Eliciting controversy and divided opinions during its initial run, SATC was nonetheless widely seen as a well-written and respectable series. Unfortunately, the two feature films and the heavily-edited episodes airing in syndication have led many to regard the franchise a bloated, brainless mess - and something that only women who tolerate "chick flicks" might appreciate.
While apparently not as hip or edgy as before, SATC still has plenty of wit, fun, and engaging stories on offer. As with the best TV series, the characters endear themselves to viewers. Each of the four main characters, all women in their mid-thirties to early forties, represents a personality type and but also emerges as an individual.
Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) is the main character. A sex columnist for the fictitious New York Star, she narrates the episodes and provides insights into the contemporary dating scene while looking for true love. Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) is a lawyer with a serious, cynical disposition, while Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), who owns a PR firm, believes in sex without emotional commitment. And then, of course, there's Charlotte.
Charlotte
" Everything happens for a reason. Even if you don't know what it is yet." - Charlotte
Charlotte was born to into a well-heeled Connecticut family, daughter of Dr. Stephen Foster York and
Sandra Whitehead York. She is a graduate of Smith College (and a former member of Kappa Kappa Gamma)
where she studied finance and art history. As SATC opens, she works as an art dealer and curator at a
Manhattan gallery.
Of the four SATC women, Charlotte's style is the most traditional. She's most often seen in black, white, and pastel shades, in pretty, well-tailored dresses, sweaters and jackets. Sometimes she goes for floral prints or classics like polka dots, stripes, and plaid. Her style has a strong '60s influence, and she brings to mind screen sirens like Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn. She is seen in Chanel, Dior, Prada, and Ralph Lauren, among other labels.
"Traditional" also describes Charlotte's outlook on love and marriage. She plays by the rules, even if she seems to make up some of the rules as she goes along. Letting men take the lead and playing hard to get, she is nonetheless able to guide relationships along a "proper" path (until an impasse is reached.)
Among her friends, Charlotte regarded as a little quaint and fussy, but generally good company. She's cheerful, optimistic, charming, and funny. While Charlotte likely started behaving the way she does in order to impress and please others, she would never change to conform to more contemporary expectations. She has confidence in her overall approach and outlook.
Something that does change is Charlotte's idealism. She has a vision of a perfect life, and gets everything she wants, for better or for worse. Yet she also finds what she needs where least expected.
Men
" [Charlotte] yearned for the time when dinner was followed by dessert, not lubricant." - Carrie
For the first few seasons of SATC, Charlotte dates a number of fellows, just like her friends do.
While Carrie Bradshaw is looking for love, Charlotte's specs are a little more specific. She's looking
for a candidate for marriage: a successful professional, handsome and well-mannered, with whom to
start a family. Charlotte, being the "straight man", is often saddled with the most bizarre guys, to increase the humour and drama in each episode.
We don't know who Charlotte might have met before the series begins (she says she's been dating since age 15, we can assume frequently), but we can take a look at those she dates in seasons one, two, and the beginning of three.
Capote Duncan - Charlotte has a perfect date with this cultured bachelor, and discreetly ends the evening without making love. She later encounters him in a cab, where he says, " I get where you're coming from, but I really need to have sex tonight." He does, with Samantha.
Sean - Originally he woos Carrie, but she thinks that marriage-obsessed Sean would be a better match for Charlotte. They date, but call it off when they can't agree on china patterns. Says Carrie, " He was American Classic, and she was French Country."
Brian - He has the things that matter to Charlotte: "looks, manners, money", but also wants to have anal sex. She mulls it over, but prefers to stick with convention.
Shmeul - Presented as a flashback, Charlotte recalls a secret encounter with a Hasidic folk artist, attracted to "his strangeness and the smell of his wool."
Michael - He wants Charlotte to give him oral sex, something she hates doing. It's a deal-breaker.
Jack - This architect is keen on having a threesome. As usual Charlotte thinks it over, but this time, she decides to go ahead with it. She's over Jack when the threesome becomes a twosome with Jack and another woman, leaving her on the sidelines.
Kevin - A ex-boyfriend of Carrie's, Kevin accepts a severely decreased sex drive as a side-effect of Prozac. It inspires little hope in Charlotte for a fulfilling sex life.
Paul Ericson - He's a record company executive who frequently touches his balls. Charlotte buys him boxers to discourage this, but Paul thinks they're moving "too fast, way too fast" and breaks it off.
