Brief and Random Thoughts on Presents
In honor of the season, I thought I’d make some quick notes on Mad Men and the gifts they bear. In a way, the entire story really begins on Christmas, with Anna and Don exchanging presents (Episode 12, The Mountain King). Don is grateful for the gift of his new identity and the life it has made possible. Later in the same episode, Betty gives Sally riding boots — interestingly, boots have the symbolic meaning of grounding us. In her father’s absence, Sally’s mother has turned into a wicked witch of a sort, one who locks her in the closet and in turn Sally must learn self-reliance. Later in the same episode, another gift pops up, the book Meditations in an Emergency that Don sent to Anna in For Those Who Think Young, (Ep. 1, Season 2).
That episode, of course, begins on Valentine’s Day, another holiday in which our gifts (or lack thereof) can get us into trouble. Pete gives Trudy a box of chocolates, a symbol of love which, significantly, he really bought for himself. Here is that category of “horrid gifts” not because they’re necessarily bad but because the present is all about the giver as opposed to the recipient (in this category also fall the really expensive gifts that you later realize are all about the giver’s ego). It goes without saying that Pete insists on taking the first chocolate. In that same category is the present that Roger gives Joan in Babylon: a bird in a cage. Nothing like a gift that tells you exactly what the giver wants to do with your life… And then there is the gift that tells the recipient how the giver already sees one, such as the knight in shining armor cufflinks that Rachel impetuously gives Don in Marriage of Figaro. This is the same episode in which Rachel shows Don her dogs which prompts him to give Sally a dog for her birthday, after he’s built her playhouse. Which path will little Sally take in life? Will she opt for being the homemaker in her little pink house or will she follow Rachel and become an independent businesswoman? Either way, it looks like she’s gotten the lion’s share of the presents. What about Bobby?
So that’s a start. Anyone care to complete the list? I’m also curious about the worst and/or the best presents you all have received in your lives.
Basket of Kisses: The unofficial blog of AMC's Mad Men. Where all the cool kids meet & greet to talk about Don Draper, Janie Bryant, Christina Hendricks, Jon Hamm, Matthew Weiner, & subtexty things.
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December 31st, 2008 at 6:34 am
I love this post, great job.
In terms of other gifts, there's the Tanqueray given oh-so-significantly
to Duck; in hindsight that was sabotage, wasn't it? And there's the golf clubs, club membership, and picture of Betty from McCann to Don. Those are "wooing" gifts on a professional level, and each backfired in different ways.
Some random boyfriend of Helen's gave Glen a Pan Am bag—suggesting Glen should fly away?
Then there are all the baby shower gifts for Harry, including one from Tiffany's from "Jane," prompting a discussion of how it's really from Roger.
December 31st, 2008 at 6:54 am
It's worth reminding everyone of Mr. Weiner's terrific NYTimes op-ed a year ago (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/23/fashion/23weiner.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=%22matthew%20weiner%22%20worst&st=cse), which starts with the appropriate sentence: "I love giving gifts, but let’s not pretend: I prefer to receive them."
It also includes the line: "Like it or not, your friend or family member is sending you a message telling you in a coded way what they think you want, what you deserve and, on some level, who they think you are."
Seem's you've tapped into his head …
Great post, Marly – and analysis of the Sally dog/playhouse thing. Very cool.
December 31st, 2008 at 8:17 am
In a way, the entire story really begins on Christmas, with Anna and Don exchanging presents…
Fascinating; I am really rolling that around in my mouth.
December 31st, 2008 at 8:29 am
I haven't read it yet, but that "pull quote" makes me think he must have a heck of a time buying presents for people. Maybe he can be a guest on "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and he and Larry can go shopping for Christmas presents.
If, that is, Larry BUYS Christmas presents.
December 31st, 2008 at 10:13 am
There are the bribes: flowers, chocolates and bath salts that Peggy brings the phone bank girls on her first day, as well as the fur coat(s) that Betty receives from Don.
The pearl necklace (heh) that Roger gives Joan. Also in the "make of that what you will…" category are Betty's gift of hair to Glen, and the pink elephant from Dot to Judy Campbell.
The gifts that are both "welcome and unwelcome," as Joan said about the chocolates Duck ordered for the women of SC on Valentine's Day. But also could be the bag of shirts that Jane gives Don.
Speaking of clothes for Don, I find it interesting that we never see Betty buying (or even caring for) Don's clothes, although she did trash them in "A Night to Remember." It's interesting because within the scope of the series, we've seen at least four other women making a fuss over Don's clothes. Anna presents him with a bag of clothes from The Broadway department store. Jane buys him shirts from Menken's. Joy makes sure he has something to wear in Palm Springs. And Rachel fusses over his tie (and also chooses a few new ones for him, although we don't know if she actually gave them to him) in the "Babylon" episode.
December 31st, 2008 at 10:26 am
And iirc, Betty later had Don's watch fixed and engraved.
December 31st, 2008 at 10:29 am
There's also Cooper with the Ayn Rand books, w/ obvs meaning. He only recommended that Don buy it with the bonus money, but (iirc) he was said to have given a copy of Atlas Shrugged to Pete (which always struck me as curious).
/stop me, pls.
December 31st, 2008 at 10:54 am
No way I'm stopping you, I'm enjoying watching the tote board numbers keep jumping up ; )
December 31st, 2008 at 12:00 pm
The best gifts mark the beginning of an adventure. A dog would be that, for sure: whether you love the dog or find her exasperating, or both. A great gift should be like a key inside a box, with your first directions included: head for the corner, turn left, you'll see a ribbon hanging from a tree.
