After our discussion of the first chapters of Orsi’s book I was left with the notion that the women’s role in Italian Harlem was a weak one; that they were often seen as inferior to men. Because of this initial notion, it was surprising to find out that the domus was a matriarchal system, meaning it was centered around the mother. The mother figure was the most important role within the domus and held the domus together. Something that really stood out to me was that although everyone within the domus knew that the mother was the backbone to the domus, in public the mother would still make it seem as though the male was the dominant power. “The powerful women of the community were expected to show an absolute respect for their husbands and sons in public, even though everyone in the community knew that such subservience was theater” (133). Even though women knew that they held the strongest power within the household, I guess this “theater” that they would put on shows the respect that they have for domus values.
Another interesting thing to note is that although women are the center of the domus, when they are young they hold one of the most vulnerable positions within the domus. Young women have to constantly worry about their reputations; one little mistake could ruin their reputation forever. Women had to behave as though they were constantly being watched because in fact they were constantly being watched. One bad decision could ruin the young woman’s chance at ever having her own successful domus in the future. No matter what age however the woman is always expected to uphold the values of the domus and ensure that the domus is held together.
Understanding the role of the woman in the domus allows us to better understand why it is the Italians value the Madonna so much. The Madonna is the mother of all. She is that central figure that one can look to in hopes of finding help to keep the domus together. She’s the one that even the strongest figure of the domus, the mother, can go to with her grievances. Once you understand how important the mother figure is to the Italians then you can better understand why it is that people would come from all over for the festa of Mount Carmel.