In the last class, we discussed the bitterness in the father’s role in the domus. This section now described how the women were not spared bitterness, either, despite their central roles in the domus. While women were revered as the pillars of domestic life (and domus life was focused on domestic life), at the same time they were oppressed by that role. Women did not report feeling any sense of empowerment; rather, they were controlled by the “distant” presence of of their male counterparts. The males only were distant and “helpless” because they were “spoil[ed]” and “wait[ed] upon” by the “silent” mothers. And before they even were mothers, the single girls were in essence bullied and controlled by their brothers in their dating lives. Thus the role of the woman wasn’t even the “neck” (as described by a student last class) of the family, but was the limbs of the male brain. This is not to say that the males were happy and content, either. While they were empowered, they were also viewed as peripheral figures in domus life. In this powerfully family-oriented society, I wonder how it survived for so long with such unsatisfied members. Neither group expressed satisfaction, nor fulfillment, with their gender roles. The women saw it as “burdens” (139), the men sighed “if only I had the power” (133). I can understand a matriarchal, or patriarchal, society in which the members feel content and fulfilled within their roles, but if that is not the case, it surprises me that were was as much adherence to the ways of the past as their was. The second section, however, offered me more insight into the continuity and structure of the domus. A major theme of the Madonna celebration was ‘generation’ and passing of the heritage to the next generations who were growing up in a foreign land. It was this ceremony, I think, more than the actual family life, that connected people to the domus. All of the family members convened at this time, journeying from near and far, to feel unified in turning to a common belief. This lasted for generations, and was subject to less resistance within the people. The mothers had someone to turn to with their struggles, the men were reconnected with their maternal affections, and the children were actively and tangibly connected to the ways of their grandparents. I can understood how this event could smooth the conflicts and arising discomforts within domus life.