Uprising

“‘Women are not chattel, to be traded off like cattle or hogs!’”

When Jane’s father asks about Eleanor Kensington’s brothers, hoping to marry her off and improve his business, Jane contemplates these words spoken by a women’s rights speaker at Vassar. This thought process marks the beginning of Jane’s political consciousness as she starts to apply feminist theory to her own lived experience. 

“‘In America, money is God.’” 

This line—spoken by a prostitute paid to attack the strikers—becomes a kind of philosophical refrain over the course of the novel. Immigrant families such as the Lucianos and the Blancks adopt a more ruthless attitude in America, seeking to earn money at the expense of others. The novel suggests that this attitude drives many of the struggles experienced by The Triangle factory workers that lead to the historic strike. This quote is particularly significant to Bella’s development, as she reflects that her friendship with Harriet Blanck is a means of conquering the “money is God” mentality. 

“Rahel kept her arm around Yetta’s waist, holding her up, holding her steady. ‘You still want the strike?’ she whispered. ‘Even now?’ Yetta answered through split, bloodied lips. ‘More than ever.’” 

Here, Yetta demonstrates the strength of her resolve and devotion to The Triangle strike, going back to the picket line after being beaten by hired prostitutes. The more challenging conditions become, the more Yetta desires to change her situation for the better.

“‘Because they’re women,’ Yetta said. She remembered the police looking from her to the prostitutes, saying, You’re a striker, aren’t you?…[t]hen I can’t see much difference.‘They want to say we’re just as low as those women, just as unclean.’” 

Yetta recognizes that by hiring prostitutes to attack them, police desired to send the message that all women are the same, diminishing the strikers’ struggle. This diminishing of women’s issues becomes a major theme over the course of the novel. 

“Bella began to wonder if she’d imagined the whole thing—the dancing, the music. Or not imagined it, exactly: misunderstood.” 

Here, Bella starts to become aware that the small treats offered by her Triangle boss—including music and dancing at lunchtime—are really just distractions from the strike going on outside. Bella has struggled to develop this awareness, however, because everything seems strange to her, as a recent immigrant: a new language that is easily “misunderstood.” 

“We’re like tinder. Just one spark is all we need.” 

At a crowded union hall meeting, Yetta excitedly reflects that the strikers are “like tinder,” suggestively comparing their cause to a fire: a force that will raze their old lives and make way for new beginnings. This image of “tinder” is patterned throughout the novel. It is significant both in terms of the strikers’ political struggle and the literal fire that consumes The Triangle factory at the end of Uprising.

“‘If I turn traitor to the cause I now pledge, may this hand wither from the arm I now raise.’” 

This is the old Jewish oath taken by the strikers at the union hall meeting. It is a revolutionary gesture, as women are typically prohibited from taking the oath. Yetta understands that her inclusion in this oath suggests that the male strikers take the women’s role seriously. 

“If a policeman arrests you…? Jane thought. What had she gotten herself into?…‘Don’t worry,’ Miss Pike said, because some of the other girls were looking a little pale as well. ‘The police have been very respectful to us.’”

Jane is alarmed by this line in the list of “rules” provided to young socialites at The Triangle strike. This moment exemplifies Uprising’s examination of gendered spaces and female protocol. It also demonstrates the disparity of treatment between classes, revealing that the police have been “very respectful” toward the wealthy young women while they have behaved violently toward the lower-class Triangle strikers.

“‘They. Lock. Us. In,’ Yetta said, very distinctly, as if she feared her English wasn’t clear enough. ‘They lock the doors so we can’t sneak out…It’s like we’re in prison just because they think we might commit a crime.’ This was something Jane could relate to. Being locked in was like being caged.…‘You broke out,’ Jane said. ‘The strike is how you broke out of those locks.’” 

At The Triangle strike, Yetta describes her prison-like work conditions to Jane, explaining that workers are literally locked in to control productivity and prevent theft. Despite her very different background, Jane begins to identify with the strikers, as she too feels locked in.

“‘I strike too, then!’ Bella said. ‘I—’ Her Yiddish failed her. ‘Vendichero la mia famiglia!’ ‘Avenge my family,’ Jane said. ‘That I understood.’” 

Here, Bella attempts to navigate between the language barriers of Italian, Yiddish, and English to communicate with Jane and Yetta. After Jane relates that Bella’s family died during the week The Triangle boss refused to pay her, Yetta explains that the workers are striking to combat this exploitation. Bella declares that she will join the strike to avenge her family. Her sentiment transcends language barriers and is “understood” by both women. 

“‘You’re just a girl. You’re nothing. Just a bit of fluff your father’s going to marry off, to enhance his business. That’s all you’re worth.’” 

These words are spoken by Jane’s governess, Miss Millhouse, when Jane attempts to fire her for insulting Bella and Yetta. Mill Millhouse’s words are indicative of the dismissive attitude all three girls are fighting against, and they help to affirm the solidarity between Bella, Yetta, and Jane. 

“‘If I’d stayed in Calia, I probably would have died too. With my family,’ Bella said. Yetta took her by the shoulders and shook her so hard her teeth rattled. ‘But you didn’t,’ she said…‘Isn’t that worth something? Isn’t that worth living for, here and now?’” 