Mitchell Sailor - Nicknamed "Mr. Pussy", this man is known never to disappoint in bed, but Charlotte can't sustain a relationship with him. As Samantha says, "You enjoy him and then set him free."
Ned - Charlotte helps widower Ned overcome his grief through an intimate encounter, but he turns out to have used this trick before, much to Charlotte's disgust.
Martin Healy - An eligible best man whom Charlotte meets during a wedding. When his dad makes a pass at her, Martin sides with his parents, and likely always will.
Mike - A restaurant critic who isn't circumcised, Mike decides to "make the cut" for Charlotte, but then feels to restricted in a relationship, wanting to "get out there and share it."
Wylie Ford - Charlotte is thrilled to be dating this movie star, but as his requests become more demeaning, she doesn't appreciate being treated like a groupie.
Stephan Bodean - A pastry chef whom Charlotte worries is gay. Not so, but when a mouse frightens him, Charlotte decides Stephan is too feminine for her.
Eric - Charlotte decides to try dating two men at once, one of them being "Eric from yoga". Both find out in a random encounter and leave her alone.
Dr. Bram Walker - Charlotte is alarmed when the overworked doctor dozes off to sleep during sex, and decides to take a tantric yoga class. Bram enjoys the results.
Greg - A twenty-something guy Charlotte sleeps with in the Hamptons: she gets crabs.
Arthur - An investment banker with friends among the Kennedys, he's mostly a guy who likes to fight.
Brad - Nicknamed "Bad" since he's a bad kisser.
Alexander - A sweet guy who inadvertently calls out "bitch" and "whore" while in bed with Charlotte. When he realizes, he begins seeing a therapist.
Trey
" Charlotte treated marriage like a sorority she was desperately hoping to pledge." - Carrie
Charlotte and Trey MacDougal (Kyle MacLachlan) meet serendipitously, when Charlotte is fleeing from a bad date and Trey's cab nearly hits her. Stepping out of the vehicle to apologize, Trey immediately has Charlotte's attention. A handsome Park Avenue cardiologist and member of a blue-blooded New England family, he prime husband material.
After dating for just three weeks, she's itching for a proposal. Meeting his mother, Bunny (Frances Sternhagen), Charlotte learns a stunningly effective method of getting Trey to agree with whatever she says: rubbing his sleeve. Asking if he would like to get married, Charlotte receives her reply: " All righty!"
Granted, this isn't the ideal proposal Charlotte has been waiting for, and she regrets her actions. All the same, Trey takes her to Tiffany & Co. to find "the most beautiful engagement ring they have." Charlotte, in preparation for her life as a housewife and mother, leaves her job at the art gallery.
The couple decides not to have sex until their wedding night. However, Charlotte gets drunk the night before and visits Trey's apartment. While the two are in bed she's alarmed to discover his trouble getting it up, indicating he might be impotent. She expresses her concerns to Carrie moments before the walking down the aisle, but Carrie reassures the bride-to-be that Trey would likely not have future problems. The lavish wedding goes ahead.
But of course, Trey's troubles continue. Counselling sessions reveal that Trey has a "Madonna-whore complex", seeing his wife as too immaculate to sully, and instead jerking off to Juggs
magazine. Charlotte's efforts to have Trey see her as a sexual being have lacklustre results. The two reach the point of living apart, before Trey is able to make passionate love. They
reconcile and decide to try starting a family.
No sooner is one hurdle overcome than another is encountered. Charlotte has always wanted to have children, but has difficulty becoming pregnant. Upon consulting a doctor, Charlotte discovers a condition that leaves her with only has a 15% chance of conceiving. Persistent as ever, she undergoes different therapies, from acupuncture to hormone shots, and considers in-vitro. Trey doesn't seem to share this determination, however: the efforts wear him out.
Bunny is an ever-present figure during all these events, reluctant to leave her son in the hands of another woman (even if the woman is his wife!) Bunny pops up in the bedroom and bathroom, not giving the newlyweds much privacy. Charlotte is at least able to assert control over her own apartment, redecorating from Bunny's dark, stuffy style to a bright, clean look.
It's the "last straw" when Trey brings home a cardboard cutout of a baby in hopes of cheering up Charlotte. She doesn't appreciate being reminded of what she can't have, and realizes that Trey likely doesn't want the same things from life as she does. The two separate for good, and Trey moves back in with his mother.
