“To the men we've loved - the stinkers!”
--- Mildred Pierce (1945)
In this paper, I will discuss in depth the characterization of the female characters in Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945) and also the dynamics they have built with the main protagonist throughout the film, particularly with Veda, her daughter, and Lottie, her maid. Mildred Pierce has been said to be a perfect joining of two subtypes in women’s film: melodrama and the Independent Woman film (Sochen 9). The weepie film always has a heroine that is doomed to suffer while the Independent Woman film has one where the female protagonist is strong and successful in the business she manages outside of the home (9). Mildred is doomed to suffer for spoiling her daughter, Veda, with the money she herself earns from her restaurants. In June Sochen’s Mildred Pierce and Women in Film, the author posits that this film is a comment on the fate of all women in that particular era: strong women neglect their own family and end up scarifying more than they are given in all their lives (9). In the movie, the blame for Kay’s death is put implicitly on Mildred (9). “Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you.” Bert’s words are indicative of the stereotype that Mildred should have been ready to take care of her own children and making love to Monte while Kay is sick has been a violation of her maternal responsibilities. It is interesting to note that Bert, as a father, seems to have been exonerated from the blame of the demise of the Pierce family, Veda’s malevolent behavior, and Monte Beragon’s death (Gill 89). On the same note, Sochen believes that the film is a piece of social control for women (9). It is a movie that entreats American women to abandon any big ideas to divorce your husband and enter the business world dominated by men. Or else, one would probably end up like Mildred who is conned by Monte and lost her train of restaurants.
Instead, Sochen notes that the movie is trying to deliver a message to its female audience which encourages them to stay in their preordained domain and only by attending to the raising of their own kids at every single moment available will they be assured of their obedience and royalty (9). Otherwise, one’s children might turn on you like Veda does by placing the blame for all her crimes on her mother. “It’s your fault I’m the way I am!” Veda declares. In some ways, we can say that Veda is one of the forms of repression that has held Mildred back from her success. Mildred’s indulgence on Veda and her unwillingness to discipline her has resulted in her rotten behavior. Similarly, Pam Cook also argues that “the erosion of the patriarchal order cannot be tolerated” in the film, and it is ultimately resolved by “a brutal act of repression in which Mildred is castrated.” (Gill 89) Catherine Turney, who is the screenwriter for Mildred Pierce, admitted that the pressure of censorship coming from the Johnson-Hays office has exerted a degree of influence over the finished product by demanding the reinforcement of patriarchal power. (83) Hays has even made it clear to the team of writers: “If a girl is transgressed, she is to be punished.” (83)
Sochen also points out that the film is an acceptable fantasy for the female audience but not the desired reality (Sochen 18). The demand for female labor increased in the absence of men who had joined the military in World War II. Women had to step outside of their homes and into civilian jobs, but the need for their labor was supposed to be temporary. Sochen asserts that many left their positions as soon as the war ended and went home to take up the responsibilities of the domestic spheres once again (18). Similarly, Mildred Pierce is a successful entrepreneur who would not return home under normal circumstances. She has to be removed from her job in a dramatic manner. The film is enjoyed as a fantasy by many women for Pierce’s dominating and successful qualities as a woman (18). At the same time, the same group of audience wonders who would be taking care of the children at home (18). Sochen believes that the ending of the movie proves to be satisfactory to most American audiences then: Mildred’s independence is ended and traditional values are retained (18).
Eric Lott, in The Whiteness of Film Noir, proposes the theory that there is a racial unconscious in film noir (560). The very act of having the white femme fatale turning into a femme noire (black woman or the woman of the dark) denotes the tendency to code the lack of moral fiber of a woman as “black.” (560) Mildred Pierce offers an unnerving example with the introduction of Lottie into the film as Mildred’s black maid (560). It is noted that the same-name novel written by James Cain which the film is adapted from makes no mention of Lottie’s race or nationality, and it is the conscious decision by the production team to cast Lottie as an African American (Walker). To the dismay of many, Lottie is depicted as a fumbling, impossible fool (Walker). Her character feels at times like a caricature of an American’s stereotypical impression of a dark-skinned person. Her high-pitched voice seems to suggest that she has no greater intelligence than a toddler. There are several examples to substantiate this statement. At one point in the movie, she is shown to not know how to operate a telephone. This persisting image is aligned with Sybil DelGaudio's proposed stereotype of “mammy” where the slave society is always linked to surrogate maternalism and domestic service (Walker). Lottie basically takes care of Kay and Veda in the absence of Mildred. Lottie’s presence seems all the more out of place by all the “whiteness” surrounding her. A white butler ignores her outright at one point and Wally, after receiving her compliment with a smirk in the kitchen of the restaurant, casts another lingering look at her as if to ask: what on earth is she doing here?
