Four Great Women and a Manicure
"Four Great Women and a Manicure"
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Episode Information
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Four Great Women and a Manicure is the twentieth episode of the twentieth season of The Simpsons. It aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 10, 2009.
Plot
Marge takes Lisa to a salon for her first manicure, where they engage in a debate as to whether a woman can simultaneously be smart, powerful and beautiful. They tell four tales of famous women featuring Simpsons characters in various roles: Selma as Queen Elizabeth I, Lisa as Snow White, Marge as Lady Macbeth and Maggie as Howard Roark from Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead.[1]
In the first tale, Marge recounts the story of Queen Elizabeth the First. Various royal suitors wish to win the hand of the Queen, played by Selma, including a flamboyant King Julio of Spain. The Queen rejects his advances, and King Julio vows revenge on England, summoning the Spanish Armada. Meanwhile, Sir Walter Raleigh, played by Homer, falls for Queen Elizabeth's Lady in Waiting, played by Marge. He leads a British naval offense against the Armada, defeating them by accidentally setting the lone British warship on fire, which then spreads to the entire Spanish fleet. Queen Elizabeth knights him, and then proclaims, "I don't need a man. I have England."
In the second tale, Lisa tells the story of Snow White, with herself in the title role. Her version features the dwarves Crabby (Moe), Drunky (Barney), Hungry (Homer), Greedy (Mr. Burns), Lenny (Lenny), Kearney (Kearney) and Doc (...tor Hibbert) because a lawyer appears and tells her that Snow White and the seven dwarfs belong to Disney. When a wicked queen learns from her magic HD television that Snow White is fairer than she, the queen dispatches her huntsman (Groundskeeper Willie) to murder the young maiden. Willie the huntsman cannot commit the deed, though, and Snow White runs away to the forest, seeking shelter in the dwarves' cottage. She keeps house for them while they work in the mines, but the wicked queen, disguised as an old woman, forces Snow White to eat a poisoned apple. In Lisa's version, Snow White doesn't need a man to wake her, but is brought back to life by a female doctor.
In the third tale, Marge relates a story of ruthless ambition, embodied by Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth (Marge) is frustrated that Homer does not have the titular role in a Springfield production of Macbeth. She convinces him to murder the lead actor, Sideshow Mel. Homer follows her command and then assumes the role of Macbeth, but his acting receives unfavourable reviews. Furious, Marge orders him to continue his killing spree until he is the only actor left. The ghosts of the other actors come to Marge, blame her for all of their deaths, and kill her. In the end, Homer as Macbeth gives a soul-stirring rendition of a soliloquy to an empty theatre. He then commits suicide when Marge's ghost tells him to be in more plays.
In the final tale, Maggie is depicted as "Maggie Roark," representing Howard Roark from Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead. Maggie's architectural brilliance is quashed by an oppressive teacher (Ellsworth Toohey) who encourages only conformity. She builds multiple structures out of blocks and other toys, but they are destroyed by Toohey. Maggie (voiced by Jodie Foster) rallies her classmates with a stirring speech about injustice and creativity, and grows up to be a wildly successful architect.
This is the first episode in the show's history where Bart does not appear nor is mentioned (though he continued to stay in the opening sequence and the couch gag as expected).
This is the fourth episode in the show's history where Maggie has spoken and the second where she's done so directly.
Characters
- Marge Simpson
- Lisa Simpson
- Maggie Simpson
- Selma Bouvier
- Moe Szyslak
- Sideshow Mel
- Ralph Wiggum
- Krusty the Clown
- Edna Krabappel
- Agnes Skinner
- Homer Simpson
- Blue Haired Lawyer
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