Charlotte is later reluctant to blame the failure of the marriage on Trey, instead focusing on her own shortcomings and Bunny's overbearing presence. It's true that Charlotte had often put the superficial aspects of marriage above mutual respect and fulfilment. Her "perfect" marriage is hollow. All the same, while Charlotte shows a continued willingness to meet problems head-on, Trey lacks the same determination. He prefers having things done for him. Even Charlotte, the dreamer, knows that marriage takes hard work from both partners.
Harry
" I don't care if you ever marry me. I just want to be
with you." - Charlotte to Harry
In order to disentangle herself from Trey and, especially, Bunny, Charlotte hires a divorce lawyer,
Harry Goldenblatt. (Evan Handler) Although he clearly enjoys her company, Harry is hardly Charlotte's
"type", so she takes no notice. Bald, sweaty, crudely-mannered and foul-mouthed, Harry is Trey's
opposite. Of course, this also means he's assertive, attentive, and passionate.
While showing Charlotte a friend's apartment she could possibly rent, Harry confesses he's crazy about her. Initially embarrassed, Charlotte too is overcome by the moment and the two have satisfying sex. Charlotte later confesses to her gay friend Anthony that while she'd like to continue to sleep with Harry, she can't see dating him.
Nonetheless, Charlotte and Harry form a deep mutual affection and even discuss Charlotte's favourite topics, marriage and children. She explains her difficulties becoming pregnant, but Harry is willing to explore all options, including adoption. Yet Harry has one requirement for marriage on which he won't compromise: he promised his mother (on her deathbed) that he would only marry a Jewish girl. Charlotte - a lapsed Episcopalian - has difficulty understanding, but realizes that the only solution is converting to Judaism. Harry is sceptical, but as always Charlotte undergoes the necessary rigours, from sharing dinner with a rabbi and his family, to attending classes and performing rituals.
Charlotte appears to find renewed faith, but has trouble letting go of some of her older beliefs
concerning marriage. While she's met Harry's requirement, he hasn't set a wedding date. She ends up
sabotaging the relationship in a fit of anger.
The two don't see one another for several weeks, and a listless Charlotte goes on a few blind dates. Still a practising Jew, she attends a singles' night at the local synagogue. There she sees Harry, and tells him that it's more important that they be together than be married. Harry naturally choses this moment to propose, and Charlotte readily accepts.
Their wedding is a comedy of errors, but Harry believes "the worse the wedding, the better the marriage," which turns out to be true. Harry helps Charlotte overcome her devastation when she experiences a miscarriage, and he later becomes a dear friend to Carrie, Miranda, and Samantha.
Children
" Nobody gets everything they want! ... I'm so happy and... something bad is going to happen. " - Charlotte to Carrie
Charlotte and Harry's first "baby" is the four-legged sort. While still lost in sadness over her
miscarriage, Charlotte meets a King Charles Spaniel in the park. The owner gives the dog to Charlotte
after noticing how quickly they take to one another. Charlotte names the dog Elizabeth Taylor.
Elizabeth goes on to take a prize in a dog show and give birth to a litter of puppies.
Still, Charlotte and Harry want to expand their family, and decide to adopt a baby from China. They receive a girl and name her Lily.
Four years later (in the Sex and the City movie), Lily is an adorable five-year-old, and Charlotte has a happy home life. She is concerned about her friends' rocky relationships, but her own luck keeps improving: she becomes pregnant and carries the baby to term. She and Harry name the baby Rose, and Harry says, " It's my lot in life to be surrounded by beautiful women."
Another two years on (in Sex and the City 2), Lily and Rose are proving to be a handful. Charlotte and Harry have a nanny, Erin, who provides some relief, though Charlotte fears that Erin is catching her husband's wandering eye. (Not an unreasonable assumption, given Erin's choice not to wear bras!) A whirlwind trip to the Middle East with her friends helps Charlotte overcome her insecurities, and renews her confidence as a mother. Plus, it turns out that Erin prefers the affections of women.
Women
"What if we were each other's soul mates? Then men could just be these great sweet guys to have fun with." - Charlotte
The four women of SATC stand by one another through good times and bad. However, possessing different personality types and outlooks, they are bound to clash on occasion. How does Charlotte relate to her friends? What do they have in common?
