Lucille Ball: A Woman Ahead of Her Time, Essay Example

It may seem strangely inappropriate to examine the character of Lucy Ricardo, of the 1950s television show I Love Lucy, as a paradigm of a woman breaking through boundaries and defying societal convention. In no uncertain terms, I Love Lucy is considered an iconic series chiefly because of a seemingly consistent reinforcement of the gender stereotypes predominant in the era. For years, and embraced by the nation, Lucy Ricardo would embarrass her husband through hopeless blunders, scheme in a stereotypically feminine manner to achieve her desires, and invariably behave in a way indicative of a calculating female who counted on her womanly appeal, sexual and otherwise, to carry the day. Everything of the show, in fact, supported this presentation of the inept and attractive wife, from her husband’s continual willingness to come to her rescue, to the social support system of like-minded women encouraging Lucy’s hyper-femininity. It could be argued that there is, in fact, no single representation of a classically narcissistic, foolish, and self-obsessed female in American popular culture.

Such an argument, however, only addresses the character and the show in a topical fashion, for the greater reality is that Lucille Ball, the force behind Lucy, revolutionized gender roles in America, and in more than one way. That she accomplished this through a consistent exploitation of female stereotypes is beside the point; it is the lasting impact that matters, and Lucy’s was both pervasive and enormous. On one level, she established a female role as being critical to a vastly popular and commercially successful enterprise. On another, the sheer duration of the show allowed for opportunities to examine gender relations in ways sometimes strikingly modern, and all of this exists quite apart from Lucille Ball’s own, lengthy career as an actress and producer. In playing up to societal expectations and seemingly echoing the belief systems of her time, Lucille Ball in I Love Lucy actually reveals herself as a woman ahead of her time.

Character Essence

It is inescapable that the core of the Lucy Ricardo character is a kind of clownishness, and this greatly fuels the often burlesque, or merely ridiculous, scenarios of the weekly episodes. Time after time, Lucy will, in seeking either a place in the entertainment industry, a meeting with an important person, or only a new dress, go to absurd extremes, which usually involve slapstick comedy and physical stunts. In a sense, the actual situations are unimportant to her audience, then or today; they are simply the means by which absurdity may develop and comic consequences arise. Dignity is sacrificed in every episode, whether through falling into a vat of grapes in an Italian vineyard or getting intoxicated while doing multiple commercial takes for a supplement loaded with alcohol. It is then easy to dismiss this formula as relatively mindless, and certainly removed from any sense of actual gender relationships or roles.

Underlying all of it, however, is the weight of the actions chosen. The blatant reality is that, no matter how ridiculous the plot or the circumstances, Lucy Ricardo continually acts in an aggressive manner, and this in itself completely contradicts the prevailing gender stereotype of her time. If it was accepted that a middle-class wife would be, more often than not, foolish, it was equally anticipated that she would be compliant, and that her foolishness would be confined to minor affairs of the home. Lucy, conversely, insists on a wider arena, which powerfully indicates self-possession and determination beyond the arena of her station. More importantly, these arenas go far beyond the character’s seeking status within her female peer group. One of the most radical aspects of I Love Lucy, and one usually ignored as merely another device to enable Lucy to “get into trouble”, was the character’s relentless pursuit of a career of her own. In the 1950s, women in the workforce were typically branded as integrative-expressive, as opposed to the masculine workforce ideal of adaptive-instrumental; more exactly, the societal perception was that women were less concerned with achieving commercial ends, and more interested in the social aspects of employment (Cleveland, Stockdale, & Murphy 45). Lucy has, clearly, ambitions beyond the social. That the show repeatedly emphasized the character as having little ability is unimportant. Lucy, despite being married to a good provider, seeks a career to establish herself as a valuable person in her own right. The comedy ensuing when she fails is, again, not the issue, for this impetus to be recognized as an individual is what matters.

Even the slapstick of the character’s antics provide insight into a subtle forcefulness at play. The humor of the show largely derives from contrast; Lucy is an attractive woman, styled in the decorous manner of the women of her time and social position, yet she herself orchestrates humiliating losses of this. Her head is covered with honey and a pie hits her in the face on a game show. A runaway lawnmower leaves her scarred, and with branches protruding from her clothing. In all of this, it may then be seen that Lucy is in fact making a statement about the appearance and behavior paradigms of the day: “Lucy’s comic antics are essentially a symbolic mode of empowerment…in terms which give her complete physical freedoms and/or parody patriarchal codes” (Spangler 35). In a very real sense, she is blatantly defying the expectations of her, and makes them ridiculous through making herself look ridiculous. It may be, in fact, that this violent dismissal of her own “femininity” is what so invariably enrages her husband on the show. She embarrasses him because she breaks free of her defined role. Add to this that component of engaging in an overt, and sometime dangerous, physicality, and the point is further supported.

With the ostensible character of Lucy Ricardo, gender and meaning attached to it are inextricably connected, in accordance with the 1950s, Eisenhower-era mentality that marked American society. There was a uniform expectation in this culture that a woman be not only traditionally feminine, but that she express her compliance in behavior and appearance. Women of even modest social standing wore gloves and hats, and dresses were cut below the knee to emphasize modesty (Kaufman, Kaufman 152). Here, again, Lucy fights convention through ironic efforts to seemingly conform, and this also reinforces a latent questioning of that convention. Clothing is a recurrent theme in I Love Lucy,and has a tribal importance for the character. Consequently, the more Lucy goes to extremes to gain an article of clothing, the more she underscores the worthlessness of the ambition. Consumerism in America then typically and forcefully emphasized the importance of women in appearing feminine and attractive, and entering a retail store makes this abundantly clear. Sizing is, in the popular mind, virtually a definition of feminine womanhood (Wood 180). In a way far ahead of her time, then, Lucy draws attention to this constriction in an early episode. Desperate to fit into a garment needed to appear on a program, she starves herself. In the end, the effort “pays off” and she fits into the dress, but the important message conveyed is that she is suffering from malnutrition, and the victory is essentially hollow. Decades before society would begin to consider issues of anorexia, this was an extraordinarily powerful statement presented in the guise of comedy.

