The plotline of The Quitters Club, particularly Marie’s storyline, explores challenges faced by many working mothers in America. Marie becomes increasingly frustrated with the inequities in her heterosexual marriage, and struggles to communicate to her husband, Kyle, why she continuously feels overwhelmed and overburdened. Sociologists, feminists, and cultural critics have increasingly drawn attention to the reality of women shouldering an unequal share of the labor associated with raising a family; the topic has also been explored in memoirs, personal essays, and books such as Eve Rodsky’s Fair Play (from 2019, which addresses the unequal distribution of household responsibilities and offering practical steps toward rebalancing them). 

The term “emotional labor” originated with American sociologist Arlie Hochschild who developed the term in her 1983 book The Managed Heart. Hochschild used the term to describe professionals and employees (often, but not always, female) who actively manage their emotions to convey those that are different from what they are actually feeling. For example, a customer service representative might mask their internal frustration and attempt to exude warmth and sympathy while engaging with an irate customer. Over time, the term came to be used more widely, expanding to often include the unpaid, invisible mental and emotional work done in relationships, households, and social settings to keep others happy, manage daily life, and support partners, friends, or family. Some have been critical of the broader usage of this term; for example, in her 2017 Slate essay, Haley Swenson argues that the imprecise nature of the term erodes clarity around different types of conflicts and frustrations within relationships (Swenson, Haley. “Please Stop Calling Everything that Frustrates You Emotional Labor.” Slate, 20 Oct. 2017).

The discussion of emotional labor as it pertains to domestic labor and household management is linked to a significant body of research documenting that among many heterosexual couples, domestic labor remains unequally distributed. A 2024 Canadian report concludes that “time use data reveal that […] women continue to do substantially more unpaid work than men. The division of tasks remains gendered: women continue to do most meal preparation, laundry, and indoor housework in family homes” (“Families Count.” The Vanier Institute of the Family, 2024). In additional to the functional division of tasks, the term “mental load” has been widely adopted to capture the mental load refers broadly to the ongoing cognitive effort of planning, remembering, coordinating, and managing life, encompassing both household and professional responsibilities (“How To Deal With (and Explain) Mental Load.” Cleveland Clinic, 3 Dec. 2024). Mental load can be particularly insidious because it is rarely complete and occurs alongside other tasks and activities; for example, someone might be folding laundry while simultaneously planning the other tasks that need to be completed in the remainder of the day. 

Marie’s experiences reveal the struggles and mental load of managing a demanding professional career while parenting two young children. While practical considerations such as long commutes impact her experience, she feels increasingly alienated primarily because her husband is unable to empathize with her experience. The proliferation of terms such as “emotional labor” and “mental load” may reflect attempts to better articulate the complex responsibilities associated with parenting and household management so that these concerns can be better understood and shared.