#i don't think modern white western women necessarily get how those sharp gender roles work?

[patrice-bergerons]

I love season 9 for how real it is in its portrayal of everyday tragedies and it is very much so the case with Joan's ending too. Her ending is bittersweet because on one hand, Strange adores her and he *is* the best person she could have married (just to be clear--a far better match for her than Morse). But on the other hand, for Joan, marrying him is if not accepting defeat then certainly accepting a reasoned compromise against the societal pressures she fought so hard against for so long.

Her job means the world to her and yet we don't see or hear any mention of it in s9. She'd said she didn't want to end up in her parents' marriage with a two up two down and a pram in the hall and yet that is the house in Kidlington, where they are moving to because of her copper fiancé's job with her full blessing.

And the tragedy of it is that if there is one person who would listen to her hesitations and do his best to understand and accommodate, it's Strange. But. He is a excellent prospect for her in how kind and loving and stable he is, and there is a limit to these things you know? The society has roles for a wife and a husband and as a woman of that era you have to be very careful in the battles you choose -- if you push too much you can very quickly realise that you found and crossed the line with no way back. And so she doesn't trust him enough to be honest with him--or to ask for anything for herself. It's just a little sad in just how real it is.