Mad Men: The Gold Violin

February 14th, 2009

Season 2, Episode 7

Synopsis

Don checks out new cars, and despite some prodding by the salesman, declines a test-drive. He remembers a past job as a used-car salesman.

Don meets with Smitty and Kurt, Duck’s new hires who are supposed to bring a youthful perspective to Sterling Cooper. They will work on the Martinson’s coffee account. They say today’s young generation doesn’t want to be told what to do; they just want to be themselves.

Meanwhile, Paul, Ken, Sal, and Peggy discuss disposable diapers. After work, Jane breaks the rules and lets Ken, Sal, and Harry into Bertram’s office to show off his Rothko painting. They don’t understand the abstract art. Later, Joan finds out about Jane’s transgression.

Sal tells Ken he enjoyed his Atlantic Monthly story. Ken responds by giving Sal his latest story to read. Sal accepts and invites him to join he and his wife Kitty for dinner that weekend.

At a meeting, Don says young people don’t drink coffee. Smitty says kids want to find things for themselves. He plays a calypso-style jingle advertising Martinson’s Coffee as a “cup of joe.” Peggy thinks it’s catchy.

Jimmy Barrett phones Betty, inviting her and Don to the Stork Club to celebrate his new television show.

Duck happily informs Don that Martinson’s Coffee is now aboard. Bertram and Roger tell Don that he has been chosen to join the board of a folk art museum. Don decides to buy the new car he was considering earlier.

Joan fires Jane for sneaking into Bertram’s office. Jane sadly gathers her belongings and stops by Roger’s office to say goodbye. Roger re-hires her and tells her to return on Monday.

Sal and his wife Kitty entertain Ken with a home-cooked Italian dinner. Sal and Ken discuss his story entitled “The Gold Violin.” Kitty is lightly ignored throughout the evening. After Ken leaves, Sal apologizes but he has displayed more than a passing interest in his co-worker. He finds Ken’s lighter on the table.

The Drapers have a picnic in a park. Sally asks if they are rich, and Betty says it’s not polite to discuss money.

At the office, Ken thanks Sal for dinner. Jane tells Joan that Roger asked her to come back.

That evening, Bobbie and Don talk with a television executive at the Stork Club bar. Jimmy and Betty watch from a few feet away. Jimmy tells Betty that Don and Bobbie had an affair. Betty doesn’t believe it and accuses Jimmy of being crude.

Sal sits in the dark, watching television as Kitty crochets. He lights a cigarette with Ken’s forgotten lighter.

As Don and Betty leave, Jimmy confronts Don. At first he smiles politely and thanks Don for helping him land the television show and getting him everything he wanted. Then he abruptly changes tone, calling Don “garbage” for sleeping with his wife, Bobbie.

Betty and Don drive home in their new car, silent. Betty throws up on her blue dress.

Thoughts

Style

Cooper’s painting is by Mark Rothko. The Stork Club was a famous Manhattan night club.

Then And Now

The new car costs $6,500.
Littering: Don tosses his beer can across the park, and Betty clears the picnic blanket, tossing the family’s trash across the grass.
Homosexuality: Sal is in the closet, and we meet his wife Kitty who seems to have her suspicions. Sal’s interest in Ken is palpable, yet Ken is unaware. The entire dinner scene is laced with sexual tension, with Ken lighting Sal’s cigarette, Kitty voicing her feelings of being ignored, and Sal hiding Ken’s lighter.

Advertising

Martinson’s Coffee was an actual brand, as are Pamper’s disposable diapers. It was rather amusing to see Paul’s confusion at the disposable part – they believe a diaper should be reused a few times in order to get one’s money’s worth.

Developments

The lady who corners Don at the car dealership during his flashback is Anna, the wife of the deceased, original Don Draper. She plays a bigger role in the last few episodes of the season.

A “gold violin” is an object so lavish and luxurious, it supersedes its original purpose. Cooper’s Rothko is one example – a very expensive painting that is no longer a painting, but instead a collector’s item. Bertram Cooper says people buy such things to reflect their aspirations – that is the object’s new purpose. Luxury products are full of examples – take $2,000 handbags where the original, practical purpose of carrying personal items is superseded by the social display of a designer label.

Don’s fancy new car is another example. But like everything else in his life, the luxury is tinged with unhappiness. Betty throws up in it, following Jimmy Barrett’s accusation of Don as nothing more than “garbage.”

Subtler “gold violins” are societal conventions that indicate financial success. The Drapers’ have a picnic in the park, which is surely what “rich” married couples with kids are supposed to do. There’s also Sal’s marriage to Kitty. Perhaps Sal felt obligated to get married, as someone his age and steady job should have been settled down by now. But since we know Sal’s closeted sexual orientation, his marriage is merely an outward appearance. Ken describes the gold violin as something that “couldn’t make music,” which somehow hints at Sal’s predicament. Sal and Kitty’s marriage may only be for show.

And it gets better: Jane herself could be another “gold violin.” She serves little purpose, but looks great, and Roger wants to keep her around as a trophy – as we’ll find out in episodes to come.

Next Episode: A Night To Remember
Previous Episode: Maidenform

TV Shows: Mad Men

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