Uprising

Jane is the daughter of a businessman who has only recently earned his wealth. Thus, her father is eager that she marry a man who will enhance his business. When her character enters the novel, she is bored and discontent with her life as a young socialite. She feels caged-in by her lacy dresses, corsets, and the expectations for her behavior as a woman. She feels quite literally locked in by Miss Millhouse, an oppressive governess who monitors her every move. When fellow socialite Eleanor Kensington invites her to The Triangle strike, she identifies with the factory workers and their own struggle to break free.

Despite her desire for freedom, Jane recognizes she has few practical skills and was “raised to be totally dependent on others” (217). She sees an opportunity to help other women by being a “subversive governess” (218) to the Blanck daughters, Harriet and Millicent, who remind her of herself. She teaches the girls to value their education. She even teaches Mrs. Blanck to consider women’s suffrage as an important aspect of being “American” (247). In the midst of the factory fire, Jane spends her final moments taking care of herself and refusing privilege-based assistance. In a sense, the fire allows Jane to stay true to her independence. 

Yetta is an immigrant from Russia. She lives with her older sister, Rahel, who immigrated years earlier to escape a pogrom in their village. Though ethnically Jewish, Yetta identifies most strongly as “a socialist” (32). She is obsessed with the idea of changing the unfairness she sees in the world.

Yetta is a tireless fighter in The Triangle strike whose resolve flourishes in hard times. She is dedicated to the idea of women’s suffrage, driven by her anger with upper-class men and women who oppress immigrant workers. Yetta perceives herself as a revolutionary who is not content with compromise, who demands major systemic change and recognition “now” (263). This uncompromising personality puts her at odds with Rahel, who urges her to accept more gradual change.

Yetta’s political convictions also overshadow her romantic relationships. While Bella and Jane enjoy noticing the law students that pass by The Triangle, Yetta spurns the attentions of a handsome young fabric cutter named Jacob. The fire, however, forces Yetta to work together with Jacob. In the moments before her death, Yette realizes her feelings for Jacob and wishes she had made more room in her life for love.

Rahel is Yetta’s older sister who initially serves as her model for a “revolutionary” (37). Rahel fights diligently for the strike, raising union funds and negotiating settlements. Throughout the strike, she sees the value of coordinating efforts with people Yetta finds questionable, including wealthy society women. When the strike ends in a disappointing settlement, Rahel urges Yetta to move on and do what is best for her own well-being, suggesting she find a job at one of the smaller factories that treats its workers better. When Yetta questions Rahel’s devotion to revolution, Rahel replies that she “was always a better revolutionary in [Yetta’s] mind than in reality” (185).

While Yetta remains devoted to socialist causes, Rahel pursues her own happiness by marrying her English classmate Mr. Cohen. She co-runs a small grocery store with her new husband and has children. Yetta is particularly disappointed when her sister becomes a mother, feeling the money spent on her children will prohibit her from saving to help their parents immigrate. Rahel is adamant that she needs to live for the moment, describing a scene she witnessed during the pogrom in Russia. She watched a girl who “might have been you or me” as she burned to death, whose life was “gone in a flash” (241).

Pietro is Bella’s distant cousin, a handsome young worker who provides her a home when she comes to America. He serves as Bella’s English ambassador, procuring a job for her and communicating in situations where men do not listen to women.

Bella daydreams about having a romance with Pietro, imagining a kiss on the fire escape stairs, and an eventual marriage to him. Her daydreams are disrupted when Pietro’s boss ships him to South Carolina. Because Pietro’s boss paid for him to come to America, he has no choice but to move. 

Rocco is introduced in the novel when he is still a young boy, the oldest of the Luciano children. He is kind to Bella and serves as her advocate in many situations. He shows her around New York and searches for news of Pietro’s whereabouts when he suddenly departs. When he learns that his parents were keeping Bella’s money for their own, he develops a plan to repay everything they owe her. He visits her devotedly, bringing her one or two pennies at a time.

In the final section of the novel, we learn that Rocco was adopted by the Livingston family, who financed his education and helped him become a doctor. Bella tells Harriet that she married Rocco and that he is “a much better husband than Pietro” (321) because he remained loyal to her for so many years. 

Miss Millhouse is Jane’s governess, charged with teaching her to be a proper woman, and ensuring she marries well. She is also Jane’s jailer, metaphorically caging her in corsets and lace, and literally preventing her from leaving the house to go to the strike. Jane vows to serve as a kind of foil for Miss Millhouse: a governess who teaches young women the value of education and independence.

Mr. Corrigan is Jane’s chauffeur. He is an Irish immigrant with seven children. Mr. Corrigan is kind toward Jane and supportive of her efforts to aid the strikers, as hisown niece works in a coat factory. He is the only servant Jane seems to trust with her secrets. He draws the line, however, when Jane asks him to steal food from the pantry and spend his own money for coats, explaining that these risks could threaten his ability to provide for his family.

At moments in the text, Mr. Corrigan can be read as a surrogate father figure for Jane. He is more affectionate and engaged in Jane’s life than her own father, from whom Jane hides most of her activities. It is interesting to note, however, that Mr. Corrigan provides Jane with a much richer perspective on her father’s inner life. He wants her to accept that her father desires what’s best for her, explaining, “I would give my eyeteeth to get my daughters even a fraction of the advantages that you’ve had” (258). He also illuminates her father’s beneath-the-surface emotional struggles. He tells Jane her father experienced a deep depression after being rejected by a woman he was pursuing. He explains that Jane’s father also had to fire Miss Millhouse for her inappropriate feelings toward him. 

Eleanor Kensington is Pearl Kensington’s feminist cousin who studies at Vassar. When Jane mentions factory girls at a tea party, Eleanor is introduced as a woman with similarly “odd ideas” (42) about class struggle. Eleanor invites Jane to numerous lectures on women’s rights, opening her mind to conversations about sexual economy (marrying for money) and feminine socialization.

Eleanor presents a somewhat cynical perspective on the speakers at Vassar, citing a presenter who forced her own daughter to marry against her will. Eleanor also displays suspect motives in asking Jane to join her activities, such as the need to use her chauffeur. Ultimately, Eleanor functions as a foil for Jane: a wealthy activist who is content to accept “blood money,” and who is not entirely earnest in her support of the women’s movement.