C.M. Gill and Lott both theorize that Lottie is, in some ways, a version of Mildred (Gill 85, Lott 18). It seems as though the trajectory of Mildred Pierce is shadowed at every step by Lottie (Lott 18). She “figures the proletarian fate Mildred is driven to beat and whose disabling likeness suggests Mildred’s darkest dread.” (18) Lottie’s presence in the kitchen and in Mildred’s house is less the representation of the labor which Mildred is willing to perform for her own interests than the stereotypical nature of the work which is usually taken up by African Americans or immigrants (18). Hence the instance in which Veda mocks her mother by insisting Lottie to put on Mildred’s “costume” for waitressing at Ida’s restaurant. Veda’s resenting tone when she utters, “My mother. A waitress.” draws the parallel ever so closer between Mildred’s work and Lottie’s. “Did you have to degrade us?” Veda’s question to Mildred’s waitress job speaks for how blatantly the class system then is associated with race. The parallel lives they lead are evident when Lottie remarks that the opening night of Mildred’s restaurant feels like her wedding night. Lott also underlines Mildred’s increasing use of Lottie as “a failed mistress of the house who puts on ridiculous airs” for differentiating purposes (18). At a key moment, it shows her fumbling over the simple procedure of announcing the name of the visitor to the master of the house. Mildred’s chide - “Lottie, not so loud.” - is met with her utter confoundment - “No?” Some of the scenes are just very unnecessary. We see Lottie and Mildred in the kitchen busy making pies when Lottie, once again, praises her white counterpart for working in the restaurant while she sleeps all morning. There seems to be a comment on Lottie’s physique when Mildred answers “keeps me thin” in response to the hard labor she does. Lottie looks down at her own body and says, “Don’t do nothing for me.”
Catherine Jurca points out that there’s an immediate connection between cooking and commerce in the film, and there seem to be no domestic spaces inhabited outside of the realm of commerce (Gill 83). Thus, the film succeeds in showcasing the commercial nature of Mildred’s labor (83). One example would be the act of Mildred baking cakes and pies to earn enough money to buy a new dress for Veda in spite of her husband’s unemployment. The film constant emphasis on employment and work shows in the choice of their settings, which mostly includes the restaurant, real estate office, lawyer’s office (83). With that, we can arrive at the tentative conclusion all relationships in the film are resolutely economic. The Pierce family can be directly associated with materialism. Jack Boozer highlights Mildred’s brand of motherhood in which she rears Veda to recognize material gifts as a sign of motherly devotion (83). This hypothesis could be proven by all the gifts Mildred has given Veda merely because she desired them. Bert’s comment says it all, “You're trying to buy love from them, and it won't work.” It’s alarming that even her own husband could recognize how “fresh and stuck up” her children are but she can’t. Veda’s materialism is best shown in the vicious speech she spits at her own mother in which she calls her a “common frump” just so she could get away from her money that stinks of grease. The smell of grease seems to be a token of the working class - washing dishes, waiting tables, cooking - and something Veda loathes to be linked with.
