A piano melody begins, the grand estate stands on the luscious, English grass, and Lord Grantham walks along with his canine companion by his side. He overlooks the grass and walks up the long, winding path that leads to the doors of the old estate. Inside, the call bells ring, and servants walk briskly to their tasks. The lavish, long curtains are opened, and the elaborate fireplace is set. The estate’s rigid structure embodies and personifies the social structure that resides within. Suddenly, the grand, elaborate estate doors open for the world to see.
Masterpiece Classic’s Downton Abbey chronicles the lives of the “Upstairs” and “Downstairs” in the Grantham household from the start of the late 1800’s; specifically, the series chronicles the lives of the wealthy Crawleys and their respective servants. The series consumes its viewers and prides on its connection to British royalty and depiction of the English lifestyle throughout the series. The allure of the modern royal family and intrigue in the lives of the titled fuels the growing American audience of the series. Both American and British viewers watch the series though across the pond from each other. The magic of Downton Abbey seems to stretch borders, boundaries, and political systems to enchant its millions of viewers.
Although one can distinguish between the two drastically different socio-economic classes in the estate, both share the same patriarchal and societal dynamics. The “Upstairs” may have wealth, opportunity, and class that the “Downstairs” lacks, yet a structure exists that directly affects the dynamics between the characters and the overall narrative of the series. Both spectrums of this household share a patriarchal hierarchy and in turn, subjugate the women and their sexuality. In addition to a historical scope, a structural and psychoanalytic lens help break down the actual structures within the content of the story as well as explain the behavior amongst these fictional yet realistic characters.
Upstairs!
Sir Robert Crawley, the Earl and Lord of Grantham, is a part of the base that structures the Crawleys and the series in totality. As Chee describes, “Downton Abbey has never quite been willing to own Lord Grantham’s role as antagonist, even as he spends the majority of his time manipulating and scheming” (Chee). As the base of the family, he holds the power and essentially holds the structure within the family. The family tree, as any other, establishes the relations between the family members and their respective servants (See Downton Abbey Characters). The use of language is an important role within the series and most importantly within the family. The series creates its own lexicon. Without the use of titles and honors, the characters seem banal and quite frankly, common. He is solely referred to as the “Lord” and “Earl”; both titles derive from a sense of importance, leadership, and domination. Although structuralism argues against the literal use of language, language and the relations between the characters are affected because of its direct connotations. Structuralism as Eagleton explains, “brackets off the actual content of the story and concentrates entire on the form...As long as the structure of relations between the units is preserved, it does not matter which items you
select” (Eagleton). One can essentially change the titles between the characters and still see the same dynamics in existence. One will always be at the top whilst the others will be in indefinite subordination. More importantly, the gender dynamics impact this structure in that the structure is created by these gender dynamics.
Lord Grantham is the head of the Crawley family: Lady Cora, The Countess of Grantham, Lady Mary, Lady Sybil, and Lady Edith. The matriarch of the family is Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham. Although she may be the matriarch of the family being the mother of Lord Crawley, she does not control the estate because of her gender and in that time, an inability to do so because of her position in the household. As seen in the image, Lord Grantham is positioned at the center of the image. He remains the centerfold of the estate and controls, in theory, all of those behind him (See Appendix A). The daughters of Lord Grantham, although respectful, seem to be in discontent with their lives. As a woman, especially one of wealth, these women must marry and reproduce more heirs for the family. Lady Mary, the eldest, wisest, and caustic of the three daughters reacts to this and also to her own sexual repression. The series commences at the latter of the 19th century. Thus, Lady Mary must confine herself to meeting her suitors at family functions and must avoid all romantic gestures until a proposal is made. She, however, ends up inability a completely different scenario.
Lady Mary !
Lady Mary’s repression of her sexual nature influences her caustic nature and the ultimate betrayal of her parent’s wishes. As Eagleton describes, “we may have certain unconscious desires which will not be denied, but which dare not find practical outlet
either..” (Eagleton). Lady Mary’s unconscious, as Freud believes, craves sex and its counterparts. Lady Mary’s character has a caustic, bitter, and sarcastic nature that deems her as an unpleasant character in the beginning. One can ultimately conclude that this behavior could be a direct connection to her suppression of her sexual behavior.
