Don Draper as Qoheleth

"What's happiness? It's a moment before you need more happiness." - Don Draper "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!" or "Meaningless, meaningless! Everything is meaningless!" -Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes 1:2)

If you've never seen Mad Men, you're missing out on an essential part of the human experience. Perhaps I exaggerate. Perhaps not. In either case, I maintain the brilliance of Mad Men against any other television drama. Don Draper is an insatiable protagonist. Situated in an era on the brink of social revolution in the 1960's, Draper at once forms & is formed by a world seeking happiness. Don's job is to sell happiness. "Happiness is the smell of a new car." Or, more succinctly, "It's a moment before you need more happiness." His journey leads through infidelity, strokes of brilliance, embarrassing vulnerability, three agencies & seven seasons.

But Mad Men's existential-crisis-averting protagonist isn't as original as you might think. Situated in the part of the Bible some call "Wisdom Literature" you'll find a book called Ecclesiastes. It's a favorite for your more angsty Theists, considering the opening lines can be translated as, "Meaningless, meaningless! Everything is meaningless!" Ecclesiastes follows the life of a man called Qoheleth (Also translated as Teacher or Preacher). Whether Qoheleth was a real person or an archetypal figure, his story is eerily similar to Don Draper's. Both Don & Qoheleth are successful men, at least when you look at their possessions. Don lives the American dream with a blonde wife, two kids, a corner office & a Cadillac. Qoheleth is living the Ancient Near Eastern dream with lots of vineyards & buildings, not to mention livestock. Both are unsatisfied with what they have. Both give in to whatever they want. Both look to death as an inspiration only to find themselves bare before it's stare.

In Ecclesiastes, the opening lines try to translate the Hebrew word hevel. Now, no one translation has done a good job really nailing down this word, which is quite fitting. Some say 'vanity', some say 'meaningless', others 'enigmatic', 'exasperating', & 'a mere wind'. This Hebrew word expresses that which itself is: impossible to hold onto without missing the point. It's a word for the chasing & un-intelligible nature of human existence. In the end, Qoheleth & Don give into a carpe diem, day-seizing mentality which, again, proves hevel. If you don't believe Existentialism (or at least it's roots) started in the Bible, read Ecclesiastes.

Don Draper & the writer of Ecclesiastes follow the same path: restless discontentment. Their journey is restless because they can't stop looking. They're searching for something. Happiness. Satisfaction. Certainty. Something enduring they can hold onto. It's an existential longing familiar to those who take the time to examine life. It is also a journey of discontentment. Nothing they manage to get their hands around proves any better than the last. It's just the newest letdown. Don & Qoheleth are trying to love something, they just don't know what. And on the journey they begin to find all the things they thought defined who they are are also hevel.

A phrase repeated in Ecclesiastes is "under the sun." That is the parameter of Don's search, and it is the parameter of Qoheleth's search. Pleasure doesn't cut it. Work doesn't cut it. Wisdom & Foolishness don't cut it. Yet, a sense of order & purpose endures. Maybe it's cyclical repetition, a dead machine wound in an everlasting rhythm. It isn't until the end of Ecclesiastes & the end of Mad Men that the protagonists begin to expand the parameters of their search. The post-script on Ecclesiastes frames man's purpose in the fear of God. Don Draper accesses some sort of inner-peace which (the ending implies) leads him to create the famous "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" ad.

Don Draper is the American Qoheleth. He sells happiness, but finds himself miserable. His story is restless & certainly discontent. Perhaps the narratives of Don Draper & Qoheleth illustrate one very important truth: if you love poorly, your conditions won't suddenly fix your heart. Give a fallen heart anything and it will want more. What our hearts need isn't an object of happiness, they need rest. True rest. The kind of rest that is content no matter what the context. Don & Qoheleth are right to be discontent with a fallen heart, for there is no other way to live with a heart that loves poorly. What our hearts need is the Grace to rest, truly rest, and let our hearts be healed through confession & repentance. Till then, we search. Most days, you & I are Don Draper & Qoheleth. But I know my heart needs rest if it will ever be content & love what I ought how I ought.

-HGM