She Married Her Son... BY MISTAKE! A True Story

I made this PBS television special, Sins Of Our Mothers, with Rocky Collins, based on an interview with an old woman Maine reporter I had done way back in the mid-1970s. The documentary tells the story of Emeline. Without her knowledge, Emeline sinned and paid a heavy price for it. To see my other work, visit www.theHoffmancollection.com.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• women's rights
• feminist history
• history
• feminism
• American history
• the church
• illegitimate children
• Massachusetts
• Maine
• New England
• shunned
• Scarlet letter
• witchcraft history
• Christian heritage
• Fayette Maine
• Rocky Collins
• David Hoffman
• one of 10 children
• covenant with God
• jemi
• nelena
• niley
• nonprofit
• relationships
• documentary

[andrewclark81]

To the filmmaker:

In your description you say that Emeline "sinned". How on earth can a person be accused of sinning if they don't know what they've done is wrong?? As a "film maker" you should be objective and not introduce your personal views.

[allinaday]

@andrewclark81 thank you for your thoughts. Every film as a point of view and every filmmaker has a point of view. You are naïve if you think otherwise. And my point of view, quite clearly in my film, is not that Emeline sinned but that her society condemned her as a sinner. personally, I do not support Puritan values and am very sympathetic to what happened to Emeline, which is partially why I made this film.

David Hoffman -- filmmaker.

[ad8369]

all her story are unbelievable and dramatic. Where do you get these stories from?

[allinaday]

@ad8369 thank you for your comment and your question. I get my stories from ordinary citizens who, in my view as a filmmaker, have the best stories to tell. I keep my eyes and ears open and don't pass up opportunities to ask people that extra question onto that leads to a story like the one Nettie Mitchell told me so many years ago captured in this video.

David Hoffman–filmmaker

[bydcshore1]

@allinaday Thank you for this I have never seen this until today I knew Nettie well i was married to her grandson & used to sit with her many times years ago she was a remarkable woman , this story she told me years ago

[allinaday]

@bydcshore1 Thank you for your comment. Nettie was a remarkable person to me and I have never forgotten her articulateness–sensitivity–eye for great stories. you are lucky to have sat with her and heard her speak. David Hoffman–filmmaker

[Dharma435]

It cannot be called a sin if you didn't know. She sounded like a wonderful woman that found love and shame on the people who judged without knowing her.

[bocaknights1]

@Smithjgwhs3 I can't comprehend it because it is flawed, just like your spelling and punctuation. The people in question did not know and when they found out they stopped association. They didn't hurt anyone except themselves. How were they negligent?

[Smithjgwhs3]

@bocaknights1 Its ok,,,u cant comprehend my logic. Case closed lol

[bocaknights1]

@Smithjgwhs3 Your point isn't clear or proven. "Cuz retarted people dont know no better." That sounds retarded for so many reasons. You misspelled because and retarded. You left out the apostrophe in don't. You also used a double negative, which turns a negative statement into a positive one. Then you go on to cite irrelevant examples of occurrences of negligence that lead to death and say that people are still culpable because they should have used forethought and common sense for prevention.

[bocaknights1]

Sounds kind of like a cross between Oedipus Rex and The Scarlet Letter, a Tragedy.

[Periculo8910]

@QueenBee10221 50% lol. You can say that about anything and it immediately sounds more dramatic than it actually is.

[QueenBee10221]

@allinaday

I am Nettie Mitchells Grand daughter and have a tragic story of her grandson i would like to write but since i am not a writer i need help . Any willing to help?

[ChottomatteUyachan]

This is actually a sample of the Genetic Sexual Attraction theory, that is that relatives who didn't get familiar or became separated before one of them was five years old and met later as adults would have 50% chance of having high sexual desire towards the other.