TV used to have just your basic good your bad , your light and dark. In the last 15 years it has grown in complexity. It has developed a new character~ one that walks the fine line between hero and villain: anti-hero.
The anti-hero roll plays the protagonist roll, the one who we should despise for his immoral deeds, yet can’t help but root for and admire. The male anti-hero, which has always been dominated by men, has become more prevalent while his female counterpart remains widely non-existent on screen. Most female characters fall into a more recent archetype of the antihero’s good wife. The one whose sole purpose seems to be reinstating morality in her corrupt husband. The disapproving & good wife is usually calming ~ a voice of reason, and essentially a party pooper. (The Betty to your Don Draper)
There have been a few female anti-hero contenders like Olivia Pope in Scandal, but none come close to one. House of Card’s Claire Underwood introduces a new dynamic: the female anti-hero. She walks the fine line between hero and villain, and makes it look oh so good.
Claire isn’t just in her husband’s corner, but is an equally strong-willed ruthless symbol of power. She’s an equal to her knock-down husband & even more pitiless. She doesn’t wait for Frank to climb the walls of power-hungry Washington, she helps him.
Claire doesn’t partake in antisocial character like her husband and also doesn’t engage in very reckless or impulsive outbursts. She is much more restrained & guarded than Frank. She rarely shows emotion- fake smiles, an empty laugh.
She is a high-profile political “good wife” in public, but behind the scenes Claire Underwood, is a leading female anti-hero. She plots & schemes to further Frank’s career, but doesn’t ever allow it to interrupt hers. Between partaking in nude photo shoots, Claire shows up to fire her whole staff from her non-profit (CWI), telling one “I am willing to let your child wither and die inside of you if that’s what is required.” She doesn’t allow anyone to make decisions for her. Claire Underwood is mysterious, ruling, and somewhat admiringly out of her mind.
Coercive, powerful, & sinister.
A few favorite quotes:
“Well, you can’t worry about what other people think, right?”
“Seduce him. Give him your heart. Cut it out and put it in his fucking hands.”
“No, what I chose was a man I could love more than a week.”
“Is there a spider I can trap?”
“Behind every great man is a woman with blood on her hands.”
“She lost. But she played to win.”
“I will bury you.”
“Am I the sort of enemy you really want to make?”
Frank loves this woman “more than he loves blood.” She is one of the most compelling (and controversial) characters in the House of Cards Series. Thanks to Claire Underwood, we don’t have to cheer on one merciless anti-hero, but a couple who champions side by side.
Works Cited:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/criticwire/year-in-tv-2013-scandal-antihero
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/05/house-of-cards-tv-antihero-archetype_n_4899440.html
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/02/feminism-depravity-and-power-in-em-house-of-cards-em/283960/