Let me start by saying that I am grateful for the increase in independence for women. I would not be happy if my only purpose in life was for labor – in terms of both work and childbearing. I have the relief and freedom to have a boyfriend in today’s America without the following pressures of marriage. I have the right to establish my home as a public matriarchy, if I so wish to. Although women still have certain restrictions in the current society (i.e., the glass ceiling), there’s no denying that we’ve come a long way since the 1900’s.
Personally, I am glad that we were assigned to interview our family members at the beginning of the semester. This gave us something to relate to as we indulged in the class readings. There were many times while reading Robert Orsi’s tome The Madonna of 115th Street when I said to myself, “My Italian grandparents did that too!” These examples include wearing scapulars with the Madonna’s image, celebrating feast days of the saints, and the stereotypical covering of furniture with plastic covers. After reading the text, I now understand WHY such cultural actions were fulfilled.
Thus, like Silky, I found myself relating to certain qualities of the domus. My Italian and Irish families highly value respect of others – especially of contrasting ethnicities (obvious in my case of mixed bloodlines). Its strictness, inflexibility, and omnipotence, however, caused inevitable discomfort and fear amongst its younger generations. This does not surprise me why the domus deteriorated over time and after consequential “Americanization”. Although I think it impossible to revive the domus in every single way, I believe that some of its values should be more recognized in today’s America. For instance, marriage was seen to strengthen the domus, rather than weaken it. Too many marriages end in divorce today, which would hypothetically send thousands of women into exile. Perhaps this kind of proactive goal for marriage would help people realize that the union is more than just a lavish ceremony and fairy-tale companionship.
I couldn’t help seeing the symbolism of the Madonna representing the concealed power of women in Italian Harlem. Everyone in the community relied on her for success and blessings, similarly to how the men would depend on their wives for economic and social support. Women would be publically prominent at religious gatherings especially (i.e., festas and funerals), assuming an important position like the holy mother. Yet, even women found themselves relying on her mystical power. The Madonna served as the ear that was never deaf to the concerns and complaints of her people.
Like Alexa, I found that Orsi mentioned things about immigrant life already stated by Anbinder, Foner, and Pritchett. However, what I like especially about Orsi’s text is his including of pictorial references. The words on the page become so much more animated when an actual image is associated with them. Also, in all honesty, who doesn’t like picture books?
