Today's idiotic question

[Alpo]

Why would she do this?

 

Movie. 1949. Guy comes home on leave, marries the girl, they consummate the wedding, he goes back to war, gets killed.

 

So we have a early twenties war-widow with a baby. Not too uncommon in the late 40s.

 

She goes to college, but does not tell anybody she's a widow. As far as everyone knows, she is just another coed. So of course, when they find out she has a baby ---- oooh oooh oooh. Lookie lookie lookie, you was a bad girl.

 

Now, I know why she did this in the movie. The script said to.

 

But can anyone come up with a reason why this might be done in real life? It's not a bad movie. But that "not telling anybody that she's a widow with a kid" just puzzled me all to hell.

 

Mr Belvedere Goes to College, in case you're interested in watching it. Shirley Temple is the young lady in question.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

You want to ask why a woman would do something?

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

ITS a TRAP 

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

Pursuing the coveted MRS degree...?  

[watab kid]

in those days - there was a lot going on behind the scenes that we all take for granted as acceptable these days , it wasnt then , 

 

my father came back from the war and went to college on the GI bill , he was old enough to buy liquor but they had to have a card in iowa , a professor saw him and my mother [his wife] in the store buying whiskey and raised a stink , vetsshould not have been questioned back then but stuffy shirt professors that didnt serve had their stupid code about students 

[Trailrider #896]

Possibly because the male contemporaries wouldn't want to take on the responsibility or the distraction of a woman with a kid. She'd probably be better off with some guy who had graduated and was established and ready to settle down. 

[Pat Riot]

How the culture has changed. 
 

Perhaps the producers of the movie wanted to highlight the stigma that existed back then regarding women’s rights?

 

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

So, let me reveal a few of the skeletons in my closet.

 

Everyone knew my grandmother was raised in a convent, that’s why she was so strict. But why? She was born out of wedlock in 1904.
 

oh I mentioned more than one skeleton… we celebrated the grand’s 50th anniversary in 1972 but documents show they were married in 1923, two months before Georgie was born, they just told everyone 1922. They 

 

1959 their family was in Manchester, NH, the youngest, came to live with us in Framingham, Mass., until she had her baby.

 

times have changed.

[Rye Miles #13621]

My grandfather left Italy to come herein 1912. My grandma and dad (he was one year old) and a aunt of mine who was 4 yrs old were left behind so Grandpa could make some money and send it back to Italy to finance Grandma's trip here. It took him 4-5 years to save up enough money, he worked construction and the money wasn't so great. He sent the money and my grandma spent the money and didn't come. My grandpa was furious! He wrote her and told her he would send money one more time when he saved enough and if she spent it again he would..GASP....DIVORCE HER! That was unheard of in an Italian/Catholic family. It took him another 4-5 years and this time she came with my dad who was around 10 yrs old. My aunt died in Italy. Divorce was a big deal back then and the stigma of being a divorcee was horrible especially for the woman.

Yes times have really changed! 

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

My wife had two kids when she went college.  One was twenty nine and the other was 27.

[Rye Miles #13621]

21 minutes ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

My wife had two kids when she went college.  One was twenty nine and the other was 27.

I did too, my sons were 15 and 17, I never finished though🙄

[watab kid]

my mother had three kids when she entered college , all were out of the house and her reason was - she finally could both afford it and had the time , my folks were married in 43 after living together all over the country following my fathers AAC training since januarry 42 from washington to texas to kansas then illinois where they were married , they lived mostly in the attics of private houses withother couples according to them , their folks never mentioned what they thought of that , when he deployed to saipan she moved in with his folks untill he got home in 45 , they moved to student housing in old army Quonsets on the campus in ames ia when he was in college  , 

 

life was different and things were looked at different back then , but when i was in school in the early 60s i recall a young girl that quit coming to school and no longer lived in town when she got pregnant , it was a different time than my folks lived in but there were still stigmas and rules of how certain things were dealt with , i never really understood all of that and still dont , family takes care of family , 

Edited September 6 by watab kid

[bgavin]

My wife of 45 years has five children, including the one she sleeps with.