This came to us months and months ago, within a few weeks of the airing of Seven Twenty-Three. I think it’s ripe for discussion:
Hello Lipp Sisters,I have a question about your thoughts on “Seven Twenty-Three.” I was confused by Don’s fear and reluctance of entering into a three-year contract with Sterling Cooper. It seems strange to me because he clearly entered into a marriage contract 9-10 years prior to that. Do you think there was something about a work contract that was more terrifying to Don than the idea of getting married? It seems incongruous Don would reject the idea of a work contract but, as evidenced by his conversation with Anna Draper about how excited he was to get married to Betty, would enter into a marriage without the same fear. Do think that it has something to do with Don knowing that a women will never own him, or that at the end of the day, he could run from a woman? Perhaps it is because he is more desperate than ever to keep his options open and he didn’t feel that way when he married Betty.
Anyway, I’ve been discussing this with my best friend and decided it would be best to take this up with you.
Thank you and love the blog,
Carla
My answer? The first control Dick Whitman ever took in his whole life was to run away–to join the army. And then the next time he ran away, (switching dog tags), though it wasn’t a conscious “taking control”, it did resonate that way inside him. So regardless of the fact that this new impostor life was fraught with anxieties, there was a freedom and also a pride–I did this. I didn’t like it the other way, so I changed it. The reality is that he was not in control either time, but it was merely the act of running away that held a strength for Dick. Take this job and shove it, y’now?
And from then on in it was no contract, please.
When Don married Betty, he didn’t view the contract as something that held a threat. He really believed that Betty was his savior–remember, he was on a good luck streak. Anna Draper was his first savior. So this marriage was a good thing.
However, let’s say there was a part of Don that was doubting this whole thing. Or maybe Don had other women even by the time they got married. The truth is, Don didn’t see a marriage contract as so hard to break. A job you quit, but a marriage? You literally run away from. You get on a plane to Mexico, and you don’t leave any forwarding information.
That’s my answer. And yours?
17 Responses to “Viewer Mail”
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When Dick Whitman went to war and came home as Don Draper, he really did become a different person. Unlike Dick, Don doesn't let anyone push him around.
In his mind, the contract gives the company control over him. He explained to Betty that having no contract gives him all the power. The power to do whatever he wants is what he wants, even if it means forgoing the generous contract and signing on fee.
Ultimately, after being pressured by Bertram Cooper about his secret past, it was Dick Whitman who was forced to sign the contract.
This is a great post, I'd have never gone in this direction. I'm not sure Don or Dick has ever taken the "contract" part of marriage seriously, so it never aroused feelings of threat. But honestly, Roberta, I like your ideas better.
Hi, Lipp sisters,
Great blog! I couldn't figure out how to email you about this, but I saw something I didn't remember seeing discussed elsewhere on the blog and wanted to get your thoughts on it.
I was reading this interview of Vincent Kartheiser and found something shocking: http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:wvOaAVGenbkJ:…
t’s a little funny.… But then Pete couldn’t adopt his own bastard child from Peggy! There’s a strong theme in Mad Men about families and nonattachment.
Yeah, I think there were a lot of things in the first season about attachment. Pete gets married in the first season, and there’s this feeling that he’s going to be attached to someone, and then I’m reaching for attachment from [Peggy Olson, played by] Elisabeth Moss. And the second season is a lot about our parents and our children: Peggy being estranged from her child and letting the family raise him.
The last sentence–"Peggy being estranged from her child and letting the family raise him"–does this mean that the child Peggy's sister is raising is actually Peggy's? I know we all debated that, but generally decided with her sister having been pregnant at the same time, that this was unlikely. But maybe Peggy's sister lost her baby and took Peggy's instead?
Anyway, I apologize if this has already been covered and I missed it.
Great insights all! Just adding to the pile – As we saw from both of Betty's consultations with lawyers, Don held all the cards if he wanted to break his marriage contract with Betty. Breaking a contract with an employer, though, would have serious practical consequences, which is what Duck was counting on during the sale to PPL.
As we saw from both of Betty’s consultations with lawyers, Don held all the cards if he wanted to break his marriage contract with Betty.
From a legal standpoint, you're right. Don held all of the cards . . . save one. Betty knows his secret. And she could easily hire an investigator to find if anyone who had served with Dick Whitman in the Army was still alive.
Why would Poor Betty go to all that trouble? Once she convinced Don she really wanted a divorce, he let her go. Besides, she would only have used the evidence as blackmail. Leavenworth inmates can't pay much alimony or child support.
Next season, we'll learn whether she really followed her new sweetie's bidding & refused any money from Don. Even Poor Betty couldn't be that dense!
Luckily, the season will also offer some interesting story lines.
It's easy for Don to cheat on his wife, increasingly easy. That's his safety valve.
But how could he possibly cheat on an advertising agency: spend the night in bed with Doyle, Dane, Bernbach?
Whip up a Volkswagen ad at 3 am?
Nope: with that contract he's truly trapped, and there's no fucking another agency on the side.
Betty knows his secret. And she could easily hire an investigator to find if anyone who had served with Dick Whitman in the Army was still alive.
Well, Betty knows his secret NOW, but she didn't on 7/23.
