It was really interesting to learn from Kaplan’s article how the majority of the history of female portrayal in film was from the daughter’s perspective of the mother. The mothering figure in Stella Dallas can be seen to have strayed from her capitalistic structure of being absent. Consistently throughout the movie, Stella can be seen dressing up in an avant-garde manner that does not necessarily show her synchronization with her husband’s class. She is also seen dancing and spending time with another man. Such appearance and actions, from the beginning of the movie, has shown how Stella has put her needs in front of her husband’s and often her daughter’s. It is only after the revelatory moment where Stella overhears the women on the train
