Divorce? Shh!

Infidelity is one of the most central themes in Mad Men. From the very first episode, viewers keep getting a shock after another when it comes to Don Draper, who in the first four seasons was married to Betty, and had two children. Don’s numerous endeavors with different women reveal the dark nature of men and their different needs from women. Throughout the show, Don sleeps with more than 10 women, most of whom he met while he was married.

This, however, did not seem to bother Betty – well, not at the beginning at least – as she tried so hard to maintain her image as the perfect wife and the perfect mother. When Betty and a female friend of hers found out that a divorced woman was moving into the neighborhood, they were mortified. They almost couldn't say the word “divorce” out loud, as it was looked down upon. Most of the women in the show, as referenced from the 60’s, feared the idea of divorce. They endured horrible marriages, unhappy relationships, and dominated lives instead of freeing themselves from something that was clearly not working out.

Today, studies show that women tend to initiate two-thirds of divorces in America. This is a big shift to how women handle marital problems. Women admit that the main reasons for filing for divorce are emotional neglect, verbal abuse, and infidelity. Click here for a great article presenting examples from real women about why they asked for divorce.

To get a more in depth look at this I spoke with Pamela White, a successful Radio broadcaster with 2 children. Pamela talked to me about her view on divorce “the woman now has become more independent intellectually and financially, therefore she has a better chance at leading a life without having to depend on a husband.” Pamela has also gone through a rough divorce in the recent years. When asked whether her divorce was an obstacle or liberation; Pamela shared “For me, divorce created one problem. I didn’t want my kids to grow up without a father.  But it was a liberation because for the first time, I could do more with my life without negativity and frustration.”

Women today have the choice of getting out of a bad marriage. They have the choice of choosing a good life for themselves, and that is probably one of the main changes that we can see compared to women of the 60’s, who unfortunately believed they were stuck forever.