Mildred Pierce Character Analysis

Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford) is a classic example of a film Noir. Mildred when she is cornered into telling her story, tells it as if it’s the end. She has accepted her fate. In response to the detectives (Moroni Olsen) question as to why she is no longer married to Burt (Bruce Bennett) her response is “Because I was wrong” (19:36). She begins her story as a flashback. Going back to when her first husband Burt lost his job.

Mildred is the protagonist in this movie she is a quiet women who divorces her cheating husband, loses her youngest daughter to illness, creates a successful business which she ends up losing due to her second husband greed, the most horrific wrong was done to her by her daughter Vida (Ann Blyth). Vida’s betrayal

Mildred’s only motivation is that her children do not do without, and she will do anything to ensure that they don’t. Vida’s only motivation is that she never does without.

Mildred works all the time to provide for Vida dresses, signing instructors, and a new car, Mildred provides it all for her. Vida does nothing but ask for more.

Mildred starts to see Vida for what she is when states that she is pregnant and wants 10,000 dollars (1:18). When they quarrel afterwards Vida tell her mother just what she thinks of her (1:22).Vida tells her mother to “grow up” and that “with the money she can get away from her”, calling her a “common frump whose father lived over a grocery and whose mother took in washing” and that “with this money I can get away from every rotten stinking thing that makes me think of this place and you”. The argument ends with Mildred throwing Vida out after she hits her in the face.

Even after that Mildred cannot resist her daughter and will do what it takes to get her back. Vida manipulates her into marring Monty which ends up costing her the business, and even after catching Vida in the arms of her husband Vida convinces her to cover for her after she kills