Laura Brown: Ace of Cakes

Laura Brown may appear to be your run-of-the-mill house wife and mother, but there are more layers to her than the cake she makes a disastrous attempt at making for her husband’s birthday. Similar to many of the women in her generation, Laura married at a rather young age and had a child soon after. She feels fortunate for her loving family, but begins to feel trapped and suffocated in her domestic reality. She is discontent with the simple, mundane tasks that fill her days, and is desperate to find some sort of creative outlet, even though she is by no means an “artist.” By baking a birthday cake for her husband, it’s almost as if Laura is channeling her restricted creativity by treating the cake as a beloved work of art. This is why she is so distraught when the cake does not turn out- she is frustrated that it has failed to live up to her expectations, and fears that she won’t live up to others’ expectations of her.
For Laura, this birthday cake symbolizes her need to fulfill the desire she has to play a meaningful role in life, even if it is only within the domestic sphere. She is dissatisfied with the first cake she bakes and throws it out, hoping her second attempt will bring success. Although she is more pleased with the way the second cake turns out, she is filled with disappointment when it is “ruined” by Richard, who accidentally spits on it while blowing out the candles. This shows that Laura’s quest for creative satisfaction and purpose is a never-ending one, because she feels trapped and cannot find an acceptable escape. No matter how desperately she tries to find happiness in her domestic role…
“The ‘y’ in ‘Happy’ isn’t what she’d hoped it would be, and two of the roses are lopsided.”