April 19, 2013 - 7:35pm
Don Draper's "Inferno"
BY KENDALL RUSS
- AMC
In the premiere of “Mad Men” ’s penultimate sixth season, we’re introduced to a sun-drenched Don Draper intently reading Dante’s “Inferno” on a Hawaiian beach. Though it’s not the first time creator Matthew Weiner has incorporated famous literature for symbolic purposes — he previously alludes to the work of important epochal intellectuals such as Ayn Rand, Frank O’Hara and David Riesman — the “Inferno” already appears integral to the thematic development of the show and its protagonist.
Among the most welcome components of “Mad Men” ’s return is the coinciding return of Don’s aggressive, promiscuous ways. It would be misleading, however, to simply say that Don Draper is back. He’s not just cheating on Megan — he’s doing it with someone in the same building. He’s not just dominating business — he’s insulting important clients at Jaguar and Sheraton. Hell, he’s not even just drinking — he’s puking at funerals! Don’s recklessness stands out at this nascent stage of season six, but for every Steak Diavolo served with a side of adultery, there’s that tired slump at the doorway. You get the sense that though he resembles the Don of old, his control and composure are slowly slipping.
The struggle we see in Don thus far suggests that Weiner’s inclusion of the “Inferno” will operate as a crucial thematic device throughout the season, and perhaps for the rest of the series. Don’s downward spiral — just as Dante descends through the nine circles of Hell — almost seems inevitable. Weiner gives us glimpses in the third episode, where the show explores Don’s insatiable lust at length. Though no overt reference to Dante is made after the premiere, the parallel is undeniable: Dante’s second circle of Hell was, sure enough, lust. Eventually, he journeys deeper into Hell, encountering the circles of greed, anger and violence before reaching the deepest and most malicious levels of fraud and treachery. The parallel is perhaps too appropriate, given the fraudulent nature inherent in the Don Draper identity. Will Don finally unravel? Will Dick Whitman be known to the world? “Mad Men” ’s prospects are certainly exciting, especially if Weiner continues to play up the “Inferno” similarities.
Don’s brashness has always been a crucial characteristic of his, a means of concealing his background and essentially creating himself anew. Season Six depicts Don at his insatiable best; a frustrated (and stylishly side-burned) Pete Campbell bellows, “Why can’t you play by the rules?” when Don cunningly douses the Jaguar salesman’s lousy plan to alter the campaign. His outrage may stem from his consistent inability to replicate Don’s extra-marital success — especially after he fumbles his attempt at an affair with his own neighbor — but the question borders on the rhetorical: Don Draper does not and cannot play by the rules.
Yet the early indicators of Don’s anxiety and fatigue overwhelm. Though he may appear more self-assured than ever to other characters, we get glimpses — his New Year’s resolution to Sylvia and the final shot of episode three, especially — that betray an increasingly helpless demeanor. Whether he manages to save himself or plunges further into the Inferno remains to be seen.
