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Scope Note:

Fictional type of melodrama centered around a mother who will come into contact with her child after many years but has concealed her true identity for fear of that her past will harm the child. Often compelled by social pressure to give up the child at a young age, or because of the belief that a woman cannot raise a child herself, the child is unaware of his or her mother's true identity, although s/he usually comes to know her. Sometimes the separation is because the mother is guilty of a moral lapse, or because she has become involved in a scandal through no fault of her own. The overriding virtue of selfless motherhood becomes the goal to which all other desires or ambitions are sacrificed. Feature examples: BLONDE VENUS; THE GOOSE WOMAN; THE HOUSE ON 56TH STREET; LADY FOR A DAY (with Adaptation); MADAME X (with Adaptation); MY SON; THE OLD MAID (with Historical); POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES (with Adaptation); SARAH AND SON; THE SECRET OF MADAME BLANCHE; THE SIN OF MADELON CLAUDET; STELLA DALLAS (with Adaptation); TO EACH HIS OWN.

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