It would be ironic justice if Don's wife turns to prostitution, considering his mother.

I agree Hagan. Let's not forget that Sara Beth has the same last name as her ex-roommate Juanita - CARSON..... Co-inky-dink?...... I think not.

wow, I didn't catch that! didn't think about the connection with Don's birth mother, either.
I have to say, I'd really love to see this storyline happen. I saw that on the 'inside ep. 9' video, JJ says that Betty was putting Sara Beth and the guy [what's his name?] to a test and they failed. perfect justification, ppl will fail you, ppl will always do the predictible thing, ppl are all contemptible - so why shouldn't I just go ahead and get something out of it?

I dont think she would go that route. It would be a fun story line if she did, just to prove to Don that he is not only whore it town. But I seriously doubt she will do it. She after all is sickened to death with Don cheating. She wont do it. She loves Don too much to do it. She even tells him in A Night to Remember I would never do this to you. So I dont think she will ever do it. She will live her fantasies through her friends hence setting up Sarabeth with Arthur.

Wouldn't it be funny if she did open an "escort service" and one of her first customers was Don! Love to see both their faces when he opens the door of his room at the Roosevelt and there she is all dolled up and ready for action! Think she'd go ahead and "service" him????

Or...Roger??? Oh, I guess now that he's (maybe) with Jane, he won't be in the market for any 'ho's for awhile...til she dumps him, that is!
Maybe Vicky can come to work for Betty!

I can't see Betty going down that road.....she's fairly conservative and from what we've seen,not the most sexually assertive woman in the bedroom with Don. All of Don's affairs have been with women who were in tune with their sexuality and probably took the lead.( I don't want to get graphic here).
If Betty turned to hooking for a thrill.....it would really be a stretch,she'd have to perform with strangers.Betty turning to prostitution isn't realistic.I mean, can you see her negotiating a price w/ a John? She doesn't even like to talk about money with her little Sally."Mommy are we rich?" Betty- "It's not polite to talk about money".
I can picture her getting involved one on one with a man where there's love and affection and he is a catalyst to her sexual awakening. Wait till she reads The Feminine Mystique
and it propels her to make changes.

Now that you mention this.
Betty had a run in with her old roommate (party girl).
Betty bargained with the mechanic is a sultry way.
She recognizes Arthur's interest in her. Uses it.
She Understood her cache with Jimmy Barrett.
I'm thinking.

I know, it's a stretch, but....I just think that there's this remote possibility that she'll snap - in a way that promotes out-of-character behavior. or maybe I just want the story to go this way, because it would be sort of fascinating. and. really. good. dish.

....Hi hagen...that was me, actually, as far back as Season One, and I've been back and forth and back and forth about it.

Belle du Jour to me was a very repressed woman acting out anger and self-loathing passive-aggressively. Maybe even a form of masochism.

For a couple years, Betty knew about the affairs but said nothing. I'm having trouble dealing with that. How could she live like that? (Remember in Season One, she was commenting about DD's infidelity in her session with Dr. Wayne?)

Anyway, about the middle of Season One, somewhere around the air conditioner man and Betty in her peignoir I really thought she would do it.... she didn't.

Then it sort of came up again with her latest exploratories with the tow-truck man, and I can't remember what else right now. Nilla Wafer Arthur doesn't count.

Then A Night to Remember happened, and I thought Betty was straightening out, standing up, putting the blame where it belonged, and moving forward. No more self-destruction, self-loathing.

I don't know why I thought she only gets like one week to be a big mess, but I thought she might have pulled herself together a little by now.

As of Six Month Leave, and seeing how angry at men and passive-aggressive Betty has become, I would say she might take a big leap backward and do something stupid.

On the other hand, she has children and no husband to help now, so a secret profession would be a little harder.

I want Betty to find herself as much as I want Draper to find himself.

Although I am not a movie buff, I certainly appreciate all the posts that connect movies to the series. My Netflix queue is getting longer and longer...

I wanted to accept the possibility that Betty would venture down that trail by contacting Juanita Carson except for the fact that Betty has no way to contact her. Don provided his business card on which Betty wrote her phone number. She didn't get a contact number for Juanita, so she won't be able to pick up the phone and call her.

