George Russell (Morgan Spector) and his wife Bertha (Carrie Coon) don't sleep in the same
bed in The Gilded Age, which comes as a surprise since the power couple is very much in love.
The Russells are The Gilded Age's ultimate New Money family.
A self-made railroad tycoon, George dreams of opening a new railroad station and controlling
New York City's train network while Bertha has ambitions to make her family part of New
York's elite high society.
Yet despite the Russells' apparent devotion, they sleep in separate bedrooms in their palatial
Fifth Avenue and 61st Street estate.
Thus far, George and Bertha's marriage appears rock-solid.
Mr. and Mrs. Russell spent three years moving on up to the great Fifth Avenue house they
built as George established himself as one of the city's fastest-rising multimillionaires.
Yet George doesn't let his business dealings distract from his duties as a husband and
father.
Mr. Russell warmly encourages Bertha in her desire to raise their family's social standing.
When Bertha was insulted in The Gilded Age episode 2, George publicly flaunted his wealth
to stand up for her.
The only time George and Bertha differ in opinion is on her insistence on keeping their
daughter Gladys (Taissa Farmiga) sheltered.
As much as George supports Bertha's goals, she also admires her husband and reminds him
that even if they lose their fortune, he has the acumen to make another with her help.
George and Bertha share the strongest marriage in The Gilded Age, which is why it may come
as a shock that they don't share a marriage bed.
As strange as it seems in the 20th century, married couples in the 19th century didn't
sleep together.
During The Gilded Age's 1880s timeframe, Dr. Benjamin Ward Richardson wrote articles that
warned of the risks of inhaling the germs of the person you shared a bed with.
Between the 1850s and 1950s, separate beds were believed to be the healthier option for
man and wife because Victorian doctors warned the weaker sleeper would drain the vitality
of the other if they slept in the same bed.
Victorian medical experts also believed that an older person who slept with the younger
person would siphon off their energies.
This was especially a concern for a younger woman sleeping with an older man.
It's not clear if there's a significant age difference between George and Bertha but this
could be a concern the Russells may share in The Gilded Age.
By contrast, Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville) and his wife Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) did
share a bedroom in Downton Abbey, which happens 30+ years after The Gilded Age, although their
bedroom was referred to as Cora's bedroom.
Robert also had his own separate bed-chamber, which he was occasionally banished to.
By the 1920s, couples sleeping in twin beds or in separate bedrooms was seen as the fashionable
choice but by the 1950s, sleeping apart came to be seen as the sign of a failing marriage.
Obviously, George and Bertha do share a bed and are physically intimate in The Gilded
Age, but Mr. Russell has to ask permission to stay with his wife in her chambers.
(Bertha replied, "You have only to ask.")
But it also implies the Russells don't sleep together every night.
Perhaps an ominous warning sign of the Russells having separate bedrooms is that it could
potentially make it easier for George to have an affair with Miss Turner (Kelley Curran).
Bertha's lady's maid is brazen about her intention to seduce the millionaire master of the house
and Turner has so little respect for Bertha that she has no qualms about betraying her
mistress.
It wouldn't be hard for Turner to slip into George's bedroom without Bertha's knowledge
as The Gilded Age continues.
The question is whether Mr. Russell welcomes an affair or if his commitment to his wife
is indeed true.