emotionless tone, all the while Frank is sitting on the couch bawling.
Her husband, Frank, is in a state of identity crisis regarding his own sexuality. We slowly see his masculine traits begin to deter as he slowly loses his hold over his desires and sucumbs to them. We see Cathy begin to fall for a man named Raymond, but unlike her husband, Cathy is able to cope with her desire and maintain a level of control which, ultimately, empowers her masculine characteristics. She almost gives in to Raymond at the end, but through his rationalization she realizes that she and Raymond cannot be together due to society's outlook on interracial relationship; which was just as taboo as homosexual relationships.

What is the significance of Cathy and Raymond's relationship

Cathy, being seen as a liberal woman, starts talking with her former gardeners son Raymond, who has taken over his deceased father's business. Raymond is a passionate, good-intentioned man who just wants whats best for his daughter. Raymond seems to be the object of desire, which Mulvey states in her essay; although she seems to be swaying to the side of the damsel in distress being the usual object of desire. Since Cathy's role becomes more masculine, we not only can relate to her, but we again are envisioning Raymond as the object of desire. It's almost like role reversals from the original days when boy likes girl, boy saves girl, they live happily ever after, although, the ending isn't quite as happy.