In the early to mid 1960s, TV families adhered to strict code. “Ozzie and Harriet”, “Leave It to Beaver”, and even “The Beverly Hillbillies” expected the nuclear American family to be made up of perfectly groomed children and a husband and wife to always sleep in separate beds (they were also all white, but that’s a rant for a different day). Their culture ad worldview never went far from the picket fence surrounding their manicure suburban lawn. Then came “The Addams Family”. Unlike the Munsters, they were not monsters but humans who lived a supremely naive and happy existence believing the world to be as excepting and strange at them (sorry, Munsters fans, but I always found them to be kinda snobby). Besides being the first TV family where the mother and father slept in the same bed (however they were forbidden from ever showing both people in the bed at the same time), the Addams clan generally showed kindness to everyone they met. The problem was that their ideas of kindness were often misinterpreted.
One reason why I love re-watching the original TV show is because of the relationship between Gomez (John Astin) and Morticia (Caroline Jones). They are both dedicated stay-at-home parents (when told the children will have attend school Gomez declares that he’ll be lost without them) who are madly in love, but also share and discuss almost everything as equal partners. The only time this doesn’t happen is when it’s to create a comedic foible of a plot like Morticia thinking their broke because she mishears Gomez on the telephone and doesn’t want him to know that she’s worried. Morticia is a housewife, but she is also an artist, an amateur botanist, knows fencing and modern culture, and is highly intelligent. Gomez never does the “no wife of mine” routine, instead acting as her encouragement. However, as Morticia really runs the house and Gomez relies on her for most things, I think the writers ran into issues keeping this subtle. TV at the time said the “man was the head of the house”. I imagine that had to start writing more to keep this sort of free thinking in check and it shows how a story like the episode I’m about to summaries comes about in retro TV.
SPOILERS AHEAD
“Morticia, the Writer” is an episode in the second season where they revisit an upset from the very first episode - fairy tales. The Addams Family is appalled that the killing of sweet dragons and the oven roasting of hospitable witches could be allowed in children’s books. Morticia decides she’ll write new fairy tales to offer as a school reading alternative. She sets up a writing space and typewriter in the cave located under the Addams’s home. I like this cave. It comes complete with a lever for turning the echo on or off and a creepy cousin who just lets out a joyful, crazed laugh when addressed. Mortiicia declares it’s the closest thing they have to a lonely garret (note: the house does have a garret, but it’s where Lurch the Butler apparently does clay modeling).
This episode makes me think of NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month - Look it up if you’re out of the loop). Morticia kicks Gomez and all other distractions out of the cave, determined to meet a deadline she has set for herself. She doesn’t leave for food, sleep, or making out with her husband. She states, “all work and no play gets books done” - Seriously, I want to ask Stephen King if that’s why he put that in the Shining? Gomez observes that Louisa May Alcott must have looked this obsessive when writing Little Women. Sort of a strange book for an Addams to reference, but they are a cultured, well-read family. Plus, Alcott wrote a lot of thrillers and short ghost stories in her career so it actually makes sense when you think about it.
Morticia actually finishes her first novel in 2 days, 10 hours, and 37 minutes. My jealousy know no bounds. I can barely finish my 50,000 words during November (and that was before I had a full time job). At first, Gomez is his usual supportive self, clearing their shelves of Dickens and Gibbon to make room for everything she is going to write. Then, Uncle Fester (played by former child star Jackie Coogan who had an interesting life) points out that if she becomes a best seller, she’ll go on book tours and Gomez won’t be able to go along when the children are in school.
He is furthered worried when Morticia only takes a 10 minute break between books and, of course, wants to use that time to tell Gomez about her novel “Cinderella, the Teenage Delinquent” (which I want to read). In a moment of weakness, Gomez is convinced by Uncle Fester to change the novel so all of the traditional fairy tale elements are put back in. They believe that this will cause the publisher to turn down the book and his marriage will be saved. Gomez does feels guilty, but still continues to do it. This is possibly one of the most anxiety ridden plots of anything about a writer. Stop editing without the authors final say! It feels like watching your favorite book be waterdown and rewritten as a movie (I’m looking at you - Ella Enchanted the movie!).
The publisher shows up at their house to praise Morticia for the book she doesn’t realize Gomez changed. Excited about being in print, Morticia gets back writing by having her dinner served on TV trays (I love a good TV tray - I should note that I don’t own a kitchen table) and not seeing Gomez despair over what he did. Then the publisher returns to show her the first copy and Morticia is finally able to read what was published.
Thinking it was the editors at the publishing company she declares, “Mr. Boswell and his hired assassins have ruined my work!” I love this lament. I think I’ll say it the next time Microsoft Word tries to autocorrect me.
Gomez does finally fess up when copies of the altered book really do wind up in Wednesday and Pugley’s required school reading. Mortica chooses to see this as proof that the “only thing publishers will print is junk”. I won’t comment on that line. I’ll just leave it right here for all of you authors to enjoy.
Image copyright of MGM and 20th Century Fox. Caroline Jones as Morticia Addams