After reading the final chapters of The Madonna of 115th Street, I feel like I have gained a better understanding of the culture and devotion in Italian Harlem. Orsi skillfully wraps up the intense subject of the faith in Italian Harlem and further explains the ideas behind the devotion to the Madonna. One part that Orsi clarifies here is the extent to which the women go through in order to demonstrate their sacrifice and devotion to the Madonna. Back when I read the first chapter, I admit I was a bit nonplussed about the way that the women would drag themselves on their hands and knees, and even their tongue, all the way through the church to the Madonna. Now, however, that I can understand the crucial role that the Madonna played in the lives of Italians, and especially those of the women, their behavior makes perfect sense.
Orsi explains how during the procession, women bore the brunt of the necessity to atone to the Madonna and bear the burden of devotional penitence. Not only did the women crawl up the church aisle, but they also were the ones to barter their suffering in order to relieve other members of their society. At the same time that the mother of all women was being glorified, the women of the community were in a way being degraded. The celebration and humbling of women were part and parcel of life in the domus, and the devotion represented that. Women needed to compensate in some measure, for the power that was also their inevitable burden. But while the devotion to the Madonna reinforced their power and powerlessness, it simultaneously provided women with a figure in which they could take solace and refuge from the complexity of their lives.
Aside from the important role that the devotion to the Madonna played in the lives of women, there were also many other facets to the devotion that Orsi discusses in these final chapters. To try to sum it up, the devotion articulates the values that the domus espouses and reinforces them in everyone who is present. The Madonna provided comfort to the immigrant in all areas of their lives, including the social and economic domains. The festa allowed Italians to vent their frustrations about life in the domus, and even escape from it. Through the festa, the culture of Italian Harlem was revitalized and passed on to the newer generations. Clearly, the devotion shaped the lives of all who were a part of Italian Harlem.