How about the possibility of Juanita calling Betty?...maybe...can't see a reason for the contact unless Juanita changes her lifestyle and needs and entree into a different social strata...

ooh, good call, greytone! it seems that MM would have some kind of purpose for introducing a character like Juanita, however briefly. although it could be another red herring, or it could simply be for the purpose of enlightening Betty about how 'worldly' Don actually is, opening her eyes to what kind of world he lives in outside of their suburban domestic world.

but, I can't seem to think that that's all it is. maybe Juanita will play some part in Roger's downfall, or even Don's. But I think there's a link with Betty, beyond just running into an old roommate. btw, glad you're renting the movie, you're in for a treat!

Dry Manhattan, thanks for all of your posts, I always like what you have to say on other threads! I'm sort of feeling like you, that she might backpedal and self-destruct. there's a good argument for her not going down this road, certainly, it's so out of her character to even consider infidelity that she could only do it vicariously, via Sara Beth and Arthur. But, we don't know how much time has passed since she kicked Don to the curb, so chances are good that she's been this depressed for longer than the episode implies - I think that if her despair and self-loathing were going to ever flip that 'act out' switch, it would be now, there's finally a catalyst to push her over the edge. I would guess that however she's been able to compartmentalize the tacit knowledge that he's been unfaithful, that wall has come tumbling down in a big way, and is now feeling that e v e r y t h i n g is a lie, so why not?
you're right, also, that she's now in a position to be 'saddled' with the kids more, now that Don is not at home, but I could imagine that she may start relying on Carla more now and slipping away in the afternoons. Carla seems to be trying to take some burdens off of Betty, as she sees that Betty is not in such good shape.

wow, sorry for the long post. this is my best assessment as a fake psychiatrist. that will be one hundred dollars, please:)

I've seen Belle de Jour and although there are similarities between the 2 characters,I still can't see Betty going that direction.
I can see her hitting bottom,mixing the daytime drinking with pills. Wasn't valium popular at that time? I see a Valley of The Dolls type of substance abuse in the future for her.

I'd like to see her meet a man who will love her & treat her with respect and bring her back to life. She is severely depressed and sinking lower into isolation. Even though I'm not wild about Duck, if he teamed up with her it might be good for both of them. Even Ken Cosgrove might put a smile on her face.
I just think that Don and Betty,even if they did resolve their differences, are not a good mix. If she's devastated by his cheating,can you imagine her reaction if he came clean and told her about his real identity as Dick Whitman. That would be the nail in the coffin to this relationship.

I dont think it will nail the coffin. I think what Betty wants is honesty! I think of course she will be freaked out a bit, but remember in three sundays episode after the shoving match happend, Don revealed a secret of his past as Dick Whitman. Granted he didnt tell Betty everything but he did open up, and we see Betty take him in her arms and whisper to him "Why didnt you ever tell me that before." I think Betty has it in her heart to hear Don out and with all the demons in his closet, she wont judge him so badly. I think Betty has the tenderness Rachel had towards Don, but Don doesnt like it from Betty, which is strange.

.....Hi hagen.....thanks - that's so sweet! I was also thinking how Betty - if she really did want to do this - would have some logistical trouble, wouldn't she?

I mean, she lives in the suburbs....would she commute? Make housecalls?

Did the suburbs HAVE call girls?

These writers - I bet they are sitting giggling over how twisted up they have us.

Dry Manhattan:
As recently as this year, there have been at least two arrests for operating a house of prostitution in the suburbs around Columbus, Ohio.

If Betty and Don were to part ways and divorce,I see her going into professions such as real estate agent, interior decorator,
or party/event planner. She might be considered a bit old for modeling at age 30 ,even though she's incredibly beautiful and thin. Just can't see her wanting to break the rules and do something illegal like prostitution. Remember she has 2 small children. There's no way she'd put her kids at risk by turning tricks.
She's also a one man woman. I can't see her having an affair,maybe fantasizing about it.
The writers on the show read these boards so i wouldn't be surprised if they have her jumping into bed with someone by the end of the season. Just to stir things up and create a new storyline.

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