The typical viewer, thinking of Maureen in isolation, calls to mind images of her washing dishes, doing the laundry, cooking, or spending girl-time with Judy and Penny. There is a lot of that characterisation in the series, but one must not forget that when Maureen is seen engaged in any of these activities, they are background activities to what is more important to the storyline. They cannot be taken so much as defining her rôle as simply forming part of it.