Pete apparently grew up in a non-demonstrative home. I'm not sure whether it's because he's so baby-faced or what but he just can't (for me) pull off the stern husband bit quite right. He's like a kid playing at being adult. I think he has some idea of what his role is supposed to be but no way of figuring out how to become that man.

Trudy has regressed since first season, from what I can tell. Then she had some spunk (i.e. sending Pete to the department store to exchange the chip-and-dip set.) Now, not so much. She, too, is trying to fit in with expectations of her husband, family, society and herself as a young married woman.

They're both miserable, for different reasons. I think Pete got married because it was expected when he got to a certain age to put the bachelor life behind him and start his own branch of the family tree. Trudy married because (a) being a single female beyond a certain age made one an object of pity and (b) she truly wants children and in those days, nobody went off to be artificially inseminated, and singles couldn't adopt. For now, they're stuck with each other. And yes, they do seem emotionally stunted as well.

I thought that Trudy had more spirit last season as a newlywed, and wondered if the past two years has included emotional and verbal battering. I cringed when he ordered her to come back into the room, and she obeyed like a small child or a dog. She's not a total doormat yet--she could express her deep desire for a child--but marriage has definitely changed her. I wonder what her parents think now about their new son-in-law.

Pete has paired himself to someone who responds to the vibe he puts out. (I sound like someone who hangs out with Midge, don't I?) By that I mean, "you project what you wish to attract..."

He has lured someone who responds to his lurid, lonely dreams and aspirations. He told Peggy a little, dark story when they were sitting in his office (post-coital)...Peggy was fascinated by what he was telling her, realizing he was revealing a dark part of himself. (I feel both Trudy and Peggy are both attracted to that in him.)

He did, after all, select the S&M mag to help him produce a sample in the doctor's office. It's logical, to me, that he would marry someone who responds to him like the Trudy you described, tylerose.

Pete & Trudy aren't so off. Yes, they are playing at being adults, but they are also both selfish in their own ways. Pete is trying, but he still doesn't know how to be appropriate. Trudy lives by the popular notion of whats expected (Yuppie). The sperm results showed him glowing & being unsympathetic towards Trudy. If you think about it ALL men/boys want proof of their masculinity, and are very cocksure (pun intended) about it. He was right to tell her she's only upset because she didn't get the results she wanted. Trudy, always having gotten what she wants now clearly can't have what she now desires most. It's a huge slap in the face that it's her reproductive system that's faulty not Pete's (we knew). Both behave like children. Trudy is spoiled & likes to pout & Pete calls her on it; and she begrudgingly agrees. Trudy needs coddling but Pete has never known how to be nurturing.

Pete is coming out of his father's shadow/thumb & is tired of being pushed around & he's going to make it known. Trudy just wants what all the other girls have & really to show her worth.

In the end its still the 60's and its a man's world.

Trudy has lost status since last season for the same reason young wives have lost status since the beginning of time: she can't have children.

Harsh truth, but certainly not a new one. Ask Anne Boleyn.

I'm not so sure that Trudy can't have children. She took the message from the doctor's office and gave the news to Pete. Pete did not hear it first hand. He heard it from Trudy.

Remember when Pete told the doctor he had Mumps when he was 12-13 years old? Mumps caused sterility in males who contracted the illness in adolesence.

Trudy had time to think it over. If she told Pete that he was sterile, she'd never be able to have a baby ( without some 'splain'in" to do.) It would be adoption or nothing. Since Pete is not so crazy about the baby idea in the first place, it's doubtful he'd go along with adoption.

However, if Pete believes he's fine, Trudy can conceive elsewhere, so to speak, and Pete would be none the wiser. In 1962, she could get away with it.

Which begs the question, who is the father of Peggy's baby? Because I do not believe it is Pete Campbell.

Wow you guys really give great opinions and food for thought. At this moment we are to believe that he is the father of Peggy's baby. So it would make sense that he is not the problem. Pete is the one who you love to hate in this show. Remember how he tried to stick it to Don and get him fired and it back fired on him. He wants to be important but h e isn't and he just seems weak to me. He is nasty to his wife and she should dump him but she comes from the kind of family in my opinion that would really not want that to happen. It will be interesting to see what happens when Pete finds out he has a child with Peggy. I believe that the baby is his.

MicheleKay...
I'm not so sure I can accept your premise that mumps in adolescent males causes sterility. My understanding is that it could cause sterility. ...a possibility, but not a certainty...

I remember mothers' attempts to make sure their sons contracted the illness as young as possible, my mother included. Many sons however, had mumps closer to when Pete said he had them, only a percentage of whom became sterile.

Hi greytone! True, not all young men who had the mumps became sterile, but it is considered a risk factor, that's why the MD asked Pete about it. Today we don't see it as much since the MMR immunizations were created. Kids are innoculated at 15 months, and sometimes again at 15yrs, depending on the year they were born.
Measles, mumps and rubella (German measles) are pretty much diseases of the past in the USA.

I know that not all males became sterile if they contracted Mumps in adolesence. However, as we know, nothing on MM is insignificant. The writers could very easily have left the "Mumps" question out of the script or had Pete answer that he was six years old when he had the illness. Instead, he clearly was at the critical age of 12 or 13.

I think Trudy lied to Pete when she said the doctor's office called and his sperm count was viable.

I also remember mothers going out of their way to expose their sons to Mumps so that they had the illness before the age of nine. You'll even find this recommendation in old baby books and pediatric manuals.

Sidenote: My first husband had mumps at age 11. We adopted two children.

"I also remember mothers going out of their way to expose their sons to Mumps so that they had the illness before the age of nine." Also, measles, rubella and chicken pox - I predate most vaccines and got 'em all. I've got 8 siblings and whatever illness one of us got went one-by-one through the family every time. I got chicken pox from my aunt, who was only 10 years older than I am. For us, no harm no foul but not everyone was that lucky.

"I also remember mothers going out of their way to expose their sons to Mumps so that they had the illness before the age of nine." Also, measles, rubella and chicken pox - I predate the vaccines for these diseases and got 'em all. I've got 8 siblings and whatever illness one of us got went one-by-one through the family every time. I got chicken pox from my aunt, who was only 10 years older than I am. For us, no harm no foul but not everyone was that lucky.

My goodness!...All the speculation!...and more and more of the facts get skewed in the rush to be right, amusing, or combative.

Pete said he had mumps between the age of 11 or 12 (check the tape). Not all boys who contract mumps in early adolescence become sterile. I challenged what was posted because further speculation was based on what turns out is not factual.

I suppose I grow weary of reading all the speculations that are based on speculations and errors inserted to make everything fit. I do want to consider all the possible twists the writer(s) can insert to throw us off point, but I don't want to waste time with posts that are not as close to fact (i.e., what we have been told or seen) as possible.

There are so many possibilities to this story, following speculative tendrils is not how I plan to spend my time. I want to talk about what has happened already and how the characters are revealing themselves along the way. (Not telling anyone to do anything other than what they want to do...just letting you know of my intentions).

I do plan to pop my head in to make sure I've got my facts straight as we go. So, don't get pushed outta shape if what you post is challenged...I mean no harm...just making sure I didn't miss anything.

MicheleKay, loved your post about Pete. Yes, I did think that Trudy told Pete he was fertile to protect him and her. I was thinking that Trudy is the kind of person that would do that. She doesn't want anyone to know her perfect husband is not so perfect. She looked sad when she told him about his little guys were good swimmers. Not because she thought she had a fertility problem, but sad because HE had the fertility problem. I still someone other than Pete fathered Peggy's baby. Who it is, I don't know?