APPLICATIONS -- 2010; 001

[tripled_mods]

THIS APPLICATIONS POST IS CLOSED. Please direct your attention to the new one here!

Comments

JOAN HOLLOWAY ✒ MAD MEN

[notastickwoman.livejournal.com]

Personality:

On the outside, Joan looks like a woman who has it all and who gets what she wants. She's successful (for a woman of her time) as an office manager that runs the day to day workings of a successful ad agency's office. She has authority that she uses, and most importantly, people listen to. She can get men to do whatever she wants and get whomever she wants. She isn't friendly, but she's suave enough to become the head bitch in charge at Sterling Cooper (and later on, she's the only one that knows where everything is when they branch away). Women at the office love her or fear her, knowing that she's the queen bee. Joan will help her fellow secretaries if they're ever in a bind, but she is petty while doing so. She keeps spares for everything whether it be for office parties or office politics. She's more practical as the other girls. When one secretary runs over the new owner of the ad agency's foot with a John Deere lawn mower, she's the first to administer first aid. Confidence, poise, elegance and practical smarts, it seems that she has it all. However, with all of that comes insecurity, vanity and loneliness. Joan's greatest fear is to die alone like Marylin Monroe.

Except she doesn't. Joan's been living her life like Marylin Monroe. She's the "sex symbol" (second to Donald Draper) of the office and she has many one night stands - two of which have caused her to terminate a pregnancy. Joan has lived in the city long enough to learn how it works or how to get what you want. Looking good and having poise can take you only so far, you have to know exactly how people think. Thus, she goes to find people that can support her lifestyle through parties or socializing. As carefree as it seems, she has a lot of inner conflicts. Does she want to be a suburban wife with a trophy husband and a trophy life - but boring? Or does she want to live a carefree, partying life -but be alone? Roger Sterling, whom she was having an affair with, let her feel love but at the time she didn't know what to do with. It's clear that she loves him and cares for him deeply, which is a lot to say about the emotionally challenged Joan, but he just doesn't fit into her plan. She doesn't show her struggle with emotion. If she's put in an awkward position, such as when her roommate Carol told her that she loved her, she passive aggressively pushes it aside and brushes it off as "you've had a horrible day". She hides when she cries, not allowing anyone to see that she's an average woman. The one thing she doesn't hide, however, is her disdain or anger. She's hit her fiancee upside the head with a vase for striking one too many nerves, thrown a box of roses at one of the new partners at the new ad company, she's made many a secretary cry and she's made backhanded remarks about an ex-flame dating someone of a different race. Whilst she's not as prejudiced as her coworkers, it still says something that she would say: "I didn't know that he was so open-minded." to the concept of interracial couples. When an out and proud gay member of the copyright team proclaims his orientation she doesn't say anything, but instead says "I didn't think they existed". However, it is not shown that she gives him a hard time about it, either. She's forward thinking, but slow to progress.

Her fiancee is also a source of this conflict within her. When her fiancee sexually assaults her in Don's office, she blames herself - saying that she asked for it and that she has to convince herself that he's a good man. Then, she goes off and marries the man, planning for a future with him. Joan hides her frustration with her husband, trying to be helpful for not only his, but hers as well. It seems to intensify her feelings of uselessness even more when he doesn't take her advice or when he puts her on the spot as a trophy wife. She wants so much out of life, but she feels trapped that she can't get it. It seems that Roger is the only one that she can ever be herself with, but she can never have him.

Additional Links: Wiki. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Holloway)