But regardless, I'm curious to know whether Betty really COULD have hired an investigator without Don knowing about it. I got the feeling that Don controlled all the finances in the marriage, like many men did in 1963. How would Betty have paid for an investigator without him knowing? Even assuming that for the period when she threw Don out of the house in S2 and she took control of things, I always sort of imagined it went back to status quo ante once he came back. I recall the conversation they had when she was testing him about the cash in the drawer – "Betts, you have $200 in your account, just go to the bank" — implying that he gives her an allowance, and keeps track of these things.
Do you think Betty ever felt she could spend money without Don finding out about it?
Don also needed a woman like Betty for image reasons, I believe he loved the idea of Betty (Grace Kelly looks, good Main Line family, college educated) rather than the actual person. He needed her to move forward professionally.
I'm sure it didn't take long for him to cheat on her, it was suggested that Midge had been around awhile when season 1 started. And we know Betty was aware of it before Francine put it in her head.
#9, agreed it didn't take long, but we've never actually seen the moment or the woman. There were enough women, though, that word had reached Bobbie Barrett, a stranger from a world only tangentially connected to Don's.
The key word here is "contract." While there were marriage contracts in the Jewish faith for centuries, and while they were a tradition among the wealthy families of Europe, there were very few pre-nups in the United States back in the early 1960s. Don most likely would have refused to sign one. But if it were modern times, and the Drapers had one, he might be less inclined to cheat if he knew it would cost him.
@#7 freelance woman, you are funny! I love it.
@8 gypsy, I agree about the money. I also wonder, given the difficulties Betty's had with the professional men she's gone to in the capacity as a client (the shrink, the family lawyer) they all dismissed and pooh-poohed her and patted her on the head like a silly little girl. The one time she was even slightly taken seriously was when she was with Henry at the lawyers and even then he did most of the talking. Given the ease with which women were dismissed it seems like she might have even had a difficult time finding a PI who would even touch a case like that. It sounds so wild, even though we know it is true. I wonder if even in more "normal" investigations, if it was easier for men to hire a PI to investigate adultery than females.
I also wonder how seriously the DoD would take such an accusation mostly based on what third-parties might say. Even if they did find old friends or distant relatives of Don Draper other than Anna, I wonder how much their statements would hold water, especially with her in Don's pocket. It would make DoD look pretty silly though and they might want to bury it. I suppose if they did had dental records and were truly inclined to really look into it and maybe if someone with Henry's political connections asked them to look into it, they might but it seems like one of those things that would be filed under "T" for too much trouble and trash. Now maybe if Betty and Pete started talking and he provided whatever his friend dug up, or if Henry has a contact like Pete did that could also get the ball rolling. Then again even if they used that evidence, and decided to try to convict Don if the story made them look bad they might go after Pete's friend b/c you are only supposed to access such information on a need to know basis, not b/c your friend is curious about their boss' service record and you certainly don't release such information to people who aren't even remotely connected to the government, with no security clearance and really have no need to know. Just idle speculation though, it might make for an intersting story line but then it would take things wayyyy far from the premise of Madison Avenue ad execs.
@4-Peggy's baby was put up for adoption. The baby is Peggy's sisters. The idea that the baby in that scene is Peggy's is a rumor that refuses to die.
It's easier to cheat on a woman than on a job. You can have affairs, and if you're careful, avoid getting caught, but the ad game is a small world.
@12 I am aware that the story we all believed was that Peggy put her baby up for adoption. However, this was the actor who plays Pete saying in an interview, â€Peggy being estranged from her child and letting the family raise him.†This made me wonder if we were wrong about that.
Lisa, the writers on this show don't tell the actors much of anything. Most of the time, they are guessing just as we are.
Don didn’t see a marriage contract as so hard to break. A job you quit, but a marriage? You literally run away from. You get on a plane to Mexico, and you don’t leave any forwarding information.
Which he basically tried to do with Rachel, so perhaps it was always percolating in his mind. I also think that Don was not fully "Don" when he married Betty – he was still perfecting his persona. He knew Anna could have destroyed his whole world, and there would still be a chance his ruse would be uncovered. Marrying a rich girl like Betty, who would have a hard time breaking her marriage contract even with proof of his fraud, might have also seemed like a good fallback. Had he been found out, her family might be concerned enough about their name to cover it up.
By the time we get to Seven Twenty Three, though, Don is fully his persona, and knows he's pretty much set in it. Knowing he can succeed on his own is only going to make him less likely to want the SC contract.
Don's life centered on power, the power to act as he deems fit.
Contractual restrictions on future employment are likely only a secondary concern for Draper. Several times, he has stated ambivalence about remaining in advertising, and Sterling expressed his doubts about Don's commitment. As a practical matter, he has turned his back on his marriage commitment, his service committment, his brother, his children and multiple lovers. Don leaves when it suites his purpose, he would likley depart SC, legal contract notwithstanding.
The constraint Don fears is his latitude to operate in the SC context. Absent the threat of flight, the senior partners would be more demanding, and less tolerant of his behavior. Don's ability to flee would remain, but his operating environment would be more constrictive prior to any sudden departure.
Retrogirl: Did you read the interview in the link provided by Lisa? Vincent K. states that Peggy lets the family raise him.
Is it possible that Vincent is mistaken and doesn't know that plot line? Possibly, because a whole lot of other people who follow the story very closely certainly are.