(This article is a serious spoiler!! Please avoid it if you have n't watched the entire seven seasons of the drama !)
No one in this show is truly happy, even though they seem to have everything (with one exception, the little secretary, Meredith), and the "profoundly sad" one is the most beautiful Betty.
She has the graceful beauty of Grace Kelly, a good family background, a superior middle-class life, a handsome husband, and an angelic child. There's only one thing missing that makes it all look like a soap bubble - love. Of course Don can't give it to her, he himself lacks love, there is a bottomless hole in his heart, and he keeps looking for someone to fill it. Betty knew that Don was hiding her, she was unwilling to be silent, and she didn't have the courage and ability to tear it apart. Daily chores, parenting, dinner and entertainment, even if there is a moment of warmth with Don, a moment of shining, everything seems to float on the surface, as long as you turn your head away, you can immediately fall into boundless darkness. She seemed to do nothing, passively accept and wait.
Maybe it was her mother who brought her up like this, traditional values, an unrecognized career, her husband's dependence and vassal. She didn't rely on it. Her mother's death hit her hard, her father didn't recognize Don, and he didn't play a positive role in their marriage. Of course, he loved his daughter, and it was understandable, not to mention that in the end he had some dementia. The younger brother and her were fighting over the slightest interests, and they were not close. The only place she could cry was in the arms of the black nanny when she was a child, but what else could she give her other than a place to cry? That part is a lot like Scarlett in Gone with the Wind, but obviously Betty is no Scarlett. Her friendship with the little neighbor boy only caused her more trouble, and he, like the nanny, offered only temporary comfort. Psychiatrists are completely useless. Her despair is in her face, in her resentful eyes, in her trembling fingers, in her simple and rude shouting and drinking to the children, and in the continuous smoking of cigarettes...
The image of a little girl is used in many places in the play. For example, Don said that he sometimes feels like getting along with a little girl, relaxing at Sally's child psychiatrist, and the above-mentioned relationship with his childhood nanny and neighbor boy. . She was indeed a little girl, and an orphan, unable to escape her tragic situation.
Luckily, she met Henry, she might not really love him, at least not like Don, but Henry gave her the care she needed, and the terms of leaving Don. Even though she hasn't grown and changed, the wound she suffered in Don has healed a part, and she even realized that the way she loves Don can't get him. So, she could finally sleep with Don without any trouble, and return to her life as if nothing had happened. It's not revenge, it's just really letting go.
It is a pity that the old wounds have caused irreversible consequences. In order to make the tragic character more sad, the screenwriter gave her a lung cancer ending. The passive personality made her quickly recognize and accept the fact that she was about to leave. Perhaps such a statement is not fair. Betty told Sally, I didn't give up lightly, I've fought a lot in my life, so I know when it's really over. It's not weakness, it's a talent for knowing when to look ahead. She wrote a letter to Sally, calmly explaining what happened, telling Sally that she used to worry about her maverick, and now it feels good, "I know your life is going to be an amazing journey." Trust and blessings should take Sally far. This is one of the few moments when she is a mother, and it is also the most glorious moment in her life. Suddenly, there is an unprecedented suddenness. At this point, she has become a perfect tragic figure.
My biggest question when looking at Betty is, is there any other way for her to go? For example, like Trudy, he absolutely wants Peter to leave. She'd had it too, but she still seemed to be in grief, and Trudy felt much more relieved when he saw Peter. Maybe because Trudy has the support of her parents, she is more confident, but in fact, it is more a personality difference, Trudy's unique joy, pride and reasonableness, the screenwriter also gave her a happy ending. Or, like Francine, have a small business of her own, and not just get stuck in a relationship with Don. In fact, in the end, she had already taken this step when she went to study psychology. She was trying to understand herself and to turn her eyes to a wider field. Or like Megan, but as you and I both know, she can't be Megan. Megan is even more sad. She knows what she wants, but she can't get it. She is not a grudge, but it is also the background of sadness. Megan is more like Don, but not as talented as she is, selfish, a little idealistic, active, and capable. What will happen to her? The writer only writes that she left him with a large sum of money from Don. Megan's seemingly contrived style of acting shouldn't be easy and shouldn't live up to expectations, but she'll find a way out. When you think about it, money doesn't really matter. All full happiness and contentment exists only in the brain.
I thought Betty would be envious of Don because he's been making choices and almost. But in fact, the goal is the same, and in the end, it is just to gain inner peace and tranquility. They were also lucky in a way and had an amazing journey that most didn't.
Many people say that Betty is very similar to Lin Daiyu, and to a certain extent it is. Let's end with Ou Lijuan's evaluation of Daiyu: she embodies people (especially women) who never grow up, the hurt, lonely little girl, the injustice of second-class gender, and the fate of others. The grief and grief condensed by uneasy and unrequited regrets have not been resolved with age, but stuck in the dark corners of the heart, needing comfort and care from time to time. So she became the embodiment of her fragile self.
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