Mildred’s relationship with Veda is an interesting one. We know from the film that Mildred’s strongest affection is to her daughters and not her lovers. There are several scenes that support that argument. Namely, when Kay dies, Mildred is seen to be holding Veda closely to her chest on the couch while an excluded Bert looks on (Walsh 128). Everyone in the film appears to be intimidated by Mildred’s strength except for Veda. Mildred hiding her waitressing job shows how much she cares about her children’s opinions of her and not the other way around. At one point she even reveals her deepest fears through her voice-over narration: “Only one thing worried me, that someday Veda would find out I was a waitress.” Even Bert concedes to file for a divorce after witnessing that Mildred is indeed “get[ting] along without him.” Andrea S. Walsh, the author of Women’s Film and Female Experience, suggests that Veda is a “dark mirror” of Mildred (128). The mother is depicted as someone who is obsessed with virtue while her daughter reflects the “insidious side of social mobility.” (128) Eric Rhode believes that Mildred is being criticized through Veda on several accounts. Firstly, she harbors shame at her working-class past (128). She hides the working uniform she dons for waiting tables downtown and has a look of apprehension on her face as if she is the one at fault when she confronts Veda about giving the uniform to Lottie. The very fact that she feels the need to explain herself to Veda proves that she is scared of her own daughter’s judgment. Right after we see Mildred regret slapping Veda for her insolence, we see her stopping by Wally’s place to talk about purchasing a property to start a restaurant. This is her attempt to elevate herself and her family in the class system. The mere threat of being associated with the working class prompts Veda to do the vilest of things. She slaps her mother
Secondly, Mildred’s achievements as a divorced businesswoman are considered unconventional back then and the film seeks to punish her just for that (128). Its bleak ending serves to remind women not to “flirt with masculine roles” because you’ll realize your errors sooner or later and fall into the arms of a man (Sochen 13). Rhode suggests that the director has placed the violence of Mildred’s ambition on Veda so that Mildred seems pure in her motivation to serve her child (Walsh 128). In contrast, Veda is a monster who has killed her mother’s husband and has persuaded her to cover up for her. The film tells us that it is not only men but Mildred’s overprotectiveness as a mother that will be the ultimate downfall of her reputation and achievements.
Rhode thinks that Mildred is also being criticized for her materialistic values through Veda (128). The film shows how deranged her daughter has become because of Mildred’s own materialistic way of showing love. Instead of giving moral lessons, she lets Veda have her way with her money (128). After she has built her own name with the chain of restaurants in three years, Mildred admits that she is using all that money to indulge in Veda’s “expensive tastes.” As Mildred’s voice acts as commentary, we see Veda attending various upper-class events like horse racing and ballroom dances. This results in her daughter’s lack of fear for her as a mother and the smug entitlement that eventually turns into sociopathy. She detests the “smell of grease” on her mother’s money but is pleased with the extortion of $10,000 she executed upon her ex-husband’s family by faking her pregnancy. Mildred’s relationship with Veda is borderline incestuous. It didn’t help that her youngest daughter, Kay, died halfway through the film. If anything, it only reinforces her love for Veda. Certain scenes between this mother-daughter relationship could be described as a romantic one. Veda flings herself at Mildred with tears in her eyes and promises to change (Smith). Mildred confesses to Ida Corwin, her best friend and business partner, that she can’t forget Veda even though she had tried to.
Perhaps the only healthy relationship Mildred has built in the film is one with Ida Corwin. It is a complete contrast to the exploitative mother-daughter relationship Mildred has with her daughter. This bond is strong and supportive where both parties are loyal to each other (Walsh 130). They are both good business partners who never see the need to compete with one another (130). Her quips alone are worth the price of the movie ticket to the movie. A famous example would be her snide remark after casting a disinterested glance at the leering Wally: “Leave something on me - I might catch a cold.” However, her appeal seems to be undercut by her cynicism towards men and herself (130). This independent and witty woman who is a true friend to her own sex and is arguably the most “complete” within herself is made to talk constantly and longingly of men (130). It is as if she is made to deprecate the very power of her attraction and to bemoan constantly about her “incompleteness.” (130) As demonstrated in one of the many wisecracks she delivered in the movie: “When men get around me, they get allergic to wedding rings.” Ida also suffers from being the sidekick of the heroine. We never get to know where Ida gets her unwavering spine from. We do not see either the complexity of her independence. Anyway, it is no doubt that Eve Arden did a fantastic job at her portrayal of Ida Corwin. Her cynical remarks comfort the audience in a way that we realize at least someone in the movie is seeing things clearly ("Eve Arden And ‘The Ida Factor’ In MILDRED PIERCE (1945)"). For example, Ida questions outright Mildred’s inability to let go of her debauched daughter. Her voice speaks the thoughts we have in mind and allows us to accept the unacceptable in the story ("Eve Arden And ‘The Ida Factor’ In MILDRED PIERCE (1945)").
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