In this scene, Bella and Yetta discuss how their pursuit of a better life in America is beginning to subvert their memories of family. Yetta suggests that in some ways, this forgetting is a positive change, that it is important for them to live independently in the “here and now.”

“‘I was always a better revolutionary in your mind than in reality.’” 

This line is spoken by Rahel when Yetta expresses anger at her sister’s marriage to Mr. Cohen. Rahel explains that many of Yetta’s ideas of revolution are based in dreams and fantasies. The tension between dreams and reality (between aspirations for the future and living in the now) is a recurring theme in Uprising. 

“‘If I ripped [my corset] off now, I’d split all the seams in my dress, my mother would faint, my father would have an apoplectic fit…quite the faux pas if I went to the ball tonight without my corset…[s]o, instead, I’ve been letting my corset out gradually…[n]ow, every time I go to a dress fitting, I make sure the corset is a little looser, a little less confining…’” 

When Jane visits Eleanor, distraught over her father’s use of strikebreakers, Eleanor uses the corset as a metaphor for gradual political changes. She advocates the use of compromise between Jane’s ideals and her father’s values, just as Rahel advocates for compromise in The Triangle strike. Both Jane and Yetta, however, refuse to accept such compromises.

“‘So we will not be stupid girls,’ Bella said. ‘And we will not be useless girls,’ Jane added. ‘And we will not be powerless girls,’ Yetta finished.” 

Here, the three friends—Bella, Yetta, and Jane—vow to continue their pursuit of lifelong learning so they will always remain independent. This vow is echoed in the final scene of the novel as Bella whispers to her daughter, whom she has named Yetta. The final echo suggests that the memory of these women and their convictions will live on through Bella’s daughters. 

“‘Most of our lives have been struggle, struggle, struggle.’” 

In Jane’s job interview for the governess position with Mrs. Blanck, she is surprised to hear that the Blancks were not always wealthy factory owners. They came to America as poor Russian immigrants and made their fortunes through a mix of resourcefulness and ruthlessness, following the “money is God” philosophy.

“These girls are a lot like me, Jane thought. Like I was.” 

When Jane interviews for the governess position, she is struck by young Harriet Blanck, who wriggles uncomfortably in her itchy lace sleeves. Jane recalls wearing similar sleeves when she was a child. She realizes that she has the opportunity to teach these girls skills and values she wishes she’d been taught.

“‘In the pogrom, in Bialystok…I saw people burned alive. I saw people lighting other people on fire. This one girl—she might have been you or me. One minute, she was just standing there, in the window of her house. The next minute, she was covered in flames. Gone in a flash.’” 

Rahel offers this recollection of the Russian pogrom as a kind of cautionary tale for Yetta, suggesting that she should take pleasure in her life now, because a whole life can be “gone in a flash.”Yetta recalls this warning as a kind of prophesy during The Triangle fire, knowing her life is about to be “gone in a flash.” 

“I would give my eyeteeth to get my daughters even a fraction of the advantages that you’ve had.” 

Jane’s chauffeur, Mr. Corrigan, reminds her that her father’s ruthless decisions and actions (such as the hiring of strikebreakers) were pursued with the hope of earning a better life for Jane. He also illustrates the disparity between his daughters’ lives and the privileges Jane grew up with (and has taken for granted).  

“‘Stop it! This is a fireproof building!’ Yetta screamed at Jennie. But we’re tinder, she remembered.” 

Here, Haddix insinuates the false language factory bosses have spread about the safety of The Triangle. Though Yetta has internalized this language, she knows that the building obviously can’t be fireproof because it is burning before her eyes. With the line “But we’re tinder,” Yetta reflects on the vulnerability of women who work in the factory; by accepting their bosses’ assertions, their lives could go up in flame, “gone in a flash.” 

“It does not take a long time to fall to the ground, even from nine stories up. But it took a lifetime for Yetta. It took every single one of the last moments of her life.” 

These lines echo Rahel’s story about the pogrom and the girl whose whole life was suddenly “gone in a flash.” The reader is encouraged to contemplate the multitudes of contemplation, regret, and meaning that can be contained in a few “last moments.” 

“‘I think people remember the Triangle fire because of the strike…[p]eople had cheered us on. They’d donated money to our cause, they’d bailed us out of jail, they’d marveled at our courage. We weren’t faceless and anonymous and easily forgotten after the strike. And then so many of us died so young, so tragically, so soon after. People felt like they knew us. They took our deaths personally.’” 

A fully-grown Bella shares these thoughts with Harriet Blanck, who asks why people remember The Triangle fire out of so many tragic fires that took place in that time. Bella reflects that ironically, the fire helped residents of New York City feel closer to the strikers. She asserts that their tragic deaths helped solidify the strike within public memory. 

“‘When Mr. Wellington died,’ Mrs. Livingston says, ‘he left most of his fortune to the suffrage movement.’ Harriet raises one eyebrow, in surprise. ‘Was that enough?’ she asks. ‘Did he earn his atonement?’ Mrs. Livingston frowns. ‘Why are you asking me? I’m not a priest. I’m not a rabbi. Who am I to decide?’” 

This quote suggests some of the unexpectedly broad-spanning effects of both The Triangle strike and The Triangle fire. Bella advises, however, that the value of these effects cannot be neatly interpreted.