Her grandmother speechifies to her that she must live for her husband, and carry on his legacy by being the great actress he knew she was. For Janet Gaynor in 1937 it is the reminder of her domesticity. So Norman Maine's death in all four versions is directly in proportion to how we're meant to see our heroine. Really, fame is destined for the characters and Maine is little more than an introduction to it. The audience watches her pay her dues singing, and it's only by Norman getting her a screen test that she's given a career. The same can be said about Judy Garland's Esther in 1954. Janet Gaynor's Esther in 1937 knows she's a star, and works hard to make events happen but just needs the right person to vouch for her. Concurrently, her success is aided by Norman Maine's intervention, but never because of it.
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