Archie Bunker's name for his wife, Edith, “Dingbat,” in the TV show “All In The Family,” repeatedly demonstrated his contemptuous attitude toward her.

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101117/NEWS01/11170366/1001/NEWS

Do you agree with this statement? Did Archie verbally abuse Edith?

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n219/cade_85/intheirchairs.jpg

Archie verbally abused everybody. But I think he truly loved Edith.

Archie verbally abused everybody. But I think he truly loved Edith.
Yea I agree. Anybody who saw the ABP episode where Edith died could see that.

IIRC When Archie was courting Edith he called her his little? dingbat :lol: so I kind of took it as a term of endearment.

I didn't like that he called her that at all. I wanted to slap him somewhere. But one time when he heard both Edith and Stephanie singing, he called them the "singing dingbats". LOL. The only people that Archie did not verbally abuse on AITF were the Jeffersons. George Jefferson would not be having that. LOL.

IIRC When Archie was courting Edith he called her his little? dingbat :lol: so I kind of took it as a term of endearment.
I agree! I think Archie was using it as a term of endearment. At least some of the time. Other times it sounded more like an insult.

Yes he called her that, but it had an endearing edge to it. Often with Archie his bark was worse than his bite but esp.with Edith. It was clear he truly loved and cherished her . And, at the end of the day, RESPECTED her. Edith was one of those people who really seemed to have a high EQ. Dumb as a doornail in some respects (well, maybe that's a little harsh -lets say naive) YET when it came to understanding human nature - her many levels of understanding were often right on target. Like - when she keeps that God-awful fight Mike and Gloria had - from escalating (gotta look up the ep-can't remember it). When she gives Archie that slap when she catches him gambling again (he gets it - she's pissed - YOU BROKE a sacred promise to me Archie!). Also, interstingly, when she DOES choose to stand up to Archie in a fight she WINS. Like-when he wants to go to a ball game instead of their 25th anniv celebration. Again her high EQ in action; she picks her fights wisely.


So, the short answer is yes, Archie isn't really disrespecting our beloved "dingbat" with the term. One compliment I gotta pay to ol Arch - his actions speak louder than his words - often nicely.

(When you compare the Meathead's actions to his his words, the term hypocrite! often seems to come to mind - but that's another thread!)