batmanplaybaseball
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2009
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In Defense of Margaret Schroeder
by B.P. Baseball
I came up with this idea in the shower, so I'm not quite sure that it will float.
I would like to start by saying that I would take Margaret Schroeder over Skyler White on any airwave, at any hour. I forget who said it in the Breaking Bad thread, but they were quite to the point with the statement that Vince Gilligan must have some serious issues with the women in his life. Every female character on that show is vapid and one-dimensional. His attempt at adding character depth to Marie by making her a kleptomaniac was ham fisted, pointless and absurd so much that it has become a continuous source of mockery for fans of the show.
That is that, however, and Boardwalk Empire is what is what, so here is what. Margaret Schroeder-Thompson is the female protagonist of a television show that is set during a highly patriarchal era of modern America. If I remember correctly, it took about half of Season One just for women to gain the right to vote. It is difficult to write strong female characters into a society that revolves almost entirely around the male dominated arenas of commerce, politics and gangsters.
To use Saudi Arabia as an example, it does not behoove a people to completely marginalize half of the human population as an afterthought. With that in mind, I think that the show's creators have done a fantastic job of usurping those circumstances. Gillian Darmody, Billie Kent and Angela were all fantastic characters with divergent and unique storylines and personalities. Unfortunately for the creators, two thirds of those characters are dead.
This brings us to the point of this long winded ordeal, Margaret Schroeder. Margaret started out the series as a representative of what you might call, the impoverished intellectual. She was clever and intelligent while at the same time entirely constrained by her situation of poverty and an inescapable abusive relationship. She was made interesting through the device that economic status does not correlate with your mental or social prowess. She could read Henry James novels in a hospital ward, and banter down a United States Senator, all while living under the unbearable weight of circumstance.
The first season basically followed this storyline as she moved her way up the socioeconomic world of Atlantic City, primarily through her unique relationship with Nucky Thompson. She was shrewd and morally ambiguous. She would just the same steal an emerald negligee as she would find genuine moral grief in the situation that she found herself becoming increasingly entangled.
It was this moral grief that, for the most part, defined her in the second season and basically ruined her character for most people. Her ascent to the role of pious queen made her little more than another entertainment cliche. The virtuous female figure that stands alongside while the Boys Club plays with the fun stuff is about as stereotypical as Morgan Freeman's voice consoling a conflicted white man through the main story that people actual are paying to care about.
Now understand, as I said before, this was a significantly patriarchal world, and the role for a female character inside of it is limited to the point of impotence. Where the writers of the show misstepped was by giving her far too much screen time with far too little substance. As a result, Margaret would spend the majority of Season Two as a contrived and patronizing beacon of morality. It was annoying on several levels and yet it was still used persistently. This persistence to annoy the audience without any effort to the contrary would be the breaking point for many people when considering the likability of her role within the show.
So that brings us finally to Season Three, where the bitterness that had developed during the second season was left to stick around, even though several issues had been resolved. I thought that her character was used poignantly to show the issues facing women within American society of the 1920s. From healthcare and abortion to relentless misogyny on all accords, she was utilized effectively to show the world of womanhood during a period of time that represented a significant turning point for these issues, while never allowing itself as a society to acknowledge them openly as even existing.
That finally is why I spent time to write in defense of Margaret Schroeder. Her character may have been misused at times and overdone in others, but generally speaking she has been a solid voice to illustrate the feminine demographic with a degree of normalcy that is consistently difficult to pull off in the presence of a phenomenal cast of vibrant and storied personalities and characters.
I personally think that her role in the series has significantly greater potential now that she has been dethroned and must once again rely entirely on her wits to face her situation. I am interested to see where they take her character into Season Four.
by B.P. Baseball
I came up with this idea in the shower, so I'm not quite sure that it will float.
I would like to start by saying that I would take Margaret Schroeder over Skyler White on any airwave, at any hour. I forget who said it in the Breaking Bad thread, but they were quite to the point with the statement that Vince Gilligan must have some serious issues with the women in his life. Every female character on that show is vapid and one-dimensional. His attempt at adding character depth to Marie by making her a kleptomaniac was ham fisted, pointless and absurd so much that it has become a continuous source of mockery for fans of the show.
That is that, however, and Boardwalk Empire is what is what, so here is what. Margaret Schroeder-Thompson is the female protagonist of a television show that is set during a highly patriarchal era of modern America. If I remember correctly, it took about half of Season One just for women to gain the right to vote. It is difficult to write strong female characters into a society that revolves almost entirely around the male dominated arenas of commerce, politics and gangsters.
To use Saudi Arabia as an example, it does not behoove a people to completely marginalize half of the human population as an afterthought. With that in mind, I think that the show's creators have done a fantastic job of usurping those circumstances. Gillian Darmody, Billie Kent and Angela were all fantastic characters with divergent and unique storylines and personalities. Unfortunately for the creators, two thirds of those characters are dead.
This brings us to the point of this long winded ordeal, Margaret Schroeder. Margaret started out the series as a representative of what you might call, the impoverished intellectual. She was clever and intelligent while at the same time entirely constrained by her situation of poverty and an inescapable abusive relationship. She was made interesting through the device that economic status does not correlate with your mental or social prowess. She could read Henry James novels in a hospital ward, and banter down a United States Senator, all while living under the unbearable weight of circumstance.
The first season basically followed this storyline as she moved her way up the socioeconomic world of Atlantic City, primarily through her unique relationship with Nucky Thompson. She was shrewd and morally ambiguous. She would just the same steal an emerald negligee as she would find genuine moral grief in the situation that she found herself becoming increasingly entangled.
It was this moral grief that, for the most part, defined her in the second season and basically ruined her character for most people. Her ascent to the role of pious queen made her little more than another entertainment cliche. The virtuous female figure that stands alongside while the Boys Club plays with the fun stuff is about as stereotypical as Morgan Freeman's voice consoling a conflicted white man through the main story that people actual are paying to care about.
Now understand, as I said before, this was a significantly patriarchal world, and the role for a female character inside of it is limited to the point of impotence. Where the writers of the show misstepped was by giving her far too much screen time with far too little substance. As a result, Margaret would spend the majority of Season Two as a contrived and patronizing beacon of morality. It was annoying on several levels and yet it was still used persistently. This persistence to annoy the audience without any effort to the contrary would be the breaking point for many people when considering the likability of her role within the show.
So that brings us finally to Season Three, where the bitterness that had developed during the second season was left to stick around, even though several issues had been resolved. I thought that her character was used poignantly to show the issues facing women within American society of the 1920s. From healthcare and abortion to relentless misogyny on all accords, she was utilized effectively to show the world of womanhood during a period of time that represented a significant turning point for these issues, while never allowing itself as a society to acknowledge them openly as even existing.
That finally is why I spent time to write in defense of Margaret Schroeder. Her character may have been misused at times and overdone in others, but generally speaking she has been a solid voice to illustrate the feminine demographic with a degree of normalcy that is consistently difficult to pull off in the presence of a phenomenal cast of vibrant and storied personalities and characters.
I personally think that her role in the series has significantly greater potential now that she has been dethroned and must once again rely entirely on her wits to face her situation. I am interested to see where they take her character into Season Four.
. 
