Ashes Of Roses

From the start, Maureen shows that she is the type of person who speaks her mind, though she is too young to fully understand the consequences that words can have. At the immigration center on Ellis Island, for example, she talks back to an officer who orders the family to take seats farther away from the clerks’ counters. Ma warns her, “That’s the kind of trouble yer smart mouth is goin’ to get us in America” (27). To prevent such outbursts when they are trying to avoid conflict with Uncle Patrick’s family, Rose finds herself telling only partial truths or letting Maureen hold more positive outlooks because “[w]hen she got upset, she often said more than she should, and that could make things even more uncomfortable than they already were” (54). However, there are only so many insults and taunts that a person can take, and Maureen’s anger boils over into an attack on Hildegarde, which leads to the family being ousted from Uncle Patrick’s home. However, the incident also reveals that her elders sometimes respect her honesty, as both Rose and Ma wanted to smack Hildegarde, too.

However, Maureen’s headstrong nature comes close to getting her into serious danger. Described as someone “who had some objection to every rule [her parents] laid down” (111), Maureen objects to having to go to school instead of getting a job. Even Gussie soon realizes that Maureen needs to be kept busy so that she will not get into trouble. Despite swearing to Ma that she would go to school and despite Gussie’s warning about the ways in which many employers exploit children, Maureen starts work at Triangle. Her stubbornness is too much for Rose to overcome, so she relents: a decision that Rose comes to regret when the building goes up in flames. It is unclear if Maureen will now agree to return to school, but her clear-eyed pragmatism shows when she tells Rose that even though the rest of their family will most likely never come back to America, she wants to stay. She has experienced the worst day, so in her mind, things can only get better from there.

Rose’s description of Ma’s habits and attitude in Ireland reveal a far truer depiction of the character than can be gleaned from Ma’s limited experience with New York City. When Ma first appears in the novel, she is already suffering the consequences of a difficult situation that she didn’t want to choose in the first place. Her view of America is, therefore, tainted before she arrives, and her sentiments worsen when immigration agents deny Joseph entry and she finds herself separated from her husband, who must return to Ireland with the baby. Although she is a skilled seamstress, her life revolves around her family, and she cannot endure being separated from her husband and son. One point of tension between Rose and Ma occurs because Rose does not want to marry young and dedicate life to having children, as Ma did. Ma is insulted that her daughter eschews that choice. However, when Rose hears Uncle Patrick and Ma discussing the old days in Limerick, she wonders if the maternal path was entirely of Ma’s choosing.

Though Rose and Ma sometimes disagree, Rose realizes that “[t]hough Da was the head of the family, it was Ma who could make me feel better when I was sick or frightened” (26). However, because Ma is separated from her husband and baby and must find her way in a strange land where even her brother-in-law considers her faith to be an outdated custom, she flounders and begins to despair. A key turning point occurs when she doesn’t reprimand Rose for talking harshly to her during their collective attempt at flower-making. As Rose remarks, “At home she was always so sure of herself, but here she seemed afraid” (65). In a sense, Ma is stuck in the past, yearning for the way things were in Ireland. As a result, this strong woman and mother of four spirited children crumples without her familiar supports. Returning to Ireland potentially marks the permanent split in the Nolan family, for neither Rose nor Maureen believe that Ma will ever be willing to return to America.