I think your comparison to Joan is pertinent. Joan seems on the outside to be very modern and confident, and surely she has a lot going for her. But she's touched by her society's standards for women too, she just makes her decision with more style than Betty, perhaps. On the flipside, you might say though that Betty is a bit more honest with herself. She's confused, but honestly so. Both women have interesting paths so far, IMO.
I will have to disagree with you though about the last part; I do think it's a false choice to require women to be alone to be independent. Nobody looks at a man in a relationship and says that they don't know how to stand on their own two feet for it. But in Betty's particular case, she hasn't spent any time on her own.
That said again though, we really have no idea how she'll handle their relationship once they get to Reno, once she gets the divorce, etc. It's quite possible she'll take it slowly , steadily. Or not, we just don't know at all.
But in Betty's particular case, she hasn't spent any time on her own.
She had spent enough time as a college student and as a model in Italy and Manhattan.
I think your comparison to Joan is pertinent. Joan seems on the outside to be very modern and confident, and surely she has a lot going for her. But she's touched by her society's standards for women too, she just makes her decision with more style than Betty, perhaps.
I don't think I can view marrying a man who had raped you a few months earlier, as a sign of making a decision with more style. I'm sorry, but I just can't.
Sorry, that's not what I meant. Much of the audience responds to Joan's snark and sass, that's what I was referring to, she carries herself a certain way and always has a game face on. It's superficial, but that's exactly what I was trying to get at. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
That's a good point about Betty, but I think she may have still had it in her mind at that time that finding a man is part of her life plan, much like Joan.
Do any of these fans really know what Betty wants? Probably not.
Or were they merely expressing their disappointment that she had failed to follow a path that they had desired? Most likely. Personally, I'm glad she left Don.
Is their hostility based upon their disappointment that she did not become a single divorcee like Helen Bishop . . . or that she had failed to reconcile with Don and try to repair their heavily damaged marriage? Betty would never be a single divorcee. Ever. It goes against everything that she is
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Here from ontdmadmen. I'm not that involved in the Mad Men community so to hear how people have been bashing Betty surprises me (it does not surprise me that they didn't bash Joan however). After all we've seen on the show, not just of Betty and other female characters but of the society in general, the times were different and it affected the characters. Now, we expect women, especially on our screens when they are developed so much, to want to stand on their own two feet, that isn't necessarily what those women wanted however
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I will have to disagree with you though about the last part; I do think it's a false choice to require women to be alone to be independent. Nobody looks at a man in a relationship and says that they don't know how to stand on their own two feet for it. But in Betty's particular case, she hasn't spent any time on her own.
That said again though, we really have no idea how she'll handle their relationship once they get to Reno, once she gets the divorce, etc. It's quite possible she'll take it slowly , steadily. Or not, we just don't know at all.
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She had spent enough time as a college student and as a model in Italy and Manhattan.
I think your comparison to Joan is pertinent. Joan seems on the outside to be very modern and confident, and surely she has a lot going for her. But she's touched by her society's standards for women too, she just makes her decision with more style than Betty, perhaps.
I don't think I can view marrying a man who had raped you a few months earlier, as a sign of making a decision with more style. I'm sorry, but I just can't.
Reply
That's a good point about Betty, but I think she may have still had it in her mind at that time that finding a man is part of her life plan, much like Joan.
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Do any of these fans really know what Betty wants? Probably not.
Or were they merely expressing their disappointment that she had failed to follow a path that they had desired? Most likely. Personally, I'm glad she left Don.
Is their hostility based upon their disappointment that she did not become a single divorcee like Helen Bishop . . . or that she had failed to reconcile with Don and try to repair their heavily damaged marriage? Betty would never be a single divorcee. Ever. It goes against everything that she is ( ... )
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