A tiny sign that the old order really is dead
Season 2: The Gold Violin”Jane gets fired for “breaking and entering;” which is to say, for tip-toeing into Cooper’s office and looking at a painting, and then tip-toeing out.
Season 3: The Grown-Ups”Peggy says to Don she’s going to watch the funeral on Cooper’s television, and he says okay.
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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November 5th, 2009 at 8:54 am
Perhaps the semi-official reason for Jane's firing was the Cooper office trespass, but none of the men were fired. The real reason was something else
When Elvis died in 1977, I turned on the big console TV in my boss's office and listened to the sound through the open door between our 2 offices. He was out of town on business. Among the many other joys of being a very young executive secretary to a corporate president was dusting his desk every day and filling his silver-colored carafe with coffee.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:55 am
PJ, it was still a big deal. "Breaking and entering" was the phrase used by Ken. Paul was too scared to enter the room. Yet a year later, with the world in upheaval, Peggy casually makes the suggestion and Don casually agrees.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Agreed – especially since she could have gone to Harry Crane's office instead, or listened to the radio on Hildy's desk. I remember going "zuh?!" when that moment happened.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:04 am
and really, even IF Bert's office was still sacrosanct, what were the chances of Peggy getting caught on that day? And what were the chances that Don cared?
(God, I can't wait til Sunday. I think I'll be watching through my fingers, just like Don did after Oswald was shot.)
November 5th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Jane wasn't fired for tip-toeing into Burt's office. After all, she was hardly the only one. She was fired for insubordination. She was challenging Joan. Joan might have left the breakin infraction go and just chewed Jane out. But Jane started mouthing off.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:09 am
Although fired by Joan, Jane didn't actually lose her job because at the end of that day, Jane went to "say goodbye and thank you" to Roger carrying her box of personal items so Roger would have to ask her about it.
I say Jane was actually fired because everything about her was challenging Joan's Queen Bee status. When Joan went on a fishing expedition, Jane was just inexperienced enough to confirm Joan's suspicions, giving her the firing excuse she wanted.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:09 am
so much for, "Bert Cooper still has a say around here." as Don told Layne in the Art Director debate
November 5th, 2009 at 9:10 am
But yes, things have changed. Bert Cooper's office belongs to the Brits now …
November 5th, 2009 at 9:13 am
@ riverdaughter, great minds … LOL … Even though I love Joan, I had to sympathize with Jane at that moment.
Makes me think how different Peggy's and Jane's trajectories have been, even though each was about the same age and experience level when she started on Don's desk.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:20 am
firebird – yeah, I was really curious to see how that was going to work out for Don. Not too well, I think.
Oh, the times, they are a changin'!
November 5th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Jane was a new secretary when she instigated the B&E, but Peggy had been promoted to copywriter and earned her own office by the time she said that to Don, a man who is not known to kowtow to anyone. She didn't exactly ask permission, but she didn't sneak in — and by speaking to Don about it, even though he declined to accompany her, she had good "cover" if there was a challenge.
Watching a presidential funeral on TV is a lot more legitimate than sneaking a look at an expensive painting after the boss has gone.
But really, so much of office political behavior is just so darn SILLY and class-based.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Bert Cooper's office is no longer sacroscant and the series 3 finales are about changing orders/generations, etc. References to these themes and funerals by Bert presage his own passing/funeral/emptied office in the Season 3 finale Episode 13. Just be prepared to duck.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:48 am
Or be prepared FOR Duck?
November 5th, 2009 at 9:54 am
I agree that Jane was really fired because Joan was threatened by her. However it's true that the guys were all scared to enter Coopers office when he wasn't there. I think Bert has been losing his enigma since the British took over. Like in 3×1 where he comes to hide out in Don's office and drink Brandy.
November 5th, 2009 at 10:00 am
I have to say, I do expect the death of Bert Cooper, but I don't want it to happen because I enjoy Robert Morse and the character so much. The death of Bert Cooper would mean one less person able to hold anything over on Don re: the whole Dick Whitman thing.
November 5th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Deb–Yes, I noticed that, too. Yes, although Jane was ultimately fired for insubordination–and no, I didn't feel sorry for her, she was unforgvably bratty–the real issue is that there were sancrosanct boundaries between underlings and superiors circa 1962. Even "theough the boys joined her, it was with trepidation; they, (and, I'm sure Peggy), despite being higher on the office totem pole than Jane, were well aware there was a line that shouldn't be be crossed. In 1963, Peggy is still lower in rank and status, she still asks permission before she goes into Cooper's office, but the fact that she's even considered going in there shows just how much the paradigm is changing as a result of this cataclysmic event.
BTW, I'd say that Pete and Trudy's decision not to go to the wedding is symbolic in the same way, and it's interesting to map how their thinking changed over the course of that long, long weekend.
November 5th, 2009 at 10:14 am
Bert's office may no longer be sacrosanct, as an earlier poster mentioned, but visitors still take off their shoes before entering!
November 5th, 2009 at 10:25 am
They've been telegraphing disater this whole season. Remember when everyone was sure something was wrong with baby Eugene? Maybe the actual disater is the Kennedy assassination and nothing violent will happen at all at SC. Just another corporate takeover. Regular life goes on.
At least I hope so. I really hate the idea of Pete going postal or someone offing themselves. It would be too shocking for shock's sake for my taste.
