The Gilmore Girls

            Gilmore Girls is a comedy-drama that shows the relationship of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, a single-mom and her teenage daughter.  The show follows Rory’s journey through high school and college and the way she interacts with her mom, who had Rory when she was 16.   The show portrays how Lorelai takes on being a mom to her child, who over the years, has become like her best friend.  The two struggle to have a parent and daughter relationship as Rory matures and acts more like the adult than her mother.  Over time, Rory starts to act more like the mother in many episodes.  Her mom will sometimes ask Rory for permission or even signs that says that Rory is okay with her decisions.  But on many occasions, Lorelai is the parent and the caring parent.  She is shown as the woman who doesn’t want her daughter to make the same mistakes that she made, although she is grateful.  

         In another episode, Lorelai has role strain because she wants to be Rory’s best friend.  Lorelai wants Rory to confide in her and talk to her about anything and everything.  And at the same time, Lorelai also has to be the parent.  She has to be the one in charge.  Lorelai has to discipline Rory and yet still maintain the “friend” status.  After sending Rory off to college at Yale, Lorelai receives a page from Rory to go back to Yale.  And like a good mother, Lorelai returns to see Rory because she missed her after being away for five minutes.  When Lorelai returns, Rory cries and Lorelai consoles Rory.  But instead of staying the night, Lorelai orders different kinds of food and invites girls on Rory’s floor to join the party and leaves when Rory is having a good time.  This episode is an example of Lorelai being a caring mom and also being a friend to Rory.  Lorelai takes care of her daughter and is also the friend that she needs during the tough transition.  

             And sometimes Rory acts more like adult than her mother.  In season 2, Rory goes to New York to find her boyfriend and misses her mom’s graduation from business school.  While that act was very childish, Rory grounds herself for missing the graduation while her mother doesn’t seem to mind.

During season 3, Lorelai and Rory share their relationship problems with each other and yet Lorelai finds out that Rory didn’t have sex with her boyfriend by eavesdropping on a conversation.  While the two share everything, Lorelai is still a concerned mother.

         While the life of Lorelai and Rory is strange and not normal, the values instilled in Rory by her mom are somewhat traditional.  Lorelai asked her parents to help for Rory’s private schooling and in return, they had to have a relationship with Lorelai’s parents.  As a result, every Friday night, Lorelai and Rory eat dinner with Lorelai’s parents.  This arrangement is an example of how Lorelai has instilled the value of family in Rory.  The situation allows Rory to spend time with her grandparents as well as her mother. 


        Lorelai and Rory have a relationship that is unique to their situation.  Lorelai had Rory when she was still a teenager and can still relate to everything Rory is going through.  This show has shown audiences the relationship between a single parent and their child.  But like all parent-child relationships, the Gilmore girls go through their rough patches and still make up in the end.