In my response to this particular reading I want to focus on a very specific aspect of Orsi’s writing. At one point in his book, Orsi focuses on the women of Italian Harlem and their independence (or lack thereof) during this time period. What most interested me was the dynamics of interactions between the men and women. Although I am looking at this from a much more modern and perhaps feminist perspective, I found it strange that not only was a woman’s reputation much more easily tarnished, but if a man had anything to do with said tarnishing, there was no blame placed on him. It was not uncommon – in fact, fairly universal – that women were expected to have a chaperone when going out on the streets. That was a trait present in many societies. However, this was one of the many repressive aspects for women in Italian Harlem.

Another expectation for women was that they would stand by their husbands, no matter how awful the state of their relationship. I was particularly struck by the story of Theresa, who for many years denied that her husband was committing adultery, despite gossip to the contrary. The anger and resentment that filled her left her unable to produce milk for her second baby, and when she went to care for that baby, she was filled with guilt for leaving her other children behind. It was a vicious downward cycle, and pride was the only reason behind it. I have heard of complicated family politics, but this one seemed to beat many others I’ve heard.

However, there was one segment I read that I actually found slightly empowering, though others may find this logic strange. Of course it would make sense that girls would be respected for refusing a boy’s advances – but girls could even physically stick up for themselves. I remember being quite amused reading that a boy, boasting about his girlfriend, “felt that wallop good and proper, and no sick girl can deliver a punch.” (p. 138) Although it does not seem fair that a girl should need to be prepared for this manipulative courtship ritual, it gave the girls a chance to defend themselves, which I feel is important.

It is clear that though women had power within the households, they had very little power in the outside culture. So despite the fact that time tends to erase hardship from memory, women had to deal with a lot of repression in Italian Harlem.