The Cross-Class Romance in the Depression

Abstract

In some cross-class romances, there is little if any acknowledgment of the Depression, but in other films, the Depression is shown to weigh heavily on the dilemmas faced by working-class heroines. A major experience of both men and women during the Depression was of downward mobility, but the message conveyed by many films was that even if a woman was successful in her job or occupation, she would only be happy and find meaning in her life if she gives up working for love, marriage or her husband’s esteem. A number of common motifs in cross-class romance films relate to the representation of class and gender and their relationships: firstly, the fluidity of the class structure as demonstrated by the victory of disinterested love over class and by class passing; secondly, the negative representations of the lifestyle of the upper class and, somewhat less common, of the lower class; thirdly, the redemption of the wealthy protagonist (usually male) by the working-class protagonist (usually female) who has internalized middle-class values; and fourthly, the reinforcement of the gender distinction. The most central theme is that class boundaries can be crossed and class obstacles can be overcome by disinterested love. Some female stars played in a relatively large number of cross-class romances, and their personas were represented in accord with motifs from their films.