“That’s what they did with Doria, and it worked. I don’t understand why they didn’t do that with Tom.” I agree. I think Ma serves a purpose for Meg, a la strong black single mother. Pa serves no purpose except to embarrass Meg by reminding all where she comes from. Irony is that Ma was MIA during Meg’s childhood while Pa raised her, took her to his work, introduced her to Hollywood ppl and paid a ton for her private education. If anything she owes Pa, not Ma, and Pa knows this.