Carrie Bradshaw is Charlotte's best friend, and both are usually upbeat and lighthearted. Carrie is more cynical than Charlotte in some respects, yet more of a dreamer in others. Carrie's quest for true love is fairly open-ended compared to Charlotte's specific goals; while Charlotte is eager to get married after meeting Trey and then Harry, Carrie has a hard time recognizing what's right in front of her: John Preston a.k.a. Mr Big. Carrie believes she is "allergic" to marriage, and her eventual marriage to John come after many ordeals. (The two have no desire to raise children, in contrast to Charlotte and Harry.) While Charlotte readily admits she's "a little rigid", Carrie seldom notices when her behaviour goes from quirky to neurotic. Carrie is more likely to be governed by her emotions, while Charlotte is guided by her sense of what is proper. Overall Charlotte and Carrie can depend on one another for support and reassurance. Their defining moments include Charlotte giving Carrie her engagement ring to sell, so that Carrie can make a down payment on her apartment, and Charlotte's cursing Mr. Big for not arriving at he and Carrie's wedding (before her water breaks and he kindly takes her to the delivery room.)
Miranda Hobbes is not kindly disposed toward most men, and likely considers Charlotte's idealization of marriage to be slightly ridiculous. In conversation, Miranda usually has a sarcastic retort to Charlotte's statements, though Charlotte seldom takes offense. While
Charlotte lets go of her career in anticipation of being a wife and mother, this is the last thing
that Miranda would consider. A well-paid lawyer stimulated by her work, Miranda wants a man who fits
into her life without compromise. This makes her relationship with Steve Brady, a bartender, atypical,
since Steve works opposite hours, and has a more relaxed, spontaneous approach to life. The two are
on-again, off-again, but during one of the "on" moments, Miranda becomes pregnant. Naturally
Charlotte, desperately wanting a child with Trey but unable to conceive, feels betrayed and jealous.
Miranda plans to have an abortion, but then decides instead to keep the baby. Her friends,
including Charlotte, support her. Eventually Miranda marries Steve in a low-key wedding, compared to
Charlotte's lavish events. The two women bond most memorably in Sex and the City 2, downing cocktails as they express how overwhelming motherhood can be. While initially having different priorities, both women consider their strong families a personal achievement.
Samantha Jones is as liberal and "try-sexual" (she'll try anything once) as Charlotte is conservative
and rules-governed. Samantha enjoys teasing Charlotte, who sometimes respones in a playful way and sometimes gets annoyed.
Samantha believes in having "sex like a man", that is, without emotional commitment. Of course,
Charlotte expects not only commitment, but matrimonial bliss. One of Samantha's key traits is her lack
of judgement toward others, while Charlotte is quick to judge and let her opinions be known. It's
ironic that while on the dating scene, Charlotte winds up with men who have unique sexual requests and
fantasies, and Samantha finds men who are simply too short, old, small, big, and so on. All the same,
Samantha seems to be happy with her free and easy lifestyle. She and Charlotte find themselves at odds
when Samantha sleeps with Charlotte's brother, Wesley, who has just gotten out of a bad relationship.
Charlotte lashes out at Samantha, but later realizes that the experience benefited Wesley, who
appreciates the attention. In a sweet gesture, Charlotte bakes Samantha a basket of muffins and
apologizes. Thereafter, the older Samantha is protective toward Charlotte, and Charlotte
accepts Samantha's approach to love and life.
Actress
"In the beginning I had a list of Charlotte traits and a list of mine, but over the years it's sort of blended." - Kristin Davis
Kristin Davis was born February 23, 1965 in Boulder, Colorado. Her family moved several times before arriving in New Jersey, where she attended Rutgers University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1987. Davis then moved to New York and worked as a waitress and yoga instructor before landing her break-out television role in 1995, villain Brooke Armstrong Campbell on Melrose Place. She stayed on the show for a year, and then appeared in episodes of the most popular '90s sitcoms: Friends, Will and Grace and Seinfeld.
Davis's took on her best-known role in 1998, as Charlotte in Sex and the City. She appears in the show's six seasons, as well as the two films, released 2008 and 2010. Additional film projects include The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3D, The Shaggy Dog, Deck the Halls and Couples Retreat. Davis is a recovering alcoholic who went sober in her 20s. She isn't married.
Links
Articles - Let Us Now Praise Charlotte York Goldenblatt, Carrie's Diary: Charlotte
Fanlistings - Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, Harry, Sex and the City
Resources - HBO: Official Site, Sex and the City 2: Official Site, TBS: Sex and the City, TV.com
Sex and the City and Charlotte York Goldenblatt are copyright Darren Star, Rysher, and HBO. This fan production is maintained by Karen M. Part of the Brightest Day Network
Created as part of the Amassment community's One Page, One Month Marathon.