Chiu 1

Savannah Chiu

Professor Granillo

English 103

12 November 2019

Finessing Feminism

In present-day society there are many different representations of women in television.

Many of these female characters are portrayed in ways that fictitiously demonstrate the struggle

of a woman’s plight as they are in reality. In the reality of women living in the era of the 1950’s

females were still marginalized by a patriarchal society. In the television series, ​The Marvelous

Mrs. Maisel​, the main character, Miriam Maisel, is a woman portrayed as a typical housewife of

the “ideal” nuclear family in the 1950’s. In the episode “All Alone”, there are significant

examples of a dominating patriarchy, materialist feminism, and social constructionism, that

Miriam Maisel faces. Although our society has progressed in the division of gender impartiality

since the 1950’s, there are still many concerns of gender inequality that are shown in the series

that mirror our present day society. Despite the growing awareness of feminist knowledge and

ideas, there are many instances of gender inequality that continuously marginalize women and

the feminist agenda that have been present since the 1950’s that can be seen in “All Alone” .

In the hit television series, the protagonist, Miriam “Midge” Maisel, can be described as a

character that blissfully lives in ignorance in the Upper West Side of 1950’s Manhattan. Living

in the Upper West Side, Miriam’s character enjoyed all the spoils a privileged Jewish family

offered. Her traditionally nuclear family followed the “norms and values” (Tyson 81) of a

patriarchal household - consisting of two children and her husband Joel Maisel. The family
 Chiu 2

followed traditional gender roles, meaning Joel was cast as “rational, strong, protective and

decisive” where contrastingly, the female characters followed as “emotional (irrational), weak,

nurturing, and submissive” (Tyson 81). All these characteristics reinforce the ideas of

patriarchal ideology, furthering the abdication to traditional gender roles. The characters in the

series similarly remained captive to the societal norms of the time and did not challenge the anti

feminist culture - except Midge. Over the course of her adult life Miriam filed for divorce from

her husband after discovering he had an affair. Post divorce, Midge was able to pursue her

dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian in a society where misogyny was the norm. By the end

of “All Alone” Midge was able to persevere enough to land a tour in Europe with fictional singer

Shy Baldwin. Although beginning a career in an industry that was predominantly male subjected

Miriam’s character to sexism, her character was able to challenge the societal norms.

Through the use of the feminist concept “materialist feminism”, the series was able to

portray Midge as a woman seeking a way out of the confines of the patriarchy. In the episode

“All Alone”, Miriam is faced with conflicting decisions. After acquiring her dream of being a

stand up comedian that can travel the world, Midge was faced with the decision between

marrying a potential new suitor and caring for her children, or be able to lead a celebrated

lifestyle typical of an independent male. The consideration alone is enough to illustrate Miriam

in a light that parallels materialist feminism. Defined as a “feminism that insists on examining

the material conditions under which social arrangements, including those of gender hierarchy,

develop … materialist feminism avoids seeing this [gender hierarchy] as the effect of a singular

… patriarchy and instead gauges the web of social and psychic relations that make up a material,

historical moment; … materialist feminism argues that material conditions of all sorts play a vital
 Chiu 3

role in the social production of gender and assays the different ways in which women collaborate

and participate in these productions” (Gimenez 20). According to materialist feminism, women

are not defined by their roles as caregivers to children and domestic homemakers. Although

these ideals are highly purported by the patriarchy, materialist feminists argue that a woman's

role is not defined by the gender hierarchy but instead by the societal values imposed on them -

normally in accordance with gender roles. In the 1950’s the societal values that defined gender,

assigned women to that of oppression via the patriarchy. Miriam defied the “social production”

of gender by making her newfound talent a priority. She chose to not participate in her societies’

definition of gender by rejecting her marriage to a male and focusing her efforts on a career

rather than her own children. Miriam proved her role in society was not defined by motherhood

or wifely duties. In this instance Miriam undermined patriarchal ideology, therefore promoting

her character as an individual by way of materialist feminism. Midge was able to continuously

resist the strains of the patriarchy.

Miriam’s character defied the patriarchy in many ways including her ability to seek

guidance from another woman. When faced with a difficult situation or requiring assistance,

Miriam did not turn to her male counterparts as would a woman who follows traditional gender

roles would. Instead Miriam relied on her comedy manager and friend Susie Myerson. In the

episode “All Alone” Miriam was able to secure a spot on a comedy tour of Europe, because of

her manager Susie Myerson. In a culture that made women dependent on the money and

attention of men, Miriam was able to be successful without either. According to Simone De

Beauvoir, women “ lack a concrete means for organizing themselves into a unit. ... They have no

[collective recorded] past … no religion of their own. … They live dispersed among the males,
 Chiu 4

attached through residence, housework, economic condition, and social standing to certain men -

fathers or husbands - more firmly than they are to other women” (De Beauvoir 11). Traditionally

women have more of an allegiance to men than women, even if these women are in the same

class, race, or religion. It was the custom for women to look for guidance in the male figure as

women traditionally viewed themselves in relation to men and not as separate entities. In the

series, Miriam is able to defy patriarchal ideologies by uniting with a fellow female from a

different social class. Miriam’s friendship with Susie is very homosocial and promotes the idea

that women can be friends with one another, without the interruption of man. THe relationship

between Susie and Midge is a direct contrast to the patriarchy. In “All Alone” Miriam depends

on the support and consultation of Susie to make a large life decision. A typical woman of the

1950’s would rely on her husband for any economical, political, or psychological support -

furthering their oppression and playing to patriarchal gender roles - but Miriam relies on the

support of another woman. This friendship directly contrasts the patriarchy furthering Miriam as

a character independent of male influence.

