(SPOILERS) I think it’s safe to say that everyone who watches “Mad Men” picks a favorite character. If you’re someone who likes determined heroines, you pick Peggy Olson; mysterious dreamboats, Don Draper; smart-mouthed bombshells, Joan Harris (nee Holloway); silver-haired patriarchs, Roger Sterling.
Unfortunately, I don’t think many people like watching the joyless housewife, Betty Draper.
I’ll admit that Betty Draper (now Francis) has become increasingly unpleasant over the years. All she seems to do is continually harden as the characters around her grow and blossom. But how could you blame her?
Betty Draper lives the meaningless life of a suburban housewife in the 1960s.
While Peggy champions the world of advertising, Betty is being force-fed what Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce is trying to sell: the American dream. Betty’s unhappy character is the product of trying to fit the image of the perfect wife. Viewers seem shocked and appalled by her lack of progression. Even when you think she is trying to escape, she can’t.
Betty’s character is frustrating, but it deeply illustrates her societal role and status during the “Mad Men” time period.
Betty may seem unwilling to pull herself out of her misery, but what most people fail to overlook is her lack of options. In the early 1960s, head and master laws were still intact in many places, and marriage defined the roles of men as breadwinner and women as housekeepers, child bearers and sex providers. Only eight states gave a wife a legal right to a share of the earnings her husband had accumulated during their marriage. Betty has little work experience and three children to care for. Her only option is to find another provider — and she does so, falling right back into the unfulfilled role of wife.
Betty’s linear life was a familiar situation for women in the early 1960s. The successful Peggys and liberated Joans were few and far between. While Betty may not be the most lovable character, most women were bred to be Bettys.
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While Betty may not be the most lovable character, most women were bred to be Bettys.
