Gender And Cultural Aspects In Elizabeth Montgomery's Bewitched

Elizabeth Montgomery was an American actress who lived from 1933 to 1995. Of her five decades of work in the entertainment industry, her most renowned role was as Samantha in the comedic-fantasy TV series Bewitched which aired from 1964 to 1972. During the period when Americans were experiencing trying events such as the assassination of President John Kennedy and the civil rights movements, Samantha’s magical powers and almost perfect life served as a means for the stressed public to periodically dismiss reality. In real life, Elizabeth Montgomery was an empowered activist. However, this paper will explore the influence of social and cultural aspects in regards to gender and women’s leadership roles as observed through the character Samantha, which Elizabeth Montgomery developed and brought to life.

In the series Bewitched, Samantha is

a witch in love with a mortal man. Due to the dilemma of her inter-being relationship, Samantha had decided to live the life of a typical middle class homemaker by suppressing the use of her magical powers and pretending to be the ideal wife her husband desired. The situation is noteworthy, particularly because Samantha self-monitored and restricted herself, although she did not have to. With her magical powers, Samantha could have done anything she desired. The following paragraphs analyze potential factors that may have driven Samantha’s agreement to her situation as well as uncover the tools and strategies Samantha used such as her wit, innovativeness, experience and commendable behavior characteristics in conjunction with a dash of her magical powers to navigate effectively to lead her household.
A situation analysis of Samantha’s life exposes the many constrains she lived with. Chiefly, her husband denies her the freedom to use her magic regularly. Given that in every episode Samantha faced various adverse situations, she had to routinely address the dilemmas by initially resorting to the only power her husband will allow her to use, her powers of persuasion. However, to neutralize the situations and expedite the outcomes, Samantha reluctantly does make use of her magic. After all, Bewitched is only an hour-long show and Samantha’s problem were far from small and usual.
Unfortunately, Samantha’s restrictive situation extended beyond her husband and home. For instance, throughout the series, Samantha repeatedly states that she cannot “come-out” to the public with her secret because the public are not yet ready for magic. Although it is a popular theory that Samantha’s secrecy reflects the situation of the LGBT community, an argument that cultural norms regarding “women” behavior, which requires hiding all which is not “modest and self-effacing”, is equally as valid (Williams, 2014). Considering the limited range of acceptable behavior for women, not only could Samantha not fly around on a broomstick, but also she could not even raise her voice to display dismay. In conformation to these social norms, Samantha restricted herself throughout the series. Hence, it can be said that Samantha’s decisions are simply a reflection of the female expectations at the time, which was to put one’s husband before oneself.
In addition, Darrin worked all the time, devoting every bit of effort to his job for a chance at promotion, higher pay, and job satisfaction. It is suggested that he never mastered the art of work life balance, nor did he want to. To add to the unbalance, Darrin actually tended to bring his work home in the form of client meetings. Hence, Darrin, Samantha and their daughter never had essential family time. In addition, Samantha had to single-handedly manage the household. Although Darrin did love her, he left her to her own means at all times. For Samantha, Darrin’s absence did allow her to grow as an independent woman. Ultimately, this dynamic pushed Samantha to develop and exhibit numerous leadership qualities and management strategies in her role as a homemaker leading to her to thrive in her life.
The first notable leadership quality in Samantha is her wit. Samantha is full of wit. However, her wit is not reckless. Samantha’s wit is based on her belief that honesty is the best policy. In the pilot episode, although she knew that Darrin might leave her, she decided to disclose her secret to him. To note, even at this point, Samantha was fully in charge of the situation. She was prepared to contain the situation should it have gone array. However, throughout the series, Samantha does reveal her powers to a select few. An underlying lesson from such instances is that the approach taken in the presentation of information is most important as it determines the deciphering and understanding of information. For instance, in Samantha’s case, her revelations are frequently discounted as jokes due to the candid and humorous way Samantha delivers the news.
Remarkably, through the series, Samantha continuously displayed control over gender biases and in this; she exposed her second notable quality- innovativeness. Although she was aware of social sanctions, she found means to be in control without emasculating the male. For Samantha, most routine human activities were foreign. Meaning, she still had to learn to do everything expected of a woman her age due to social norms. However, Samantha’s innovativeness did not necessarily lie in her ability to perform human tasks; it resonated in the fulfillment of characteristics required for innovation. Samantha was not afraid to think and live “out-of-the-box”. For instance, although her mother was against the marriage she chose, Samantha whole-heartedly followed her belief that wealth was not in riches and power but in family and love. In addition, she always remained open to new ideas and learning to facilitate her existence. In such ways, she maintained herself as an evolving leader.
The third quality Samantha exhibited was her reliance on experience when leading. In most cases, she used her faith in people to solve problems. However, she also realized that she might have to occasionally remind others of her worth, although it may require her to leave for some time. Through example, she showed the audience that by leaving, one can stop people from taking one for granted as the absence promotes cognitive reevaluation of one’s contribution, worth and significance in a particular dynamic. Likewise, Samantha also displayed that a leader should always stay close to their support system. For instance, Samantha could always whisper for her mom, dad, cousin or some magical being in case of a crisis. Additionally, for Samantha, individual victories were minor to family wins. Hence, she was always a team player. She knew the things that made her happy and worked with others to acquire satisfaction.
Fourthly, Samantha had internalized some behavioral characteristics, which allowed her find balance between her gender and leadership expectations.

For instance, regardless of her level of anger, Samantha was always respectful. She was also good-natured and well intentioned for in her world, those with corrupt intentions usually suffered immediately. She also boasted the “Big Five” characteristics- Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism as identified by Eagly and Carli (2007). She asked the right questions at the right time and always remained calm during testing situations. Additionally, in line with the suggestions of Grant and Taylor, Samantha becomes a quick thinker as her interaction with the human world increases (2014). In addition, Samantha consistently projected warmth from the pilot episode to the finale, which according to Grant and Taylor may have contributed to her effectiveness in leadership (2014). In addition, Samantha routinely utilized her sense of humor together with her female charm to cover-up any unfavorable situations. Noteworthy is the fact that Samantha also smiled a

lot.
However, ultimately, she also had one trick up her sleeve- her magic. Although one does not always need magic powers, having them is definitely an advantage. Samantha’s magical powers not only sped up events, but it also filled in for her gaps in understanding of human beings. For a non-magical being, her magic translates into acquiring various skills along the way. By acquiring various skills, one can make life much easier. In addition, these skills will allow one the power to self- survive and be independent. These are distinct necessities, especially for women, as they allow for stronger negotiations.
In conclusion, in eight years, Samantha, a magical middle class homemaker ended up with five Emmy nominations. In those eight years, Samantha matured from a daughter to a wife to a mother. In her various roles, she encountered many stereotypes and mirrored traditional household structure of the time. Nonetheless, regardless of the social setting in which Samantha existed, she demonstrated herself to be a strong female protagonist. In her role, she displayed admirable leadership qualities. Samantha pushed for many cultural changes, within her own world and ours. She was successful because she was an expert tightrope walker between gender and leader expectations. However, according to Groysberg and Abrahams little has changed in the business world since Samantha (2014). This little change signals to the women of the future that greater strategic efforts have to be made so that the efforts of women such as Samantha do not go to waste.