Although Miriam was an outlier in her feminist conquests she was still subjected to

patriarchal ideologies. When remembering her initial courtship and marriage to Joel, Miriam is

depicted as a woman that was still uncomfortable with the idea of marriage. When Miriam was

asked for her hand in marriage, she had difficulty with agreeing to the proposal “Uh. I have to

think about it. Pay the bill first?” (“All Alone” 00:04:17-00:04:37). When thinking of being tied

down to a singular male and adopting her new role as a married woman in a patriarchal society,

Miriam was hesitant to agree. Upon returning to Miriam’s current post divorced life there was a

sense of self and pride in the individuality she had found as a woman. Many of the women in
 Chiu 5

Miriam's life would not have been able to cope with a divorce and assuming the patriarchal

gender roles, the women in the series would have contrastingly stayed with their husbands

instead of divorcing. It is assumed that the women were not capable of independence from men

because “women are trying to escape their own freedom to fulfill their own potential in the

world, a freedom that they often try to avoid because it is frightening: it demands personal

responsibility while offering no guarantee of success or even well-being” (Tyson 92). When

faced with the difficulty of a divorce, Miriam persistently made economic and societal choices

independent of the influence from the men in her life. In realizing her own subjugation via

marriage, Miriam was able to escape the confines of traditional gender roles. When attempting to

fulfill her own potential freedom Miriam succeeded. In this fictional representation of 1950’s

society, Miriam may have felt successful, but was still defined by her incongruent behavior.

Throughout the episode Miriam is characterized as a woman who behaves wildly outside

the boundaries of the traditional gender roles. As a comedian, Miriam focused a lot of her

material on the idea that she had the same feelings and desires as men. Unfortunately this did not

resonate with the men who resigned to toxic masculinity. It was out of character for a woman to

be so rash and bold, yet Miriam continually defied the patriarchy. Miriam’s character did not

identify with such minimal and one sided traits assigned to women - accordingly her character

felt equally inclined to perform as the men did. Since Miriam did not fit the traditional gender

norms, much of the antiquated male comedian characters subjected her to sexist comments and

behaviors. Miriam's perseverance can be categorized as an example of a “bad girl” implying that

“if a woman does not accept her patriarchal gender role, then the only role left for her is that of a

monster” (Tyson 85). Miriam Maisel could not identify with the traditional gender roles assigned
 Chiu 6

to her and consequently alienated herself from many of her family members, including Joel. In

many cases Joel saw Miriam as a selfish for choosing a European tour and could not agree with

her career choice. It can be assumed Joel preferred Miriam when she was a quiet housewife and

domestic servant. As a strong individual character Miriam was able to equate many of the

feminist ideals to personal growth and did not feel compelled to resume the assigned the gender

roles.

The show directs its attention to how life in the 1950’s was oppressive to women and

through uses of feminist ideas displayed how unfair life was for a woman when she demanded

equal treatment. By sympathizing with Miriam’s plight to be recognized as an equal we - as a

progressive society - can learn how to adapt feminist ideals and apply them to our culture for

equal opportunity benefiting all genders. Although society has progressively worked toward

gender equality, there are still many instances where anti feminist notions are present. Miriam

was a feminist anomaly during her time as a working mother, but in present day society, “as

more and more American wives take jobs outside the home, while they still perform the lion’s

share of domestic labor and child rearing tasks, Delphy’s analysis seems especially relevant to

the lives of American women today” (Tyson 94). Women continue to be subjected to child

rearing and domestic services in congruity to working a full time job. The idea that women bear

the majority of this work contrasts the idea of materialist feminism where women are capable of

productive materialism that is not imposed by society. Despite the progression of feminist ideas,

many of the issues Miriam’s character faced can be mirrored in present day American culture

and is sustained in archaic American values.

 Chiu 7

As society advances, television shows that depict powerful female characters can serve as

examples of the type of woman the nation should aspire to have in society. These gender

sterotypes and anti feminist notions benefit as historical indicators that we can learn from in

modern society. For Miriam, she wanted to be recognized as an equal in the field of comedy,

however, in reality women should be treated with equal rights in all aspects of humanity -

societally, economically, politically etc. As Miriam attempted to create a role for herself in

comedy, she also challenged the societal norms. In the end, Miriam benefitted both genders

because she showed that women were capable of working with equal skill and talent as men in

this comedy culture. If viewers could take certain feminist aspects from the show and apply it to

all subcultures - not just comedy - society would benefit by having gender equality and impartial

opportunities for all genders and sexualities.

 Chiu 8

Works Cited

“All Alone .” ​The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ​, season 2, episode 10, Amazon Prime Video , 5 Dec.

2018.

De Beauvoir, Simone. “Introduction.” ​The Second Sex​. Rpt. in French Feminism Reader. Ed.

Kelly Oliver. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2000. 6-20.

Gimenez, Martha E. “What’s Material about Materialist Feminism? A Marxist-Feminist

Critique.” ​Marx, Women, and Capitalist Social Reproduction​, 4 June 2018,

doi:10.1163/9789004291560_007. 18-28.

Tyson, Lois. “Feminist Criticism .” ​Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide,​ 3rd ed.,

Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2015, pp. 79–128.