I'm just saying that Betty, who genuinely feels that she did nothing wrong, could justify the slap. But underneath the surface, here is a woman (Helen) who not only represents all her own (Betty's) hopes and fears, but then kind of 'outs' Betty as being, I dunno, a wack job? Betty feels deeply humiliated. And also is just beginning to get in touch with any sense of negative feelings, including anger. This combination is the cocktail that leads to the slap.

I find it hard to understand why Helen is a bitch in that situation.

Roberta – your devil's defense reminds me of the final scene in Election when Matthew Broderick's character is doing the voice-over/flashback, listing all the reasons he hates Tracy Flick, growing more agitated, until he hurls the cup of soda at her limousine. One of my all-time favorites …

One day she pissed me off royally. Don’t remember what it was… did she call in and tell me she was going to be a few hours late? I don’t remember. That day I made a few calls about jobs.

I was in therapy at the time. My therapist pointed out that it was a great remedy to my anger; my hands wanted to hit something (or really, my boss), and instead they picked up the phone and took positive action toward change.

Never forgot it.

From Betty's perspective, she is completely innocent. She did the woman a favor, and now is being accused (sort of) of being a dangerous pervert. The slap was the 1960 version of You watch your mouth. Certainly not considered assault.

Now, combine that, which is almost rational, with the shame that Betty feels. Because she does know that it was inappropriate, and although she certainly never considered, until this moment, that it was either dangerous or criminal, she does feel busted. Exposed. By this woman who is nothing but a troublemaker. Betty defended Helen from the beginning, but also made Don go get the cake (and look how that turned out) when he and Helen were outside together. And that hussy is accusing her? How dare she!

Add to that all that Helen represents… everything that Betty both craves and fears the most. In a classic tarot layout, your hopes and fears are one thing. One card represents both. That be Helen Bishop. Slap that bitch.

I would disagree, Rondi. What did Helen do to deserve getting smacked? (if I were a lawyer I'd say "assualted") All she did was confront her neighbor who acted strangely while babysitting her kids.

Furthermore, she acted like (and this is a phrase I use a lot) a normal person. She politely confronted Betty to ask her about the incident and made it clear that she acted inappropriately. So Betty, feeling humiliated (after being humiliated by Don earlier), acts out with the slap.

But lets not think that Helen was in the wrong for treating Betty like a normal person.

This is not to say I don't sympathize with Betty's plight – her storyline is one of the best ever, and I enjoy all the discussion about her on this board. She's truly representative of the American woman of the early 60's and doesn't understand how to act in her changing world.

So I never thought that Betty was physically ill, particularly after she said her doctor found nothing physically wrong. It does seem like Weiner intended the symptoms to be psychosomatic, and that's logical given what we know of Betty's struggles at the time.

Ok! Stating the obvious done.