Ashes Of Roses

Ma marches the girls down the street until they find a Catholic church. Being inside brings some comfort to Rose because the church is similar to their old church in Limerick. They stop at a bakery on their way home and buy an apple cake to show their thanks to Uncle Patrick and his family. Their hosts are not home, but there is a note from Elsa, who has left some breakfast for them on the stove. Though it looks unappetizing, Ma refuses to let them waste food or ignore the kind gesture. The food tastes better than it looks, and Rose is grateful for the food after what they ate on the ship. Uncle Patrick’s family returns home after Ma and the girls finish eating and cleaning up. Elsa refuses the cake, saying that her family can’t spoil their appetites by eating dessert first. Uncle Patrick feels caught, however, and decides to eat a slice. Elsa forbids young Friedrich from having any, though he eyes the cake longingly. Ma, in better spirits after Mass, apologizes to Patrick. He tells them about when he first arrived in America and worked on the docks. He eventually worked his way into politics and believes that he can get a good job for Michael (Rose’s father) through his connections in a political party. He does not tell them how he met Elsa.

Ma, Rose, and Maureen keep trying to help Elsa with household chores over the next week, but Elsa puts them off, saying that guests shouldn’t have to help. However, they sense the tension and know that their behavior is judged, so they at least try to look helpful when Uncle Patrick is around. Trudy and Hildegarde aren’t much friendlier, but they are often away from the house, attending their private school. Rose would like to go to school, too, but Ma doesn’t want Elsa to think that they expect Patrick to pay for it, so she says that maybe they will find a public school. One night, Rose overhears Patrick and Elsa talking about them. Elsa wants to know when they’ll be leaving, but Patrick says that Ma and the girls can stay as long as they need to and asserts that without a man, they would be easy prey for con artists. Rose then hears that their stay has prevented Trudy from being courted by a boy named Walter, because Rose and her family are sleeping in the parlor. Patrick dismisses this argument, but now that Rose knows about Elsa’s complaints, she eats very little the next morning because she doesn’t want Elsa believing that they are expensive to feed. She goes out to look for a job so that they can make their own money and move out that much sooner.

Rose’s first stop is at a small shoe shop. She asks the cobbler if he has any work, and he answers by asking her many questions about the skills she may have, such as cutting leather. She has none. He chastises her for presuming she could help with work that took him five years to learn, and calls her a “greenhorn”—one of many landing in America looking for work every day. In tears, she leaves and keeps walking. Several other family-run shops also turn her down. She then goes into the largest store she has ever seen. The women working there are all wearing stylish outfits with puffed sleeves, which Rose envies. She watches as a store clerk shows a beautiful, beaded gown to an elegant lady. The clerk tells Rose that she is neither suitable as a customer or a worker. Angry, Rose leaves, knowing that her mother can make dresses just as fine, if not finer, than what is sold in this store. She wonders why the skilled dressmaker isn’t as valued as the person selling the dress.

Rose goes to a bakery, where she is greeted by a friendly Irish accent. Colleen Murphy and her husband own and run the bakery, but they don’t have any work for Rose. Taking pity on her, Colleen writes out an address where her niece used to work making paper flowers. She claims that the man pays fairly, then she gives Rose a muffin for lunch. Feeling optimistic, Rose sets out to the address. The work, she is told, could also be done at home, which means that Rose could get Maureen and Ma to do it, too, until other work comes along for Ma. The neighborhood looks a bit rough, but eventually Rose finds Mr. Moscovitz and his tables of girls making flowers. When he asks if she knows how to make paper flowers, she decides to lie because claiming to be a fast learner didn’t work with the cobbler. Moscovitz teases her when he learns her name and sits her down to demonstrate her flower-making skills.

Rose tries to copy what the girl next to her is doing, but her attempted flower falls apart. All the other girls laugh. Mr. Moscovitz chides her for pretending that she knows how to do the work, but he lets her stay because he is always looking for people who are willing to learn. He teases her some more, and this time Rose laughs. A girl named Tessa sits next to her and shows her how to make the flowers. When Mr. Moscovitz comes by to check on Rose’s progress, he squeezes her shoulder. Tessa tells Rose that she shouldn’t let him do that because he is testing her limits, seeing how far he can push her boundaries. Tessa and Rose bond over lunch. Like most of the other girls there, Tessa was once a “greenhorn” like Rose. Tessa’s family came over from Italy the year before, where her father was a university professor. Rose is surprised to learn that Tessa’s father now works as a janitor in a clothing factory now because Italians are looked down on, as the Irish people once were. Rose realizes that Mr. Moscovitz expects the flower-makers to work until eight p.m., but she cannot stay that late today because Ma doesn’t know where she is.

It’s dark when Rose heads home, and she feels unsafe. When she arrives, Elsa scolds her for being out so late. Both Ma and Elsa were worried about her. When Rose explains that she found work making flowers on Chrystie Street, Trudy contemptuously calls it a sweatshop. Elsa says that Patrick will be upset about this because he has a reputation to uphold as a councilman of the Seventeenth Ward. Elsa says that Patrick will decide what to do about Rose, but Ma counters that as Rose’s parent, she will make the decisions. When Elsa states that the neighborhood Rose was working in is unsafe, Ma concedes and forbids Rose from working there. After dinner, Rose goes out on the fire escape to get fresh air, and she and Hildegarde bicker. Elsa reprimands Rose, and Maureen joins Rose on the fire escape. Maureen doesn’t understand what it is and why the ladder doesn’t go all the way to the ground. Trudy then sticks her head out to criticize Rose and call her a name. Rose responds in kind, knowing as she does that each confrontation she has makes her resemble the person they already think she is.

That night, Rose tries to convince Ma to let her continue doing the flower-making. She tells her that sometimes Mr. Moscovitz allows girls to take work home. If she can convince him, then both Ma and Maureen could earn money, too. Ma points out that the neighborhood is unsafe. Rose fibs and claims that Elsa said the neighborhood was only unsafe at night. She suggests that if she goes there for materials in the morning after Elsa leaves and they clean up all their work before she gets home, Elsa won’t discover what they are doing. Ma agrees, and the next morning, they wait for Elsa to leave. (Ma explains that as a councilman’s wife, Elsa shows her compassion by visiting sick people and widows.) Once Elsa is gone, Rose leaves for the shop, arriving there at eleven. Mr. Moscovitz initially fires her for being late, but he is interested in her proposal that he let her, her mother, and Maureen work from home. He tells her that he’ll pay less and will only pay for perfect stems. Rose doesn’t know how much he pays, so she agrees. She asks how much she earned the previous day, but he says that she ruined so many materials that they’re even. He gives her supplies for 3,000 stems. One of the workers spits at Rose’s feet, and Tessa explains that by agreeing to do piecework from home for a lower wage, she is taking work from the others. Once the orders are met, Moscovitz will fire them all. Tessa now regrets having helped Rose. Rose feels guilty when she realizes the consequences of her actions.