"Looking back, search for the disharmonious image; anticipating what may come, prepare for a smooth transition." -Lu Chi (from Wen Fu)

Writing Prizes:
Winning Essays

Three Generations Prize for Writing 125 (Fall 1999)

"Mildred Pierce: Film Noir / Melodrama and Child Femmes Fatales "
Emily See '03

“By her sheer nature, a femme fatale instigates a conflict between good and evil. From a rather antifeminist standpoint (in fact, the whole characterization of a femme fatale is rather antifeminist) this is true of Mildred Pierce. Her obsession with Veda, her femme fatale, turns Mildred away from the traditional domestic life appropriate for a woman (good) and into the working world of men (evil). This deviance brings her only more hardships, as she has stepped out of her traditional role, and her life is controlled by Veda's evil presence. For a happy ending, the evil femme fatale must be conquered or controlled by some force of good, but such an ending almost never occurs in film noir. More often, the femme fatale drags the hero down with her, or, if he is not killed, makes his existence so wretched it is hardly worth living. In the end of Mildred Pierce, the femme fatale is finally conquered, by a man -- Inspector Peterson -- and now that Veda has been "purged and can no longer poison their relationship" Mildred "realizes that she had always neglected her husband for her daughter" (Dirks). She is now free to return to the "proper" life of a woman, as she and Bert walk off together into the sunrise and hope for a bright future. Good has seemingly conquered evil, and everything appears to be resolved. However, there is some doubt as to just how bright a future Mildred can have. She has lost her two children, whom we know she loved dearly. Her business, for which she overcame so many obstacles to make successful, has gone bankrupt. Now all she has to return to is the domestic life with Bert which we know was less than happy. It seems instead that the evil forces have won, and the film is noir after all.

Veda is not the typical problem child of the Hollywood melodrama, nor is she the typical femme fatale of film noir. She has the interesting capacity to be both and neither at the same time. She is the evil nemesis of her mother, rather than the male hero, eliminating the obvious sexual tensions characteristic of film noir, and, though it is easy to forget, she is but a child. Still, she is too characteristically evil not to be considered a femme fatale. Veda's character makes possible a complete transformation of the film. Rather than the melodrama it appears to be at first glance, it is more than the story of a woman and her problems with her child, and becomes a noir struggle between forces of good and evil.”

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• Lynne Viti and Wini Wood
• Wellesley College Writing Program
• Created by: Karyn Lu '01
• Date Created: June 29, 2000
• Expires: July 31, 2009

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