Roger Sterling: Peggy, can you get me some coffee?
Peggy Olson: No.
-from Mad Men, Season 3, Episode 13
Peggy Olson: No.
-from Mad Men, Season 3, Episode 13
In my cubicle at work, I have a Mad Men calendar, and the April picture is the one at right, of Peggy Olson. I have found myself looking up at it a lot, thinking that she is the appropriate character to accompany the month I was born. I can relate to Peggy's pragmatic feminism. She doesn't have lofty ideals about civil rights like Paul Kinsey; she's just tired of being treated like crap because she's a woman. In this picture, she knows that guy in the shadow of the subway stop is staring at her - but what else is new?Is Peggy sometimes abrasive? Does she know she's working for The Man even as she makes inroads for women? Does she have a lot to learn? Yes, yes, and yes. I'm grateful for this calendar month; it reminds me that I am still learning how to be an adult and a person in the world. Peggy is far from perfect, and so am I.
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1 comment:
Agree! I agree with all of this! You're totally right.
I was watching Mad Men (Season 4) last night, and commented on how frustrating it must be for Peggy to have Don tell her to grow up one moment and then the next moment he starts acting like a child and no matter what she says to point out the problem with the situation, he's not going to get it at all. The set up was so subtle, though. It was magnificent.
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