Working Girls (1931) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The film takes place primarily in New York City, following two sisters who move from Indiana to pursue opportunities in the urban metropolis. Key locations include the Rolfe charity apartment building for homeless girls, fashion houses, radio studios, and ritzy apartments that represent both the glamour and precarity of city life during the Depression era.

• new york city
• setting
• urban
• rolfe house

Working Girls is set in the early 1930s during the Great Depression. This era shapes the story's context, as young women face economic hardship while navigating the urban job market, where opportunities hinge on appearance, wit, and networking.

• 1930s
• great depression
• era
• time period

The Rolfe House is a charity apartment building where the sisters stay upon arriving in New York City. It serves as a central setting showing camaraderie among young women who are homeless or struggling, providing a contrast to the wealthier social circles the characters aspire to enter.

• rolfe house
• charity
• homeless girls
• new york

The film explores how romance and practical security intertwine as the sisters navigate relationships. Mae faces pregnancy and marriage choices, while June weighs emotional desires against financial stability. The ending presents competing romantic futures that highlight how love can intersect with social security during tough economic times.

• love
• security
• romance
• marriage
• pregnancy

Working Girls showcases Mae and June driving their own destinies by pursuing jobs, making social connections, and challenging contemporary expectations. June uses fashion and wit to improve her station, while Mae asserts her own path through relationships and motherhood, revealing resilience and resourcefulness within a restrictive society.

• female agency
• independence
• women
• choices
• resilience

The sisters' move from Indiana to New York exposes harsh realities of class and opportunity during the Depression. The film uses settings like the Rolfe House, fashion houses, and socialite circles to illustrate how doors open and close based on wealth and connections, depicting ambitions, compromises, and the potential for upward mobility through love and work.

• class
• mobility
• social hierarchy
• depression
• opportunity

Mae Thorpe is a warm-hearted, somewhat unsophisticated young woman from Indiana who moves to New York City seeking a better life. She accepts a stenographer job with scientist Dr. Joseph von Schrader despite limited schooling, and her pregnancy and evolving relationships highlight how economic pressures shape personal choices for working women in the Depression era.

• mae thorpe
• protagonist
• stenographer
• pregnancy

June Thorpe is Mae's stylish and ambitious sister who reinvents herself to land a telegraph operator job at Western Union. She uses charm and wit to climb social ladders, challenging conventional expectations about female propriety and romance while pursuing her own path toward independence.

• june thorpe
• sister
• telegraph operator
• ambition

Dr. Joseph von Schrader is a conscientious scientist who hires Mae as a stenographer and later becomes romantically involved with the sisters. He values both Mae's warmth and June's wit, eventually falling for June while offering mentorship and emotional support to the sisters as they navigate city life.

• joseph von schrader
• scientist
• mentor
• love interest

Pat Kelly is a successful saxophonist who performs on the radio and becomes a romantic figure for June. He brings musical glamour to the story and provides a protective, supportive energy amid the sisters' financial struggles, offering levity throughout their challenges.

• pat kelly
• saxophonist
• radio
• musician
• romance

Boyd Wheeler is a wealthy, stylish lawyer who courts Mae but ultimately manipulates circumstances for his own convenience. He pretends to be ill and gets jilted, eventually pursuing a wary partnership with Mae as the story resolves its romantic subplots.

• boyd wheeler
• lawyer
• wealthy
• romance