Gender Representation essay

The scene is introduced with the non-diegetic melodic music of Downton Abbey's theme tune, signifying time has passed. We hear footsteps as Daisy's torso, hips and arms carrying a silver tray of food, briskly walk across the long mid shot of Mrs Patmore sitting down with a cup of tea.The dialogue between Mrs Patmore and Daisy reminds me of a mother speaking to her daughter. Daisy is very whimsical, light and airy which fits the traits of a typical young girl. Mrs Patmore on the other hand contrasts with Daisy. Daisy is taller, and more slender and significantly younger. Mrs Patmore's form is portrayed as quite strong and her demeanour is quite masculine. However we see the softer to side of Mrs Patmore, and her tense, cold muscular form and sour face transforms into warmth as you see Mrs Patmore relax and try to console Daisy. Mrs Patmore's figure is presumably due more to her age as, stereotypically, the young care more about their looks than the older. We see that even though Daisy is the lowest in the house's heir achy, she still cares about her appearance. She is not being starved as we can see Mrs Patmore is well fed, so her slender shape is a matter of preference. Women then, and now have to conform to standards such as how slim you are. Although we know from looking at Daisy's work clothes that she is not rich or noble, she still takes pride in her appearance. Her work clothes are worn in, bland and neutral but she still keeps herself neat and tidy, with her hair pinned back, shirt tucked in and her skirt - a sensible length.

Amongst the scuffle and clanging of pots and pans, Daisy begins the dialogue. The scene starts with Daisy thinking out loud to Mrs Patmore about Thomas and how 'attractive' she finds him. Mrs Patmore tries to convince Daisy she's lusting over the wrong boy, which Daisy takes personally, thinking she's not good enough for Thomas. We see a combination of long wide shots of Daisy cleaning, to medium close ups of Mrs Patmore, and over the Mrs' Patmore's shoulder shots at Daisy, or medium close ups of Daisy and a pan shot of Daisy moving closer to Mrs Patmore; all of which emphasises the confusion in their conversation but also how willing and comfortable they are to talk to one another, evidenced by Daisy boldly starting the conversation. I believe that it is mainly their gender that allows them to be this comfortable around each other. Daisy must presume that Mrs Patmore has some courting advice for Daisy since they are both women and stereotypically should be with men.

Mrs Patmore, realising she's offended Daisy, re-words herself, telling her he's not the boy for her, and emphasising she's not the GIRL for him. Here we see Mrs Patmore hint at Thomas' homosexuality, however poor naive Daisy doesn't catch on, and continues to put herself down, saying she's done nothing with her life. Her lack of confidence and low self esteem reflects the unbalanced values of women against men back then, and how she believes her only job is to attract a man and if she can't do that then she is a failure.
Evidently, Mrs Patmore knows more about Thomas- saying he's "seen and done more than is good for him", to which Daisy gives her a puzzled look. Mrs Patmore re-emphasises "he's not a ladies' man", again suggesting he likes men, which Daisy translates to- he's not a womaniser. Mrs Patmore, in frustration with a raised voice expresses her opinion of Thomas, saying he's "a troubled soul". The negative connotations of "troubled soul" lead us to believe Mrs Patmore is homophobic, however this is the norm in the period drama, and fits with the era as this time period was not advance with gender identity. If Daisy's confusion before wasn't clear enough, it is now, as she blurts out "I don't know what you mean, Mrs Patmore". Mrs Patmore, not wanting to crush Daisy's heart, leaves her in ignorant bliss by shaking her head and telling her she "don't mean anything". Mrs Patmore conveys a warmth that only a woman could bring and advice only a woman (back then) could give.

This scene takes place in quite a natural looking and old kitchen, but neutral and bland to portray that the servants courters are only seen by them and so are practical not aesthetically pleasing. The gender neutral colours would appeal to the large number of male and female servants living downstairs. As for props, the food that is out on the table is also not very appetising to match the mood of the room, suggesting that they are not in "peak" dining hour and have some downtime in which they can talk and tidy their work space. It also reminds us that the show is set in the past and so there would be no refrigeration.