Uprising

At the strike, Yetta holds a sign written in English and Yiddish. Meanwhile, Rahel coordinates registration funds for strikers at the union office. A group of rich young law students approaches Yetta and asks, “What’s your gripe?” (81). Yetta explains that they are trying to gain union recognition, but the only union they are allowed to join is the Triangle Employees Benevolent Association, whose officials are related to their bosses. The young men are dismissive toward her because she is a woman.

Replacement “scab” workers arrive at the factory and Yetta urges them not to cross the picket line. The scab workers pretend not to hear her. They are followed by prostitutes who brutally attack the strikers, including Yetta. The police arrest the strikers for disorderly conduct and let the prostitutes go free. Yetta realizes the prostitutes have been paid off to attack the strikers. When Yetta asks a prostitute why she accepted this money, the prostitute replies, “In America, money is God” (86). A policeman clubs Yetta and she blacks out.

Yetta wakes up in jail with fellow strikers who are badly injured. Rahel pays their bail fines with union money. Though Rahel offers to provide cab rides from the prison, the women agree to walk so the union won’t have to spend extra money. Rahel expresses worry over Yetta’s condition, but the fight only seems to strengthen Yetta’s resolve.

Jane lies in bed. She has spent much of the past few weeks in bed because life feels pointless, now that Eleanor has gone back to Vassar. Miss Millhouse tries to make Jane get up for a dress fitting and gets emotional when Jane refuses. She attempts to conceal her emotion and bribe Jane out with the offer of “a treat” (92). She shows Jane a newspaper article about Wilbur Wright’s plane and suggests she and Jane go to see him fly.

Jane notes all of the active verbs in the article such as “To watch. To see” (93). These verbs remind Jane of a letter Eleanor sent from Vassar. The letter took on a haughty lecturing tone, telling Jane she should improve her horizons by joining them on a trip abroad. Initially, the idea of this trip excited Jane, but then she came to see it as another form of “seeing” and “watching” her life pass her by. 

The work atmosphere at The Triangle is calm and surreal. Throughout the strike, Signor Carlotti has been unusually kind, giving the workers extra money and niceties, including a phonograph for dancing at lunchtime. The girls dance together, awkwardly trying to enjoy themselves. While Bella dances with another girl, she asks about the strike, but Carlotti orders them back to work before they can talk. Bella understands he is trying to keep them from thinking about the strike.

Bella reflects back to an incident in Italy when her family’s last goat died. Her mother pretended to be happy, saying, “This just means we can have a feast!” (98). Only the youngest child was fooled. The rest of the family understood that the goat’s death was the beginning of starvation. Bella contemplates that in America, she is being charmed like a child.

At the end of the work day, strikers shout at Bella and try to pull her away from the group. Yetta stops them from hurting Bella. A policeman sees the struggle and clubs Yetta, thinking she is among the group trying to hurt Bella. Bella watches helplessly as Yetta is thrown into a police wagon.

Rocco meets Bella to walk her home. Tired of being manipulated, Bella declares that she must find someone who speaks English. Rocco claims he has secretly gone to school to learn English from time to time when his parents thought he was running errands. Bella tries to use him as a translator with the police, but the policeman just growls dismissively and threatens to arrest them. 

It is late November and very cold on the picket line. Rahel and Yetta share a meal before that night’s union meeting. Rahel is distressed that the strike “isn’t working” (103). Many workers have been arrested and Yetta has bruises all over her body from being clubbed. Yetta is more optimistic. She talks about how the strike was publicized in The New York Times. Rahel is skeptical and says the strike only made it into the Times because a rich girl, Mary Dreier of the Women’s Trade League, was arrested, then released at the station right away. In the article, Mr. Blanck denied there was a strike going on and lied about how much he paid his workers.

Thousands of shirtwaist workers from all over New York City pour into the meeting. Yetta is excited by the turnout, thinking, “We’re like tinder. Just one spark is all we need” (106). Aside from Mary Dreier, all the speakers are important and famous men, including President of the American Federation of Labor, Samuel Gompers. Gompers expresses support for the idea of the strike, but cautions strikers to remain “cool, calm, and collected” (108).

A Yiddish female striker from Leiserson’s factory, Clara Lemlich, approaches the stage to speak. The venerable men look annoyed to be interrupted while others in the crowd seem eager to get her on stage. She declares that the time for talk is over and they need to strike now. The room explodes with cheers.

Mr. Feigenbaumer takes the stage and is cautionary, but the crowd turns against him. He asks the crowd to take an old Jewish oath of allegiance: “If I turn traitor to the cause I now pledge, may this hand wither from the arm I now raise” (110).

Eleanor calls Jane to invite her to The Triangle strike. Jane is initially hesitant to come, but Eleanor convinces her by saying she “might not get a chance to do something like this again” (112). Jane’s chauffeur, Mr. Corrington, is eager to take her to the strike, claiming they’re doing a great service. On the way to the strike, their wealth overtakes their political values, as a girl worries her new boots might get ruined. Another girl worries about communicating with the strikers, most of whom don’t speak much English. Eager to be of use, Jane volunteers that she speaks Italian. She also notices the threadbare clothing of the workers.

A Vassar alum named Violet Pike greets them at the picket line, expressing that this is an educational opportunity for the women’s struggle. When Jane wonders how the strike is related to the women’s struggle, Violet explains, “It’s all the same in the final analysis” (115). The girls are given lists of rules that include instructions for what to do if a policeman arrests them. Violet says the police have been very respectful of “us,” but not toward the “poor factory girls” (116).

Jane approaches Yetta at the picket line and awkwardly tries to speak Italian to her. Yetta explains that she came from Russia, but she only speaks Yiddish. Yetta tells Jane about the strike, explaining that they have been picketing for over two months without pay. When Jane remarks that the strike is nearly over, Yetta explains that the smaller factories gave into workers’ demands, but big factories like The Triangle are able to hire scabs, so their strike is not almost over. 

Just as Jane begins to commiserate, a drunk man spits at Yetta, and Jane screams for Mr. Corrigan to take her home. The police arrive as Jane is chauffeured away, and she marvels at how free Yetta looks, even when she is being taken to jail.