Moreover, Lady Mary, at the beginning of the series, is subject to the fashion of the time period. Historically, the series begins at the end of the 1800’s and a transition into the 1900’s. Thus, the time period has a direct correlation to the trends, hairstyles, and more importantly, attire deemed socially acceptable. Like her father and her social standing, Lady Mary’s attire restricts her physically and ultimately, sexually. As seen in the image, she must wear a tight, fitted corset everyday, regardless of the occasion: breakfast, tea, lunch, dinner, or side saddle horseback riding (See Appendix C). She withstands the pain with a dejected, bleak expression plastered across her pale face. A corset represents order, class, and structure; these characteristics reflect those that Lady Mary must abide by. As noted, “Physicians objected to the health risks, religious leaders objected to the display of the exaggerated female shape, and feminists decried the corset as real and symbolic imprisonment of women” (“Too Close for Comfort”). In essence, Lady Mary’s corset is representative of her own restriction: the tighter, the better. Yet, just like the corset, Lady Mary is unleashed and given the opportunity to free herself.
Consequently, the repression of her sexual behavior by society and especially her father lead to an unanticipated tragedy. Completely unexpected, Lady Mary allows for one of her suitors staying at Downton to enter her bedroom. Sir Kemal Pamuk, one her of her suitors, convinces Lady Mary to sleep with him and she does. Completely unforeseen, Pamuk suffers a heart attack and dies in her bedroom after their sinful relations. Lady Mary’s act of transgression led to the uncanny event to occur. Lady Mary then realizes that the repression of her sexual nature is necessary because of this freak accident. As a result, she becomes much more difficult to please and makes it nearly impossible for her father to find her a suitable husband.
Lady Sybil!
Apart from this horrifying situation, Lady Mary must also witness the consequences of going against the structure. Lady Mary is the eldest and depicted as the least flexible to her surroundings. Whereas, Lady Sybil represents hope in her innocent, daunting, and youthful outlook on life during such a time period. She stands in the middle with a doe-eyed look and as a whole, stands out amongst her sisters (See Appendix B). As the youngest daughter, she is depicted as the most radical yet lovable amongst her siblings.
Unlike Lady Mary, Sybil does not hide her subconscious intentions. She goes about designing a custom piece of clothing that completely baffles her family; she creates a pantsuit. At this time, pants are designated for solely those who wear the pants in the household, the men. Hence, Lady Sybil goes against the norm and fashions herself a pair of pants. In addition, she decides to take her own interests and love life into her own hands.
As the 1900’s being to approach and so do the feminist ideals. Lady Sybil somehow involves herself in these discussions and sneaks out of the estate to attend rallies. Despite the present patriarchal structure in her household, Lady Sybil demands to attend these discussion and educate herself. Lord Grantham remains completely unaware of her escapades but employs one of his chauffeurs to escort her wherever she goes. Branson, an Irish socialist, falls for Lady Sybil and in the end marries her. Lady Sybil seems to have fulfilled her duty as a daughter; that is, she has found a man to marry her. This marriage, however, could be seen as a direct form of dissent against this patriarchal structure.
As a wealthy, upperclass young woman, Lady Sybil is expected to marry someone of the opposite sex with such standards. Lady Mary definitely lives vicariously through her younger sister and looks on begrudgingly at her sister’s short-lived happiness. To Lord Grantham’s dismay, Lady Sybil marries an Irish socialist, chauffeur, and marries down the socio-economic ladder. In the end, Lady Sybil pays the consequence of doing so.
After being married for several months, Lady Sybil becomes pregnant with Lord Grantham’s first grandchild. The family must deal with tension because of the complicated marriage and its impact on the family in the social strata. After some time, Lady Sybil goes into labor and dies from eclampsia. In some way, Lady Sybil’s death is very much an example of the detrimental consequences of dissenting away from this patriarchal structure.
Lady Mary must deal with the death of her sister and death of her former suitor. In essence, Lady Mary’s subconscious endures these tragedies and retreats. The forbearing structure wins and Lady Mary continue to wear her corset and use her mordant personality as a shield.
Downstairs!
