Vulnerability in heroines

I’m watching Master’s Of Sex right now, and surprisingly really enjoying it. It’s my favourite show that’s currently airing. I started watching because I love Michael Sheen, and he’s great, but his character is difficult at times to like, but what’s really holding my attention in the show are the female characters.

Two in particular, Virginia Johnson and Libby, who is Master’s wife.

Virginia is the twice divorced, single mother of two children who is striving for more, for a career, for respect and finds herself caught up in the excitement of real scientific discovery. She’s, as portrayed by the show, not as constrained by the 50′s version of what a woman should be, and as played by Lizzy Caplan, smart, driven and completely sympathetic. The show does a great job of exposing her vulnerability as she progressed from secretary to research assistant, to, I assume, respected scientist. She relies on Masters, because he’s chosen her to help him, she’s trying to juggle her children and a demanding work schedule, and compete with men, who have none of her disadvantages and lack her drive. It’s relatable to a modern woman, even though the show is set in the 50′s.

On the opposite end of the scale is Master’s wife, Libby, shown in the first episode as a typical 50′s wife, who dresses for dinner and rather weirdly calls her husband, “Daddy”. She wants nothing more than to have a child and so far, she’s had no success. And she’s lonely, and her husband pays little attention to her. She’s warm and kind and a little tragic and a wonderful character to watch, especially her growth over the show as she realizes her husband isn’t as attracted to her as she’d like, and she’s cut off from the world and how she deals with that has been fascinating to watch. She’s a woman with as little power as Virginia, but in completely different circumstances.

What I love is that rather than having the women at odds, the writers have made them friends, at least up until the point I’ve seen.

And then there’s the storyline featuring Allison Janney, who plays a woman who’s life if falling apart and she’s heartbreaking to watch and dignified in the loss of everything she’s known. It’s gorgeous..

Anyone else watching the show? I’m seriously loving it.