{"id":3765,"date":"2016-07-18T15:16:47","date_gmt":"2016-07-18T09:46:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3765"},"modified":"2016-07-18T15:16:47","modified_gmt":"2016-07-18T09:46:47","slug":"what-makes-mrs-maisel-marvellous-is-her-pursuit-of-perfection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=3765","title":{"rendered":"What Makes Mrs Maisel Marvellous is Her Pursuit of Perfection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\u00a0\n

A<\/span>fter a tremendous first season that swept up two <\/p>Golden Globes<\/span><\/a>, five Emmys, and a Peabody, <\/span>The Marvelous Mrs Maisel<\/span><\/i> returns with its second season today on Amazon Prime. And safe to say that the show, which follows Miriam \u201cMidge\u201d Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan), a wealthy Jewish housewife discovering stand-up comedy in the late 1950s, is one of the most anticipated TV events of the year.<\/span>\n\nCreated by <\/span>Gilmore Girls\u2019<\/span><\/i> showrunner, Amy Sherman-Palladino, season one of <\/span>The Marvelous Mrs Maisel<\/span><\/i> saw Midge\u2019s charmed life crumble after her husband leaves her to continue an <\/span>affair<\/span><\/a> with his secretary. As her promised future is snatched away, Midge channels her pain and anger into the male-dominated world of stand-up comedy, stumbling upon her hidden talent of turning her misfortunes into fodder for jokes. <\/span>\n\nInitially, Midge doesn\u2019t seem to fit the bill of a brassy, no-fucks-to-give female <\/span>comedian<\/span><\/a> in 1958. Sure, she\u2019s whip-smart and communicates in snarky one-liners, but her identity is dominated and defined by her pathological perfectionism. She takes her measurements every single day to keep tabs on her <\/span>slim figure<\/span><\/a>; cooks up delicious briskets as bribes to get her husband back \u2013 an uninspired stand-up aspirant \u2013 into comedy clubs; secretly removes her makeup at night only to wake up early to put it back on so that her husband never sees her without it. <\/span>\n\nFor Midge, the illusion of her <\/span>perfection<\/span><\/a> assumes sole priority, which can\u2019t ever be shattered. It\u2019s also why it feels so invigorating to see her bare her soul in front of an audience.<\/span>\n

Sure, she\u2019s whip-smart and communicates in snarky one-liners, but her identity is dominated and defined by her pathological perfectionism.<\/blockquote>\nAfter all, Midge is <\/span>that<\/span><\/i> woman who seems to have it all until she loses it all \u2013 a familiar trope in vintage-era shows. There\u2019s \u201980s actress Debbie in <\/span>GLOW<\/span><\/i>, who is constantly walking a tightrope between expectations of her <\/span>femininity<\/span><\/a>, being a single mom with a cheating husband, and her job that involves beating up other women in televised brawls. Then there\u2019s <\/span>Mad Men<\/span><\/i>\u2019s Betty Draper, a gorgeous housewife and a former model who is often compared to Grace Kelly. She\u2019s also a Bryn Mawr graduate who speaks fluent Italian. But here\u2019s the surprise: Like Midge and Debbie, she has to deal with an unfaithful husband and a <\/span>marriage<\/span><\/a> that traps her as well.<\/span>\n\nEssentially, Betty and Debbie\u2019s character arcs \u2013 just like that of numerous female leads whose romanticised perfectionism is code for their ability to \u201chave it all\u201d \u2013 follow a similar pattern. For instance, the pressure of always having it together is oppressive for the chain-smoking, perennially unfulfilled Betty while Debbie grows increasingly erratic as she takes refuge in <\/span>drinking<\/span><\/a>. But in both cases, their perfectionism is hardly allowed to be their exclusive trait. Instead, these shows betray their individuality by letting the female leads have zero control over their perfection. Both Betty and Debbie are made to watch their lives fall apart thanks to the men who aren\u2019t mandated to meet any such standards. <\/span>\n\nThe perfection of the female lead then, exists in films and shows only until the male leads allow them to have it. And this is where <\/span>The Marvellous Mrs Maisel<\/span><\/i> strays from the trope. Midge isn\u2019t bogged down by the weight of her perfection, because the show takes great care in depicting it as a part of her identity and not a temporary product of her <\/span>circumstances<\/span><\/a>. When her husband leaves her, a drunk and outraged Midge winds up at the same comedy club where he bombed to collect the brisket dish she cooked for him. She ends up ranting on stage about her husband\u2019s infidelity, admits that he never quite deserved her. And proving it when, completely by accident, her \u201cact\u201d is met with the raucous laughter that Joel failed to garner. <\/span>\n\nEven in a trying time when she loses it all, Midge isn\u2019t reduced to a <\/span>victim <\/span><\/a>\u2013 in fact it\u2019s implied that she doesn\u2019t need to have it all to be perfect.<\/span>\n
Unlike the female leads we\u2019re used to seeing on screen, Midge\u2019s perfection is neither performative not does it exist for someone else.<\/blockquote>\nIn a way, Midge is insufferable, because no matter how much of a loser her husband is, how offensive his mistress is, how regressive her <\/span>parents<\/span><\/a> are, or how sexist society is, she still has everything going for her. After her act, Midge instantly gets a manager and is mentored by comedy great Lenny Bruce and remains a rich, fashionable Upper West Side girl who perpetually oozes wit and charm. Mostly because the show lets her own her perfection, gifting a female lead, the rare luxury of <\/span>discovering herself<\/span><\/a>. Essentially, the upheaval in her life doesn\u2019t define her or her sense of worth. Instead, she dusts herself off, finds a department store job, and successfully pursues stand-up.<\/span>\n\nAnd that\u2019s because Midge\u2019s Mary Sue tendencies are tempered by the show\u2019s wholehearted embrace of that perfectionism. Unlike the female leads we\u2019re used to seeing on screen, Midge\u2019s perfection is neither performative not does it exist for someone else. It\u2019s an <\/span>empowering<\/span><\/a> narrative shift that\u2019s been a long time coming. Maybe season two will throw her unshakeable perfectionism a worthy challenge. That, will indeed be marvellous. <\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Marvellous Mrs Maisel, which drops its second season today, is one of the most anticipated TV events of the year. The show subverts the conventional trope of \u201cthe perfect female lead\u201d by having a heroine whose perfectionism isn\u2019t a temporary product of her circumstances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":208,"featured_media":3766,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[3698,7071,7072,720,7073,7074,3713,5858,944,7075,7076,7077,7078,7079,2963,6223,7080],"class_list":["post-3765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop-culture","tag-amazon-prime","tag-character-arc","tag-comedian","tag-emmys","tag-empowerment","tag-feminity","tag-golden-globes","tag-housewife","tag-husband","tag-mistress","tag-rachel-brosnahan","tag-self-discovery","tag-storyline","tag-the-marvelous-mrs-maisel","tag-tv-show","tag-victim","tag-vintage"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Makes Mrs Maisel Marvellous is Her Pursuit of Perfection<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Marvellous Mrs Maisel, which drops its second season today, is one of the most anticipated TV events of the year. 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The show subverts the conventional trope of \u201cthe perfect female lead\u201d by having a heroine whose perfectionism isn\u2019t a temporary product of her circumstances.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3765\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arr\u00e9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-07-18T09:46:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1544011870.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1520\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"850\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kahini Iyer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"What Makes Mrs Maisel Marvellous is Her Pursuit of Perfection\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"The Marvellous Mrs Maisel, which drops its second season today, is one of the most anticipated TV events of the year. 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