Mildred PierceThe protagonist of the film Mildred Pierce does everything in her power to help her children. Mildred dreams that her daughters will one day become prima donnas and pianists, and she pursues these fantasies to the best of her ability. By twenty-first century standards, she might be considered a good mother: she works as a waitress to make ends meet for her single mother and starts her own business. The filmmakers, however, try hard to portray her as a bad mother by 1940s standards: Mildred attempts to take on paternal responsibilities, which makes her the worst kind of mother possible. The matriarchal coup ends in disaster and reveals the filmmakers' message: a woman's place is in the home and she cannot hope to thrive in a man's world. Warner Brothers released the film in 1945, a year when many American soldiers returned from the World War. II. It resulted in millions of deaths, but the calamitous event also strengthened the position of women in society. During the World War II period, women became the primary providers for their families while American men were at war, a situation that led to greater independence for American women. Popular slogans and icons of the time, such as Rosie the Riveter, encourage women to work and take responsibility for their lives. However, when men returned and re-entered the workforce, society expected women to step aside and join the cult of domesticity. This background knowledge adds many layers of meaning to the film and is vital to understanding its message. Mildred Pierce is designed for a female audience. It illustrates why economic independence is undesirable and reinforces why women must stay in the home: Mildred's self-sufficiency only leads to catastrophe. The key to Mildred's failure is revealed in the film's opening kitchen scene, when she distances herself from Pierce's wedding by throwing her husband Bert out of the house. As soon as he leaves, urgent financial problems arise because Mildred barely makes enough money to support her children. Much of her pain could have been avoided if she had stayed with Bert, but a streak of independence makes it impossible for her to remain a docile housewife. He doesn't trust Bert to get the family out of the financial quagmire. Instead, Mildred decides to provide for and protect her children with her own strength: "You might as well figure it out right away, once and for all. Those children come first to this house, before any of us.".