' Five novels by Australian women novelists, namely Christina Stead's 'For Love Alone' (1945), Helen Garner's 'Monkey Grip' (1977) and Elizabeth Harrower's 'Down in the City' (1957), 'The Catherine Wheel' (1960) and 'The Watch Tower' (1966) are critically analysed to explore the reversal of gender roles in them. It is suggested that the women in the novels attend to their men's needs and problems by performing an active role in a passive manner, while the males are actually passive within their active appearances.' (Publication abstract)