Character Analysis
Portrait of the Woman as a Young Mother
While Catherine is wrapping up her life of taking care of her children, cousin Virginia is just beginning. Statuesque and out of sorts, it's almost like she has to fight her mother-in-law for the privilege of being a mother and wife:
VIRGINIA: I don't have ten minutes privacy with my husband! We can't even have a fight! We don't have no privacy! Everybody's miserable in our house!
Catherine is set on telling her what she does wrong and her husband, Tommy—who's angry and guilty—doesn't make the situation any easier.
Virginia, younger and louder than our heroine Clara, provides a view of the classic role of an adult woman, and it doesn't look very fun. Suddenly, Clara—with her career and self-possession—comes off looking downright contemporary. What could this contrast reveal about the values of the flick?