Why did Mary Kane give up her son?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Citizen Kane
edwardholub — 10 years ago(June 23, 2015 02:56 PM)
Was she planning on living a new life of drunken debauchery with her new wealth? What was the reason they all couldn't live happily together?
There is no "off" position on the genius switch. -
Harold_Robbins — 10 years ago(July 04, 2015 09:17 AM)
I think she wanted him out of the way of her husband who, I suspect, was something of an oaf with abusive tendencies. I've often wondered why she didn't use some of her new-found wealth to just buy him off, set him up somewhere out of sight and and out of mind, and raise her son as she wished to. But then, that would have been another story, not CITIZEN KANE.
"Somewhere along the line the world has lost all of its standards and all of its taste." -
jschillig — 10 years ago(July 29, 2015 08:31 AM)
I've wondered that myself, and I guess the appropriate answer is that she felt she would have held her son back if she'd had too much influence on him. Back in the nineteenth century, I don't think the concept of "social mobility" carried as much weight as it did in later years, and social class was everything. Mary may have felt that Charles was young enough to learn the ropes of this new world he was entering, but that in the upper class' eyes, she'd always be "common" and lower-class, and would only hurt her son's chances by being too closely associated with him. (The movie never says she NEVER saw him againthere may have been letters and visits.)
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steelysunshine — 10 years ago(October 26, 2015 05:17 PM)
Her husband was abusive and women didn't get divorced back then well they did, but it was a rarity. The money wouldn't change the ideas she grew up with, so it's likely she never even thought about the possibility of divorce.
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gribfritz2 — 9 years ago(June 02, 2016 09:21 PM)
The crux of the whole film! Father obviously appears to love his son. Mother, however, makes a remark indicating he is abusive. Apparently, mother thinks it's best for Charles. Charles grows up to miss his family, his childhood, even his poverty. Everything he had at Kane's boarding house.
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earthmanny — 9 years ago(June 22, 2016 05:20 PM)
one of the many, many great things about this film is that almost every character could have had their own movie, and none moreso, i think, than kane's parents. a prequel, showing them meeting and up to coming into possession of the deeds to the mines and a sequel, showing what happened after young kane leaves would have been great.
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preachcaleb — 3 years ago(April 25, 2022 01:53 PM)
That itself sounds like it would be a very interesting story. Did they live happily ever after? Or did they have more problems? Did Kane's father turn his abuse towards his wife now?
So many stories, so little time.