Sex and the City: A Fascinating Character Study in Storytelling
Who wouldn’t forget how Sex And The City dominated the 90s-early 2000s? It featured four different women, all representing different archetypes, and attitudes towards love, sex, relationships and dating. Of course, there’s a notable fifth character – New York City itself.
During its release, it was impactful because it was series about different women talking and living out their lives, especially at their late 20s/30s. For all of its iconic moments and storylines, what makes the series so entertaining is because of the character variations and differences. Before gracing the screens as a television show adapted and produced by HBO, Sex and The City was a book Candace Bushnell wrote, based on her life, and her friends’.
The huge difference in character psychology has helped elevate the storytelling of the show to different levels. In this article, we’ll talk about the different character archetypes of the characters in the show!
The Women of SATC
Carrie Bradshaw
Let’s start with the main character, Carrie Bradshaw! To others, sex, love and relationship and relations are a game like Jili, but Carrie treats them as they are. When not working on her Sex And The City column in the New York star, she is a socialite. She represents the Narcissist archetype and our inner monologues that you want to keep so quiet.
Her imperfections, often used in arguments justifying how much she is the “worst”, are many, but the chief of them is her tendency to be self-centered. She is self-centered in her friendships and romantic relationships, with many available examples. However, she is a romantic at heart and is an amazing friend
Samantha Jones
Samantha Jones is considered the Jezebel, the libido of the feminine mind without any apologies. She is also the eldest of the four friends and mirrors the successful woman in her 40s who has sex “like a man”. Samantha is incredibly confident and booming in her PR executive business; she is also sexually unrestrained and, ironically, the least boy-crazy out of the group, although she has had her moments close to that.
She is a loyal friend to her friend group, especially to Carrie, but she also makes enemies with many women for sleeping with other women’s husbands. Despite her restraint and confidence, Samantha has hidden depths and struggles with her emotions, especially as she had been hurt in earlier relationships and displays sensitivity.
In the show’s last season, she braves cancer with the support of her boyfriend, who is, ironically, much younger than her but remains one of the best male characters in the show.
Miranda Hobbes
Miranda may be successful and an achiever—she’s a successful lawyer—but she is also cynical about relationships due to bad experiences with men and with people. She mirrors the reality of most women. Miranda may seem like she has it all, but there are times when she struggles to balance her roles in life, especially when she has a child that she didn’t plan on having and has to suffer the consequences for it.
Miranda has struggled with dating, especially as an achiever. She’s had to search for a guy confident enough to date a strong woman or someone who could afford the same things she did. With the right push, she welcomed the “accidents” into her life: Steve, whose schedule clashes with hers, and her child, Brady.
Despite her cynicism and imperfections, Miranda never lets herself off for trying to be the best she can be.
Charlotte York
Charlotte is impatient, honest, and conservative to the point of being cancel-worthy, but her tenacity to find herself love makes her worth rooting for. She had a vision for her life and tried many things to obtain that life.
In her love life, Charlotte York endured many ups and downs – from crying in restaurants about being tired of waiting for a knight in shining armor to manifesting she would get married on a speedboat; Charlotte York always put her vulnerability out there.
Despite her trials and tribulations, Charlotte’s self-respect separates her from Carrie; she is able to find the strength to leave the guy who didn’t give her the love and life she deserved and wanted and did not settle for anything less – which made all the difference when she found
The Men of SATC
Harry Goldenblatt
Harry Goldenblatt, although flawed and not “good on paper”, remains representative of the “ideal” man that Charlotte has. He genuinely loves and cares about his wife and eventual family and loves Charlotte for who she is and what she’s done for him, especially giving up Christmas and converting to Judaism for him.
Mr. Big
Mr. Big’s archetype is based on men who find it hard to have emotional intimacy when dating people; they tend to date many people. He is also called “Big” because of his achievements and charisma.
In the later seasons, he grows to prioritize Carrie’s well-being over a good time especially by the time he visits her and dissects her book, only to realize how badly he hurt her during their time together.
Steve
Steve is an interesting case since he is soft-spoken and does not adhere to traditional masculine traits. Steve is less intelligent, less successful, and less handsome, but his great strength is his capacity to care.
Wrapping Up
What truly makes Sex And The City rewatchable and fun is the amount of depth and thought in the characters, which creates the unique chemistry people love. This is also why the sequel does not work without the presence of Samantha, due to the writing. Truly, despite some things about the series holding up badly, Sex And The City still remains rewatchable because of the flesh and blood the writers bought to the characters and the premise of four women just talking about life and relationships.
