Irresponsible and peophilic

Peophilic? I assume that is a misspelling of that other P-word. I don't even want to know how you arrived to that conclusion, let's skip it.

Charlotte was not doing this to steal Jerry. She provided a friend to his daughter, someone who needed one very badly. She too needed a friend in the beginning, and Jerry, by her own admission, was her first. There is most certainly a romance here, but the way these two adults actually helped each other is very pure, innocent, and almost entirely unrelated to their romance.


-Charlotte needed confirmation that she was embracing her confidence properly and was on the right path, Jerry provided it.

-Jerry needed to embrace the career he loved and wasn't sure how to approach his daughter Tina, Charlotte inspired him and gave him insight into Tina's troubles.

-Charlotte needed a push when confronting her mother after her transformation, Jerry sent flowers at just the right time.

-Jerry had a daughter that seemed hopeless to him, Charlotte made her glow in ways he never imagined possible (She even inspired Dr. Jaquith to take her on as partner).

-Charlotte needed something bigger than her own guilt to occupy her mind after her mother's death, which she blamed herself for, and Jerry's daughter was pretty much the perfect miracle for the job.

-Both of them benefit from this secret connection through Tina, with Jerry the father and Charlotte adopting the mother role Tina never had.


Fate has these two people filling holes in each other's lives almost perfectly, and they both admit throughout the film that their romance is impossible. Regardless, they still have something substantial together.

You also seem quite preoccupied with Charlotte's wealth. Remember the 'I'm not afraid' scene? She was ready to toss it away once she realized that wealth was only keeping her prisoner to her mother. The film actually takes a poetic turn for that wealth at the end of the film, but only if you interpret that Charlotte partnering with Dr. Jaquith means Cascade will now have more funding and reach more troubled people. That is how I read that last bit with Claude Rains, and I think it makes the happy ending even happier.

It isn't that your point of view is modern, but you are aiming some rather cynical interpretations at these characters and twisted things in ways they don't need to be twisted.

But Charlotte doesn't expect to get Jerry. She's not using Tina to try to get him. She tells him at the end, "Don't let's ask for the moon; we have the stars." She is saying don't think about what could be if his wife were gone; take joy in the satisfaction they both have in seeing Tina happy and well adjusted--and in the more satisfying professional lives they both had.

Wow, I took her relationship with Tina a totally different way.
To me it seemed she identified with Tina as they both were unwanted by their mothers. She wanted Tina to experience a mother figures love because she didn't want to see the girl end up like her.
Sure there was the thought that it was Jerry's child, but I don't think that was her main motivation as the last scene shows that she cares more about being able to keep Tina than being able to continue there relationship.
That's my two cents anyway.

Charlotte understood Tina better than anybody else and upon her own recovery and growth, she wanted to return the favor and help this sad, troubled girl. She saw herself in the girl. Their relationship was very moving. She gave her love and self-confidence. Charlotte was the very best thing that ever happened to Tina. I can't imagine how anybody could not feel this.

You must be sad all the time.

You're weird!