women through the ages

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My first image is Glenn Close playing the role of Teddy Barnes in the 1985 film Jagged Edge. Glenn Close in the film plays a lawyer who is hired by a man to prove his innocence in the murder of his wife. Her character, Teddy Barnes, seems to depict exactly the "power woman" image that women had in the 80s. However, Barnes is not a woman who both has the career AND the family, indeed she is divorced (and ends up have a relation with her client). She is not seen as a dangerous, psychotic woman, unlike Close's part in Fatal Attraction. Her only flaw is probably to have slept with her client.
So, even though she is not a family and career typical 80s power woman, she still has a good career as a lawyer.

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My second image comes from the american tv show Gilmore Girls. The picture shows Lorelai Gilmore (played by Lauren Graham) and her daughter Rory (portrayed by Alexis Bledel). Lorelai Gilmore is a single mother (she got pregnant at 16, left her house, found a job as a maid) who is a good example of a woman who has both, a career and a family. Indeed, from her job as a maid, she worked her way to the top and owns her own inn. She is happy with both and the only thing probably missing from her life is a steady relationship (throughout the 7 series, we do see different men coming and going). Compared to the power women from the 80s, it feels like Lorelai is nearly softer in her character. In the 80s, you had Sarah Connor (Terminator) as your single mother, a very different image in 2000. Also, it would seem that Lorelai doesn't have a "typical" power job. You do not see many Inn owners in films and series, and I do not recall a film from the 80s that pictures such a character. In the 80s, it's nearly as if they are trying to accent the power of the woman through her job : lawyer, editor, novelist and what not. Yet, she is still her own boss and completely independent.