Three Daughters

David Gottlieb, a longtime accountant at a New York firm run by Abe Zablinsky and his partner, is concerned about the future of his three daughters and worries that he might lose his job if he makes a mistake. His daughter Anna suspects that her out-of-work husband Charlie is cheating, while daughter Bertha, who is in love with Robert Hoffman, a musician who has been absent for a long time, has rejected other suitors for years. The only happiness David enjoys is when his devoted wife Esther tells him that their youngest daughter Lucy is about to be married. Although Abe's partner wants to fire David, Abe, a jovial jokester, gives David a six-dollar raise after he meets Bertha, to whom he is attracted. David invites Abe to his home, hoping that Bertha will give up her romance with Robert and marry Abe. David tells her that although she does not love Abe now, love will come, especially if they have children. Bertha is repulsed, however, by the balding, plump, crude man, who liberally mixes his Yiddish with English, and when Abe proposes, she begs for more time. That evening, the mother of Lucy's husband-to-be tells Bertha that she will not allow the marriage because both families are poor, and she wants her son to marry someone with money. Bertha breaks the news to Lucy, who collapses in tears and says she must now commit suicide rather than disgrace her parents. To save her pregnant sister, Bertha decides to marry Abe, who can provide money for the family. A few years later, Bertha, despite having a daughter and plenty of money, is unhappy with her marriage and bitter because of her sacrifice. When Robert, now a renowned composer and musician, returns to town, Bertha reunites with him and is entranced with his elegant manner and cultured discourse. One day, Abe finds the two of them together and is humiliated, suspecting that Bertha prefers Robert. Following an argument, he tries to embrace Bertha, but she pushes him away, causing him to tear her dress. In his anger, he screams that everything she has is his. Later, at their little girl's birthday party, Abe is chagrined to find that Bertha is absent from the family gathering and complains to David. When she finally arrives, David talks to his daughter on Abe's behalf, but she insists that she has a right to her own happiness. Despite her words, Bertha refuses Robert when he shows up to ask her to run away with him, saying she is bound by family ties. Before Robert can leave, an intoxicated Abe sees him with Bertha and accuses Bertha of coming to her daughter's birthday party with her "lover." Abe then accuses Robert of destroying his home and orders him to take Bertha and get out. A suddenly remorseful Abe tries to take back what he said, but Bertha replies that she is only his "luxury" and vows to take her child and go. Abe, who is devoted to his daughter, tells Bertha he cannot live without the girl, but she shocks the whole company by revealing that the child is not Abe's. As she is about to tell the truth about the girl, Lucy stops her. The day before the divorce trial, Robert complains to Bertha that the scandal is going to ruin his career, forcing Bertha to realize that he wants her only as a lover. After Robert leaves, Lucy tries to convince Bertha to go back to Abe, and Bertha, admitting that Abe loves her, finally agrees to return to him. Bertha confesses to her father that a foolish dream blinded her to Abe's wonderful sincerity, and as David is taking an unsuspecting Abe to see Bertha, Abe, who has decided to take the blame at the trial so that his wife will bear no shame, tells David that losing the baby means everything to him. After David declares that not only will he have the child, but his wife also, Abe tearfully states that he can never forget that the child is not his. At that moment, Lucy reveals that she is the mother and relates that two months after Bertha and Abe's wedding, she and Bertha went to Florida together and returned with her baby. Abe recognizes that Bertha's deed required a "heart like a mountain," and the couple are reconciled amidst crying, hugging and kissing. Sometime later, Bertha is expecting Abe's child and is finally in love with her husband.