Surrounding Elements

As a producer of her show, it is probable that Lucille Ball influenced the direction I Love Lucy took, as it seems that the show evolved in ways inherently dimensional, and perhaps unintentional in their exploration of a woman’s role in marriage and her culture. Much has been written about Lucy’s marriage to Ricky, particularly in regard to her ostensible fear of him physically abusing her. In many episodes, she cowers from him, seemingly fearful of being struck. Yet never is there the suggestion that Ricky has ever hit her, or would even wish to, and this also is a subtle commentary on gender mores. An episode actually addressing spousal abuse would have been unthinkable for the program, yet this ongoing suggestion of it serves to underscore the possibility of it elsewhere, and also present it as a fearful thing. When frightened by Ricky, Lucy placates by referring to him as, “sir”, but there is nonetheless a potent sense that equality marks their union. As with dress, Lucy echoes societal expectations, but it strongly appears that an understanding is in place belying such concerns, particularly as she frequently challenges him to his face. Even when she covertly tries to maneuver around explicit directions from her husband, she is still acting in defiance, and consequently identifying herself as an equal force in the marriage.

Then, there is the extraordinary fact that Lucy’s marriage is interracial, certainly by the standards of the time, and this is clearly groundbreaking. It may also be the most radically progressive element of the show, and in a way going to gender relations as much as racial issues. Ricky is Cuban by birth, despite an overt attempt to “Americanize” himself in accordance with society’s expectations; Lucy, as is made clear, is an all-American girl from Jamestown, New York. In comedic terms, this allows for a good deal of racist humor, as in Lucy’s perpetual mimicry of Ricky’s broken English. Here again, however, a topical treatment only highlights a more significant message: race is unimportant because Lucy and Ricky care for one another deeply. Then, even as Lucy enjoys making fun of Ricky, it is interesting to note that she does not do this in wider social arenas, where she actually is typically proud of his heritage as presented in his stage performances. Even more strikingly, when the family goes to Cuba, her concerns completely reflect fears that she will not be deemed worthy by his relations. In an era when the white, American woman would likely see herself as demeaned by such a consideration, this is greatly supportive of the modernity of the character. Lucy’s apparent disregard of racial differences is further pronounced in her efforts to inculcate a Cuban heritage in their child, rather than seek to raise him as more “mainstream”. If a spirit of independent thought is symptomatic of evolved gender perception, then Lucy most certainly expresses this by these efforts.

Lastly, Lucy evinces a singular gender presence in her external relationships, one both evocative of the period and interestingly deviant to it. There was, of course, no social media or Internet available to Lucy, but it is reasonable to assume that, had Facebook been in existence in the era, Lucy Ricardo would have spent a great deal of time cultivating friends through it. This is evident by the character’s reliance on the social media instrument of the day: the telephone. Women, then and now, tend to employ media in a manner that permits self-expression (Wood 262), and Lucy epitomizes this. What is far more compelling, and which promotes the character as ahead of her time, is that Lucy’s greatest friendship is with an older woman, Ethel. As with Ricky’s background, this age disparity allows for humor, usually to Ethel’s detriment. Equally similar, however, is that this is no real issue between them. Throughout the run of the series, the bond between the two women is intense and deeply-felt, and by no means maternal; Lucy, in fact, usually takes the lead, and Ethel’s support seems willingly prompted by genuine affection. If Lucy’s relationships with the other women of her circle are marked by a stereotypical cattiness, her friendship with Ethel reveals a depth defying stereotypical expectations of a woman’s potentials in such relations.

Conclusion

As Lucy Ricardo, Lucille Ball became an American icon, and one largely viewed as reliably madcap, incompetent, and “feminine” to an extreme. She was deferential to her husband, she concocted strategies to defy him, and she was egocentrically obsessed with her appearance and her social standing, all of which suggest an overt stereotype. The greater reality, however, is that Ball actually fashioned a character of surprising dimension, and one that rebuked gender stereotyping even as it employed it to achieve her ends. In her marriage, she ultimately represented parity of power, and shared respect and affection. In her schemes, she consistently sought to elevate herself as an individual, and in her friendship she was steadfast. All of this contradicts the 19050s model of womanhood as offered by the media of the day. In playing up to societal expectations and in mirroring the belief systems of the period, Lucille Ball in I Love Lucy reveals herself as a woman ahead of her time.

Works Cited

Cleveland, Jeanette, Stockdale, Margaret S., & Murphy, Kevin R. Women and Men in Organizations: Sex and Gender Issues at Work. New York: Routledge, 2000. Print. I Love Lucy. Desilu Productions. 1951-1957. Television.

Kaufman, Burton Ira, & Kaufman, Diane. Historical Dictionary of the Eisenhower Era. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. , 2009. Print.

Spangler, Lynn C. Television Women from Lucy to Friends: Fifty Years of Sitcoms and Feminism. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Wood, Julia T. Gendered Lives. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.