Similarly to “Upstairs”, downstairs a patriarchal order exists with just as much drama and repression to spare. Mr. Charles Carson, the Butler, controls the system of order and servanthood in the household. At his right is Mrs. Hughes, the head Houskeeper, who manages the other housekeepers and cooks. Similar to Lord Grantham, Carson overlooks the personal lives of the servants. The women and men both answer to Carson. Although Carson is subordinate to the socio-economic structure prevalent within and past the estate walls, he maintains the order in the estate because of his maleness. Just like “Upstairs”, Mr. Carson controls the whereabouts of his servants and does not hesitate to maintain the existing order at all costs.
Unlike Lord Grantham, Carson does not have a more respectable form of being addressed; he is referred to as Mr. Carson. More importantly, the “Upstairs” commonly refers to him as just “Carson”. This can be seen as an expression of endearment, or potentially, the inability to give him a more respectable title within this social structure. Carson must ultimately answer to Lord Grantham and keep the structure together underneath the estate.
The servants are quite literally “Downstairs” since they reside beneath the estate. The estate holds lavish, intricate staircases in addition to the tiny stairs the lead to the servant commons (See Appendix E). Both the working and living conditions mimic the ones upstairs. Carson sits at the head of the table at meal times and is welcomed by all servants standing before he sits on his own throne (See Appendix F). A structure exists and as a result, the structure limits its cooperatives.
Similarly to Lady Mary’s own sexual repression, the servants must tend to their work not their own personal desires. The series not only reveals the inner thoughts and feelings of servants but also their own personal desires.
Thomas Barrow
Thomas Barrow, former footman and presently the Valet, reveals his own shocking personal desires at the beginning of the series; he has a love affair with the Duke of Crowborough. Thomas, like Mary, share the same bitter, nasty personality. Although they differ in gender and position, they both still share the same “extreme strangeness of unconsciousness” that Eagleton explains (“Pyschoanalysis”). Thomas brings a different perspective of this male dominant structure because of his male gender. Thomas, however, is still subordinate because of his socio-economic status in society and inner acceptance of a love for males. The audience witnesses Thomas’ affair with the Duke, who happens to be one of Lady Mary’s suitors staying at Downton, when he kisses and caresses him in the confines of the guest bedroom. Thomas’ suffers from this suppression of his sexual nature and in the same way as Lady Mary, acts secretively. The Duke ultimately uses Thomas and burns all of their love letters because Thomas wanted to use it as blackmail for his own personal gain. Thomas also deems his repression as beneficial because of the Duke’s deplorable and manipulative behavior.
In addition to Thomas’ subjugation to the present structure within the household, similarly, he must also disguise his subconscious behind his attire. As a servant, Thomas must present himself in an orderly, professional, and neat fashion. As depicted, he dons the color white and black; symbolically, both colors represent order. He has layers upon layers of collars and buttons and to tie it all together, both figuratively and literally, a bow tie. These colors could also be indicative of the two contrasting sexual orientations: white, his heterosexual side, and black, his true homosexual self.
The Modern Downton Abbey !
""
" The black gates stand guarded by red coats and separate the outside from the lives inside.
Cars whizz by, tourists take pictures, and the hum of the city is in the background. The structure symbolizes the combination of the old and the new. This is not Downton; rather, this is Kensington Palace. "
" Downton’s magnetism is undeniable and connected to the real-life enchantment with the British royal family. As the article, The Independent asks, “...why the fuss? Having gone to such lengths to break free from a British monarch 235 years ago, why are Americans so besotted now by the marriage of one of his distant descendants?” (“The Regal Republic: Why Are Americans Obsessed with the Royal Family”). Americans fought for their own freedom and individual power as a nation as cited in history. Yet, Americans still manage to be enraptured by the same structure that subjugated them.
Although, The House of Windsor, headed by Queen Elizabeth II, contrasts from the structure in Downton, Queen Elizabeth II is in essence Lord Grantham in a more modern context. Whereas Downton chronicles a fictional, powerful family, the House of Windsor has a more nominal than actual role. Despite that, Kate Middleton, former commoner turned Duchess of Cambridge, parallels the life of Lady Mary on a smaller level. She must confine herself to the more modern rules within the royal family.
Although she has become a fashion icon, similar to that of Jackie O, she does so whilst under the ancient, rigid structure in existence before her time. As seen in the family portrait, she exemplifies grace and elegance and stands to the right of the new social structure; the House of Windsor (See Appendix G). Although by personal choice, she must change entire lifestyle because of her amorous relationship with a British royal. Like Lady Mary, she enters a contract that involves much more than just a title but an entrapment of one’s feelings and sentiments. The Duchess of Cambridge dons her own invisible yet apparent corset in the media.
