MovieChat Forums > A Woman Rebels (1936) Discussion > Flora's death

Flora's death

posted 16 years ago by jeffrey-simmons
7 replies | jump to latest

I just watched this film and missed something. How and when did Flora die? I was trying to multitask while watching.

She fainted and fell down stairs hearing of her husband's death, causing a miscarriage. Which was why Pamela was able to pretend that her sister had had a kid.

Firth/Sidibe/Harrelson/Mo'Nique

[–] mdonln 9 years ago

Tess-Harding says > She fainted and fell down stairs hearing of her husband's death, causing a miscarriage. Which was why Pamela was able to pretend that her sister had had a kid.

This is true but she also refused to go on living without her husband. I've noticed this vague cause of death used in a lot of movies, especially older ones. I know there can be some element of truth to it. There can be negative consequences when people fighting for their lives or recovering from a serious illness or surgery, give up; but from a fall? Obviously, the fall was serious enough to cause a miscarriage but Flora's death? That seemed a bit of a stretch.

[–] joystar5879 8 years ago

I think she bled out from the miscarriage. We don't know how far along Flora was, but if the placenta was partially torn loose, the mother would die. There was hope for the child, if the child was mature enough to survive outside the womb, but that didn't happen often. This was also during and era when a lot of Doctors didn't even WASH THEIR HANDS!

I do hope he won't upset Henry...

[–] mdonln 8 years ago

joystar5879 says > I think she bled out from the miscarriage. We don't know how far along Flora was, but if the placenta was partially torn loose, the mother would die. There was hope for the child, if the child was mature enough to survive outside the womb, but that didn't happen often. This was also during and era when a lot of Doctors didn't even WASH THEIR HANDS!

You're absolutely right! I sometimes forget how things were at that time; especially in regards to medicine. We've come a long way. People used to die from things we now consider minor. Pregnancy, obviously not a minor condition, has always been fraught with potential complications; even today.

I just wish they'd identify the cause of death in movies. When someone is taken ill and suddenly dies it threatens, in my opinion, the credibility of the entire movie. The problem is they often want the patient to succumb quickly to the illness so they don't want to get too specific. I understand that but it always annoys me when we don't hear at least one line that explains what happened.

Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]

[–] jdsuggs 7 years ago

Doctors not washing their hands in this film is inexcusable, as "The Story Of Louis Pasteur" came out the same year, 1936. In silent or pre-code films, they didn't know any better.

[–] kmfagre 7 years ago

Do you mean Elizabeth? Flora was the name of the daughter, I believe.

[–] kmfagre 7 years ago

Oops...my apologies. You're right...Flora was the name of both Pamela's sister and the girl. Sorry!