According to creator Nancy Miller, the title character, Grace Hanadarko of Saving Grace, is a “very sexual creature,” and Miller makes no apologies for Grace’s very active sex life. “Grace is a sexual being because of who she is, not what happened to her,” Miller says, referring to when Father Patrick Murphy molested Grace as a child.
Grace challenges patriarchy on all levels. Miller has noted that she came to the character of Grace “very honestly” not thinking about what she “should” be or what Hollywood has often deemed female roles to be. In Grace there is “total raw honesty, about a woman who leads her life with no illusions of perfection about herself–or any anyone else”.
Much like Tony Soprano with the ladies, Grace is not a one-man woman. She is involved in an affair with her married partner, Ham Dewey, but she also engages in numerous casual relationships. She doesn’t lie about it or make excuses. If anyone has a problem with her promiscuity it’s the men in her life. Men have been doing the same thing for centuries; but in Saving Grace, there is no double standard. Grace just happens to be a lapsed Catholic who loves sex and is liberated through it.
What is often different than in real-life is the admiration the men of Saving Grace have for her. Grace has had sexual relationships with a number of the men on the Oklahoma City police force, and they all also know she is an exceptional detective. The men Grace sleeps with seem to be a bit jealous of her life, as Grace is able to treat all of her partners with respect. For example, after engaging in sex with someone Grace doesn’t toss them away like a used tissue, but continues to be friends with that individual.
While Grace is never punished for her sexuality on the show, that doesn’t mean there aren’t patriarchal structures that don’t try. Under the guise of giving Grace a new partner until Ham recovers from the death of his brother, Internal Affairs sends in a female officer, Abbey Charles, to pair with Grace temporarily. Internal Affairs hopes to document Grace’s promiscuity, heavy drinking, and other destructive behaviors. However, Abbey’s cover is blown and the ploy backfires with the squad supporting Grace and shunning Abbey as a traitor.
During the second season, Grace and the squad investigate the murders of two women at the home of architect William Drugh. Drugh’s unorthodox views on sex and relationships intrigue Grace; and while investigating the case, she has a casual fling with the architect. His philosophy comes from a behavior based on ancient Hindu or Buddhist texts and Grace is fascinated by Drugh, carrying some of his principles into her own life, such as her sexual relations with Ham.
In the third and final season, Grace’s best friend and crime investigator, Rhetta Rodriquez learns that her husband has cheated on her. A devout Catholic, Rhetta explains to Grace that when she has an affair with a married man, the wife feels the same betrayal and hurt as Rhetta currently feels. She extracts a pledge from Grace that she will stop sleeping with married men, one which Grace tries hard to abide by.
Grace also has a casual sexual relationship with Hut Flanders, who tells her that he’s a writer documenting tragedy and sorrow for a book. Grace has just survived a twelve-story fall, and has become known as the “Angel Cop.” Flanders tells her that miracles such as hers are always followed by sorrow. She and Flanders make love in the Catholic Church where Grace has gone to confront God regarding plans for her future. Only later, when Rhetta finds that no such writer as Hut Flanders exists does Grace realize that Flanders represents incomprehensible evil. Rhetta believes that Grace has had sex with Satan, but Grace scoffs at such an assertion. “He was a man,” Grace tells her not the least bit fazed by what Flanders might symbolize. For Grace, there are no misgivings, guilt, or punishment for challenging sexual mores or patriarchy, for that matter.
Grace has no fears about whom she has sex with; she views the act as simply a part of her being. While there have been women portrayed on television and in the movies who have loved sex, they have generally been pigeon-holed man-eaters or nymphomaniacs. Grace is neither of these things, but a woman who happens to have a passion for sex—much the way Tony Soprano and the majority of his crew love sex. Another part of what Grace does is shatter stereotypes and illusions about women being “good girls” or “bad girls” and having to pay some sort of price dictated by a patriarchal society when they enjoy sex.
Kathryn Schleich is the author of Hollywood and Catholic Women 2nd Edition, published through iUniverse in late 2011.
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