One will never know all about the inner workings of Kensington Palace, but one can imagine it does not differ from the servitude existent in Downton. Lady Mary and Kate Middleton, although worlds and realities apart, share the same male, chauvinistic structure present in their societies.
Psychoanalysis and structuralism both allow one look within the inner workings of society and culture in its entirety. One can take a pop culture phenomena like Downton Abbey and utilize these theories as methods of research. Downton Abbey is much more than a PBS series; rather, the series comments on the dominant social structures and existing obsessions with modern royals. Both Lady Mary and Thomas suffer from their own unconscious and from the existence of a patriarchal structure that ultimately confines them physically and mentally. Structuralism and psychoanalysis can both be used to evaluate the patriarchal hierarchy and sexual repression of all the characters and their modern counterparts.
Works Cited
Appendix A.Digital image. Masterpiece. PBS, n.d. Web. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/
downtonabbey/characters.html>.
Appendix B.Digital image. Masterpiece. PBS, n.d. Web. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/
downtonabbey/characters.html>.
Appendix C.Digital image. Masterpiece. PBS, n.d. Web. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/
downtonabbey/characters.html>.
Appendix D.Digital image. Masterpiece. PBS, n.d. Web. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/
downtonabbey/characters.html>.
Appendix E. Digital image. Masterpiece. PBS, n.d. Web. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/
masterpiece/downtonabbey/characters.html>
Appendix F. Digital image. Masterpiece. PBS, n.d. Web. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/
downtonabbey/characters.html>
Chee, Alexander. "The One Reason Downton Abbey Isn't What It Used To Be It Has No
Villains." New Republic. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
Downton Abbey Characters. Digital image. Masterpiece. PBS, n.d. Web.
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/downtonabbey/characters.html>.
Eagleton, Terry, Literary Theory. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1996.
In Social Theory: the Multicultural and Classic Readings, Charles Lemert, ed. San Francisco:
Westview Press, 1993.
"The Regal Republic: Why Are Americans Obsessed with the Royal Family?" The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, n.d. Web. <http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/rupert-cornwell/the-regal-republic-why-are-americans-obsessed-with-the-
royal-family-2274357.html>.
The Royal Family. Digital image. http://cdn.cnwimg.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/royal-
family-1024x436.jpg. N.p., n.d. Web.
"Too Close for Comfort." Reshaping the Body Clothing Cultural Practice. University of
Virginia, n.d. Web. <http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/clothes/>.
Appendix A.Digital image. Masterpiece. PBS, n.d. Web. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/
downtonabbey/characters.html>.
Appendix B.Digital image. Masterpiece. PBS, n.d. Web. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/
downtonabbey/characters.html>.
Appendix C.Digital image. Masterpiece. PBS, n.d. Web. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/
downtonabbey/characters.html>.
Appendix D.Digital image. Masterpiece. PBS, n.d. Web. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/
downtonabbey/characters.html>.
Appendix E. Digital image. Masterpiece. PBS, n.d. Web. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/
masterpiece/downtonabbey/characters.html>
Appendix F. Digital image. Masterpiece. PBS, n.d. Web. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/
downtonabbey/characters.html>
Chee, Alexander. "The One Reason Downton Abbey Isn't What It Used To Be It Has No
Villains." New Republic. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
Downton Abbey Characters. Digital image. Masterpiece. PBS, n.d. Web.
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/downtonabbey/characters.html>.
Eagleton, Terry, Literary Theory. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1996.
In Social Theory: the Multicultural and Classic Readings, Charles Lemert, ed. San Francisco:
Westview Press, 1993.
"The Regal Republic: Why Are Americans Obsessed with the Royal Family?" The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, n.d. Web. <http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/rupert-cornwell/the-regal-republic-why-are-americans-obsessed-with-the-
royal-family-2274357.html>.
The Royal Family. Digital image. http://cdn.cnwimg.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/royal-
family-1024x436.jpg. N.p., n.d. Web.
"Too Close for Comfort." Reshaping the Body Clothing Cultural Practice. University of
Virginia, n.d. Web. <http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/clothes/>.