Ethel Mertz, landlord to Lucy and Ricky and wife to Fred Mertz, plays a pivotal role in the 1950’s series I Love Lucy (1951), particularly in the episode “The Diet”. As Lucy is seen throughout the episode battling with insecurities regarding her age and weight, Ethel is a supportive friend who assists her in her quest to lose weight, and ultimately, gain confidence in herself after being made to feel inferior. In comparison to the thin, young dancers in the episode who tease and mock Lucy at the audition, Ethel represents the opposite of this stereotype by resembling an older and, for Lucy, a less desirable figure. As Lucy battles with her own identity in this episode, Ethel remains a constant example of the type of woman she is slowly becoming, and Lucy’s dread regarding this change is made much more evident. Vivian Vance, who plays Ethel, manages to convey the comfort that accompanies her character through referential acting, as defined by Ernest Mathijs in his article within the “Small Parts, Small Players” dossier of Screen. Vance portrays Ethel in a way that “involves the self-conscious design of a performance on the basis of a previous one” (Mathijs 91), which in this case doesn’t necessarily mean that she is basing the character on a past performance, but more so that she portrays Ethel in a way that is comfortable and familiar to how women of her age acted during the time. She is pulling reference from real women with her facial expressions and her delivery of lines, particularly in the beginning of the episode when she is telling Lucy that she has gained weight. As a major part of the ensemble in I Love Lucy (1951), Ethel Mertz is a character that is portrayed using referential acting, and who follows certain “archetypes, exemplary models or cliched stereotypes” (Mathijs 91), which ultimately work to convince the audience that she is a character we can relate to. This captures a wider audience and provides comfort and familiarity to viewers.
Works Cited
Ethel Mertz. Image. I Love Lucy, 1951.
Mathijs, Ernest. “Referential Acting and the Ensemble Cast” Screen. vol. 52, no. 1, 2011.
“The Diet.” I Love Lucy, season 1, episode 3, CBS, 1951.
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