Get a thing like that, you can't wait to see what's next.
What I want to say about this blog is that it is, all by itself, a gift. It's the box and the key together, and all of us who post here often enough know that. It's the challenge of the new inside the loved and familiar — even now, even when no new episodes are airing.
Deb and Roberta, thank you for bringing this community together and keeping us all going. Thank you for providing us with personal connections to those who make Mad Men — you know this would have never, ever have been possible without you — and for leading us to new sources of amusement every day.
Thanks for the gift of this blog. Oh, and speaking of gifts, check your email, Deb.
Looking forward to another great year on the Basket!
December 31st, 2008 at 12:02 pm
By the way, Marly … great post. Thanks!
December 31st, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Re: Sally’s boots
In the past, Betty had denied Sally’s plea to go riding on the ground that it was too dnagerous/ adult. Betty is giving the boots as a prelude to telling Sally about the separation, explicitly a “big girl” talk. Yet Betty stuck Sally in the closet for smoking, which is something kids are tempted to do because they think it’s grown-up activity. The gift may have reflected Betty’s recognition — perhaps subconsciously — that the separation was pushing Sally in that direction and a decision to channel that impulse to act grown-up in a direction that would be more positive for Sally… or advantageous for Betty (or both).
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I had picked up on the dog gift in “Figaro” as an echo of Rachel, but the contrast with the playhouse is teh awesome.
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The bird in “Babylon” is symbolic, but it’s also there in the text. Roger first floated the idea as a way of getting Joan separated from her roomie, while harboring the fantasy of having Joan locked up somewhere.
December 31st, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Whee! Your comments are so much fun!
"In terms of other gifts, there’s the Tanqueray given oh-so-significantly
to Duck; in hindsight that was sabotage, wasn’t it?"
Ah-hah! How could I have forgotten the "gift as sabotage"?! But of course.
B Cooper: I can't believe I'd forgotten that article! Hah. Brilliant.
Karl: Great analysis. Little Sally also was taking some sips of the grown-ups' drinks when she visited Don's office. Not to mention the precocious questions about boyfriends and girlfriends… And tatas.
Hullaballoo: I never noticed before that Betty never buys Don clothing. Huh.
Thanks so much for the comments, guys. You all cheered me up. And inspired me to keep writing! So thanks for that. Smooches to you all and have a happy and a healthy New Year!
December 31st, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Also in “Red in the Face,” Roger gives Don what VK calls the “sorry I tried to screw your wife $40 bottle of scotch.” Don didn’t think much of it, much like the gifts from Jim Hobart in “Shoot.” Don does not seem to react well to a gift that comes with an ulterior motive… unless it’s from Rachel, where their motives coincided.
December 31st, 2008 at 2:19 pm
hullaballoo notes “The pearl necklace (heh) that Roger gives Joan.”
CH notes in the commentary that she loved that bit.
December 31st, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Midge got a TV set. Don asks whether it’s from the same place she got that wig. Yet he later endorses his bonus check to her as a farewell gift.
—
Don bought betty the white gold watch, hoping it would be a substiute for psychotherapy.
December 31st, 2008 at 3:04 pm
The Onion wrote about the best television episodes of 2008, and Maidenform made the cut:
http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/the_best_television_episodes_of
December 31st, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Thank you, Anne. I’m glad you liked it.
December 31st, 2008 at 4:38 pm
It's a chip-and-dip.
Exchanged for a rifle.
Trudy was not amused.
December 31st, 2008 at 7:34 pm
" In her father’s absence, Sally’s mother has turned into a wicked witch of a sort, one who locks her in the closet and in turn Sally must learn self-reliance."
I'm a little confused by the above statement. Why did you compare Betty to being a wicked witch?
December 31st, 2008 at 7:57 pm
How about the egg that Father Gil with that all-knowing look gave to Peggy "for the little one" in Three Sundays?, so tied in with the Easter theme of new life and rebirth–Peggy's reluctant acceptance of same–a reminder she could definitely do without.
December 31st, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Rosie, I think it was the locking Sally in the closet that elicited the comparison. But also absenting herself from their lives (the children's), to a subtler degree. Grant you it was due to her depression, but by Marly referring to her as 'Sally's mother' we understand that the notion of wicked witch is A) in the very classic, fairy tale literature sense and also B) specifically from Sally's perspective. So the cause is irrelevant.
January 2nd, 2009 at 8:42 am
Jill! Good one!
January 2nd, 2009 at 11:20 am
Adam gifts Dick/Don photos, upon re-entering and re-departing.
January 30th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
I just watched this episode and I was struck by the juxtaposition of Betty's gift to Sally next to her "gift from Aunt Flo." This gift is so profoundly symbolic of her daughter being invited to enter into the woman's world that Betty is supposed to inhabit. However it struck me that it never occurred to her to share the real stuff about what that means. What a mixed blessing that gift is.
It also reminded me of two things: 1. how Betty's therapist reported to Don that she was like a little girl, with all the same petty jealousies and behaviors…and 2. when Betty explains to Arthur while riding horses that he has to "tell the horse (she) what to do, or he'll ruin her for the next person." Very interesting to look at this era from a post-feminist perspective. Well that's what I'd like to think anyway!