I started off this reading with the idea that women were a respected figure in Italian Harlem and received the most power of all, especially in the domus (specifically in the home).  I also knew the hard life that young women – girls, adolescents, and unmarried women – lived, with abuse from brothers (older and younger), fathers, comari and compari, as well as neighborhood young men.  That being said, I believed that these hardships were just stepping stones in becoming powerful adult women and mothers.

1. Mothers exacted all the power in the family.  Often times, fathers felt snubbed by his children’s fidelity towards their mother.
2. Everyone looked towards the mother or the older woman of the family for advice.  Eldest sons were at their mother’s beck and call.  The matriarchal elders held all of the Italian traditions and values, ready to give advice and help anyone in need.
3. Though their power was mainly in the home, they had no problem exerting power outside in the form of punishment towards misbehaving children.
4. Women “controlled the family finances, and the various members of the household were expected to hand their paychecks over to them” (133).

The list of admiral qualities of an Italian-American woman’s life goes on and on, but then Orsi turns the tables.  He says “our task now is to explore the consequences of the power of women in Italian Harlem, to go deeply into their power in order to find there the real nature of their powerlessness” (143).  He uses Theresa as an example – a single mother with a hard life who in the traditional Italian system is not seen as a “good woman.”  I’d rather ignore this form of argumentation because it is extremely specific and doesn’t address the life of all Italian-American women.  Her case is special, and though I feel for her, Theresa’s example is just one of many various stories.  There were some things, though, that Orsi mentions that I think do represent some powerlessness for women.  They were kept in “great and deep silence” (145), not allowed to speak up against injustices within the domus (mainly, I believe, he is talking about domestic abuse here).  That being said, most women who are subject to domestic abuse feel powerless, and this is not unique to Italian culture.  Because women were the center of the domus, all “frustration, anger, and resentment” (147) was focused towards them.  As we’ve discussed before, fathers acted out against mothers in a power rivalry, as did daughters and sons.  Women, within close knit communities, even “viewed each other as rivals for power and love” (148).  In a traditional culture, though, I believe that these women were given a lot that others have been prohibited from.

Marina B. Nebro