Anyone who’s watched American television knows all too well the trope of the bumbling husband who is constantly reprimanded by his naggy wife. In the hit AMC show Breaking Bad, this view is no different; While Walter White continues down his spiral into depravity as chemistry-teacher-turned-meth-kingpin, his wife Skyler is often portrayed as demeaning, argumentative, and a hurdle to leap over by both the audience and the characters. However, while many will argue that Skyler’s presense furthers this problematic stereotype, her actions could instead be viewed as a way of subverting traditional submissive gender roles and creating spaces of empowerment for female viewers.
While Skyler White’s story arc is extensively portrayed throughout the five season run that Breaking Bad had on AMC, one of the best representations of her ‘naggy housewife’ trope can be found in the episode “Fifty-One”, in which the episode is specifically framed to contrast Walter’s spiral …show more content…
Even as Walter refutes these ideas and counters them, she insists that she is doing what she has to protect her family. In the final scene of the episode, we get this interaction as Skyler admits that she likely has to wait for her plan to work:
Not only is this statement harsh, but can be viewed from both the dominant angle of once again subverting the protagonists power but also as an oppositional way of empowering herself and other female viewers. Skyler operates as a “projection of male fantasy and fears (McCabe, 20),” but instead uses the backlash she receives as a pedestal to continue outsmarting her husband and stop his reign of terror.
While Skyler may have her own fair share of negative character traits, she is a diverse, well written character and I will defend her until my dying
While Skyler White’s story arc is extensively portrayed throughout the five season run that Breaking Bad had on AMC, one of the best representations of her ‘naggy housewife’ trope can be found in the episode “Fifty-One”, in which the episode is specifically framed to contrast Walter’s spiral …show more content…
Even as Walter refutes these ideas and counters them, she insists that she is doing what she has to protect her family. In the final scene of the episode, we get this interaction as Skyler admits that she likely has to wait for her plan to work:
Not only is this statement harsh, but can be viewed from both the dominant angle of once again subverting the protagonists power but also as an oppositional way of empowering herself and other female viewers. Skyler operates as a “projection of male fantasy and fears (McCabe, 20),” but instead uses the backlash she receives as a pedestal to continue outsmarting her husband and stop his reign of terror.
While Skyler may have her own fair share of negative character traits, she is a diverse, well written character and I will defend her until my dying