As far as a social commentary about single women trying to provide for their families in a male dominated world, I totally get why the mother, Virginia, did what she did, but it was men who did not want her to be shown as succeeding who caused the destruction of her work and made a mockery of her attempts to survive and made the film into a mockery.
Any woman who tries to give things a go on her own has a lot to fight against, unlike most men.