The Prison of Social Status in The Good Soldier and House of Cards
Claire Underwood (House of Cards) is a prisoner. She is a prisoner in her marriage, and a prisoner in her role as First Lady of the United States.
Leonora Ashburnham (The Good Soldier) is a prisoner in her marriage and in her role as the wife of Colonel Ashburnham.
Claire is not happy in her marriage. She doesn’t want to be the First Lady; she wants to be President of the United States. The marriage is merely a shell, a public facade. She could leave. She has plenty of money and no children; she could leave and start over and support herself sufficiently…or could she?
Leonora isn’t happy in her marriage. Her husband is a hopeless philanderer. The marriage was arranged by her parents. She is financially stable now that she has saved herself and her husband from his financial disasters. She has no children to support. She could leave, right?
Claire has the financial means and the independence to leave her marriage, but her social standing is a significant roadblock to actually taking that step. If she left, she would disappoint all of the people who believe in her image. Underwood supporters believe in her as a character, and her failure to live up to that character would tarnish her own reputation as well as her husband’s reputation. It would be scandalous and historic for a sitting president to be divorced by his wife.
Leonora could leave her husband. She could survive financially, and there are no children to consider. From a social aspect, though, Leonora is trapped. Her reputation as the respectable wife of a high-ranking military official would be destroyed. Her standing as a good Catholic woman would be ruined. Due to her own loyalty to her religious beliefs and her concern for public opinion, Leonora is prevented from leaving her marriage.
100 years separate The Good Soldier and House of Cards. In terms of the effect of divorce on social status, what has changed in that century? I submit that far less has changed than we might have thought.
Generally speaking, one can fairly argue that divorce is more socially acceptable than it was a century ago. However, I would suggest that our social structure still makes divorce ineffectual and ultimately derogatory to a woman’s social status. The damage to a woman’s social status comes primarily from the implications of the financial loss resulting from divorce, not directly from an assumed blight of her character.
In Season 3, Episode 12 of House of Cards, Claire goes out on the campaign trail on behalf of her husband. She goes to the door of an ordinary, middle class home in Iowa, where she meets a woman named Susie and her infant daughter, Kayla. Although Claire keeps up a polite appearance, she is clearly inwardly disgusted by Susie’s crude manner. Susie tells Claire that her husband runs after every skirt in town, and she has had a few flings of her own. She goes on to tell Claire that “If I were like you, didn’t have a kid…I could start over.”
Despite the fact that Claire and Susie clearly come from different social strata (which is no secret to either of the women), Claire is able to recognize the similarity in their circumstances. Claire and Frank have cheated on each other, just as Susie and her husband James have done. Susie believes that money and childlessness would give her the freedom to leave her husband, but Claire knows that money and public image are exactly what have kept her trapped in her marriage. If Susie were to leave her husband, the neighbors might not think her a harlot for getting divorced. However, there is a good chance that Susie would have to go on public assistance and move from her home to a smaller apartment, factors which absolutely would downgrade her social status. Claire could leave her husband, and she would be fine financially; she could still live in a mansion in an upper class neighborhood. However, she would lose public respect because her image as the wholesome wife of the President would be tarnished. Her character would crumble, not her finances. Regardless of financial status, a woman’s choice to get divorced will impact her social status.
From the standpoint of her current social status, Leonora Ashburnham has much in common with Claire Underwood. She is well-respected as the wife of a colonel. She is an upper class, Catholic, moneyed woman. Her religion forbids her to get divorced. If she were to leave her husband, she would lose her religion as well as societal respect. Although she is financially secure within her marrige, there is a very small likelihood that she could take any of that money with her should she get divorced.
Both Claire Underwood and Leonora Ashburnham have spent the majority of their adult lives supporting their husbands in their careers. Leonora has spent much of her time cleaning up her husband’s scandals and salvaging their finances. Claire has dedicated her life to campaigning on behalf of her husband. Both of these women have played significant roles in making their husbands successful, but their lives could’ve been much different if they had devoted their efforts to their own success.
From the publication of The Good Soldier in 1915 to the airing of House of Cards in 2015, society has changed dramatically. In that time, we have become more accustomed to couples getting divorced. We don’t necessarily deem a person a slut or a sinner because they get divorced, but the divorce does ultimately impact a person’s social status. Despite 100 years progress, Claire and Leonora are both prisoners to their social status.
