Mad Men Season 1, Episode 1, Analysis of Love

Introduction

There are many reasons why people fall in love. In the current society, marriage and divorce are almost simultaneous verbs in our dictionary. The higher the number of marriages, the higher the number of divorces experienced in modern society. This is because the reasons people fall in love and marry are different now than during our fore fathers times.

Prosaic love

Most people grow up with the illusion that love is portrayed in thins such as young love and romance. However as we grow up we realizes a more prosaic and realistic side of love. Even though humans end up participating in love, there are choices made voluntarily that end up affecting the outcome of this love. These choices are made based on the morality of an individual. In the end, the kind of love that is in the relationship will be influenced by the discipline of the individual, their utilitarian side, and their ability to attune themselves.

Eros Love

Based on the episode one of the TV series Mad Men, different kinds of love and reasons for that love are depicted this program. These types of love and subsequent marriages are because of different factors that result in that kind of love in the first place. However, the most prominent kind of love in this episode is the Eros kind of love. This love is mainly characterized by strong physical lust. This kind of love is usually involves self-satisfaction of the individual sexual needs by their partner, and can be termed as utilitarian kind of love. Most of the people in this relationship go into it for the sex and usually do not demand anything else after they achieve satisfaction.

At the beginning of the episode, we learn that Don Draper, due to frustrations at his place of work has gone to visit a carefree artist whom we learn is his mistress. Midge is clearly aware of her role as a mistress and her only aim is to help him escape from his problems through sex even if it is for a limited amount of time. She also knows that she is the temporary solution to Dons problems and that come morning he will go back to his normal life that excludes her.

This is also the situation at the office, where an older secretary, Joan Holloway explains to the new secretary, Peggy Olson that part of her duty will to provide sexual favors to her superior bosses. This seems to be the order of business at the mad men office place and all the other secretaries see no issue with the current status quo. The new secretary takes this to heart and is seen visiting a gynecologist who prescribes contraceptives for her. Peggy soon takes up their advice towards the end of the episode for she ends up having sex with Pete Campbell. This means that all the secretaries are aware that at one point they will be needed to provide sexual fulfillment to their bosses. This is the norm at the place of work and nobody dares question it. The men also know that that is the role of the secretaries, this is why the moment Peggy arrives, Ken Cosgrove wastes no time on hitting on her.

Pragma Love

The other kind of love seen in the episode is the pragma kind of love. Derived from the word pragmatic, this love is the practical kind of love. It involves one or both of the partners in the relationship entering the relationship with a goal in mind that will end up benefitting that individual in the relationship. There are several circumstances where this kind of love is illustrated.

While Joan Holloway shows the new secretary around the office, she confides in her how to survive in the new work place. She tell the secretary that she knows how to please her bosses in bed and that doing so will help accomplish her long time goal which is to marry an ‘ad man’. If she is able to accomplish that particular goal the she will no longer have to work and can be a full time homemaker. The main goal of this secretary to land a rich husband who will provide for her so that she does not have to work which will be achieved by sleeping with her bosses.

Pete Campbell on the other hand is supposed to make the dream of a luck girl come true by marrying her. The particular girl seems to be a happy bride, however, Pete and his fellow male colleagues are aware that he is marring this particular girl because she is from a rich family. His friends keep on rubbing this fact in his face. The fact that he is engaged, to be married does not stop Pete from pursuing other women. In fact, at his bachelor party, he shamelessly makes a move at a woman who sits next to him. He later ends up having sex with Peggy after the woman refuses his advances. This illustrates that Pete is going into his marriage strictly, so that he can gain money, power, and prestige.

Comments

There are many definitions of love depending on ones point of view. My definition of love is a combination of many things that come together to form one beautiful emotion. Deferent people enter into love relationships for different reasons. While some would go into a relationship looking for companionship, others would go for the sex and others for fame or money. There is a long list of reasons as to why people enter relationships. It is every individual’s hope that they end up with the mythical kind of love. Some are lucky enough to experience this kind of love, the greater majority are however not lucky enough and end up in prosaic love. For the individuals that end up in this kind of love, I believe that a good relationship would be one that involves a cocktail combination of Eros, Philia and Agape love.

A combination of the three would mean that not only do people share unconditional love that bonds the two of them but also that there is an attraction between them. In the episode, the Eros kind of love depicts in a different way where the different characters are after their own sexual satisfaction. This kind love is driven by the selfish desires of one individual who does not want to share their sexual needs with their partner. In the episode, we learn that Don is sleeping with a mistress despite the fact that he has a wife and children at home. This means that he had a strong sexual attraction to another woman who was not his wife and did not have the discipline to resist it.

Eros love often stems from physical attraction. How an individual handles this attraction is what may lead to a happy of sad relationship. If one attunes him or herself and is disciplined enough, they can be able to enjoy this kind of love at its fullest.

Agape love is the kind of love that is unconditional. This kind of love often overlooks the mistakes made by ones partner and their shortcomings. Human beings are often prone to make mistakes; this kind of love puts this into consideration and is often forgiving. More often, this kind of love is not easy to achieve. Towards the end of the episode, Rachael talks to don and confesses that she knows for a fact that her husband is cheating and question herself whether she should poison him.

The final kind of love is Philia kind of love. This love is not seen in the episode. If anything, the opposite of this is illustrated. There is no friendly relationship between Dom and his mistress. Both parties are aware that the relationship exists solely for the purpose of sexual satisfaction. The same applies in Pete’s case where he is marrying his fiancé for her money.

A combination of these three types of love, with the right morals, might not replace mythical love. However, given the great numbers of failed marriages in our society, will result in healthy and meaningful love relationships.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Oord, T. J. (2008). The altruism reader: Selections from writings on love, religion, and science. West Conshohoken, Pa: Templeton Foundation Press.

Oord, T. J. (2010). Defining love: A philosophical, scientific, and theological engagement. Grand Rapids, Mich: Brazos Press.

Sternberg, R. J. (2006). The new psychology of love. New Haven, Conn. [u.a.: Yale Univ. Press.  

Stets, J. E., & Turner, J. H. (2007). Handbook of the sociology of emotions. New York, NY: Springer.