November 5th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Oh god, Pete going postal — I can't see ANYTHING like that happening on this show. How would that fit in? It's just not that kind of show…at least I hope not anyway. It seems like life as they know it is eroding, falling apart in some cases, and I would expect to see more of that in the finale.
November 5th, 2009 at 10:42 am
Could Joan also have fired Jane because she wanted to get her away from Roger? I've always wondered if Joan knew exactly what Jane was up to and wanted to save Roger from himself. Joan had the discipline not to break up Roger's marriage, but she might have sensed that Roger was in a mood to find a new wife.
Interesting that Peggy didn't go into Harry Crane's office rather than Bert's. It must be closer and she certainly knew he had a TV.
November 5th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Well, ultimately, I think the difference is that Peggy is considered an "executive," and not a secretary. That gives her more leeway in terms of what she can and cannot do at the office. Plus, she asked first, and it was the middle of the night, when no one else was around. If Peggy didn't disturb anything, no one would really know. With Jane, on the other hand, she's much lower in the pecking order. As a secretary, she probably has to get the approval of her boss (Don) or Joan before she can do anything. Furthermore, she entered during the day — albeit the end of the work day, but people were still at the office, nonetheless. What if Coop was still lurking about? That's a serious breach of protocol. She didn't ask permission, and to make matters worse, she went in with a group of people. I think that's a big difference.
November 5th, 2009 at 11:06 am
BTW, I’d say that Pete and Trudy’s decision not to go to the wedding is symbolic in the same way
The perfect contrast to Pete & Trudy at the Derby Day party dancing a perfect Charleston to impress the older order. Now they refuse to even appear, Trudy is kicking off her dancing shoes and Pete is wearing a turtleneck.
November 5th, 2009 at 11:25 am
Joan fired Jane because Jane talked back to her and called her old: "What's wrong with you? … Are you the only one who's allowed to have fun around here? … Please, I don't need a mother. I'm 20 years old." Remember, Roger only hired Jane back after he found out it was Joan who did the firing. He initially thought it had been Don, and didn't look like he was going to reverse anything.
A question in my mind: Did Jane's affair with Roger start before or after The Gold Violin? My impression is, Jane got fired and went to Roger and initiated the affair to save her job. It looked like she had been trying to nab Don beforehand, and Roger kept making comments about that.
On the other hand, she might have gone to Roger because they already had a tryst. Either way, when Joan questioned Jane about talking to Mr. Sterling, Joan knew what had or was going to happen: Jane had replaced her as queen bee and in Roger's heart (he took Jane's side over Joan's).
We've never seen Peggy go into Cooper's office. Hope she remembered to take off her shoes. Actually, we haven't seen most of the chipmunks do it before the B & E. Only Pete went in to expose Don, and Harry to go over TV stuff.
November 5th, 2009 at 11:47 am
@madnesse #23, yes, that's how I remember it too.
@ Empress Rouge #24, Once Roger clarified that it was Joan, not Don, who fired Jane, I wonder if he "unfired" Jane just to get Joan's attention — a little post-rejection spite? I think Jane became Roger's rebound relationship only after Joan made it clear several times that she wasn't going to cheat on Greg with Roger.
I think Jane's bold move to say goodbye to him in order to create an opportunity to have the firing reversed really appealed to Roger — he saw a little bit of Joan's cleverness in that move. If he can't have Joan, he'll settle for the next best thing. So yes, I agree that part of Joan's almost instant dislike for Jane was an urge to protect Roger from this woman.
It would have galled me a bit to think that Roger never offered to divorce his wife for me, but he did that AND sold SC to the Brits just so he could marry Jane.
November 5th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Well, ultimately, I think the difference is that Peggy is considered an “executive,†and not a secretary. That gives her more leeway in terms of what she can and cannot do at the office.
Paul is exactly equal to Peggy in status (higher, since he's got a penis) and he was terrified to enter Cooper's office. If Don hadn't come in, Peggy would have gone.
It's true, Jane was fired for insubordination, but look at how things have changed!
November 5th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
While at Sterling Cooper Jane was childish but also very calculating. She was very much aware that a lot of the men at SC found her attractive, including Roger. She said goodbye to Roger so that he would know that she was being fired. Roger reinstated her not to get back at Joan, but because he found Jane attractive and he wanted to keep his options open.
I think Joan was a little jealous of Jane because she was getting a lot of male attention. Joan was threatened by that as she fancied herself as the resident "Office Bomb Shell".
November 5th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
I don’t think Peggy really even asked Don if she could watch in Cooper’s office. She basically informed him she was going to watch the funeral, and asked him if he wanted to join her. She wasn’t afraid to enter his office, even though the guys had been afraid earlier.
November 5th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
I think Peggy told Don she was planning to watch the funeral in Cooper's office and then she asked "is that ok?" and he nodded or said yes.
November 5th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
I agree that things have changed at SC, and that this is a sign of that, but this was also an unusual circumstance — much like Carla sitting on the couch and having a smoke. I think events might have brought down some of the walls that are normally up.
November 6th, 2009 at 4:19 am
There are times I imagine that Bert Coopers old business partner Mr. Sterling would have been played by Bob Denver!
Now where did that come from? lol
November 6th, 2009 at 4:57 am
Hmmmm… Somehow I don't see Bob Denver being the suave, handsome, rogue-ish man about town described by Roger.
November 6th, 2009 at 10:26 am
#28 Gingere–Yes, you're right, but just the mere fact that she even considered going there instead of elsewhere like Harry's office shows how much things have changed between 1960 and 1963.