Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother became an iconic image of the American depression. It was a powerful image representing a woman who lost everything and continues to worry about the future. How will I feed myself and my children? Where will we sleep? What do I do? All through these difficult times, we still see a strong woman doing what she can to hold her family together. Migrant Mother successfully reflects every mother or parental figure struggling to keep strong for their children. In rural America during this time, Dorothea knew Migrant Mother would represent all mothers concerned for the well-being of their families.
It is unfortunate however to know the woman who agreed to have her photograph taken never received compensation for her image. She knew her photograph would open people's eyes about the tragedy of the farming community, but Dorothea Lange never shared the profits she earned.
Dorothea even writes about the undergoing worries this woman had, "She said that they had been living on frozen vegetables from the surrounding fields, and birds that the children killed. She had just sold the tires from her car to buy food." (Lange, 1960)
Knowing Migrant Mother continued to stay an anonymous woman, and never revelled to the public showing how she overcame the depression, makes me very unhappy with Dorothea Lange. This woman never received money for her story and face, and we do not know about her life after the depression. It was purely her tragic story due to the depression that was what made the photograph so famous.
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