“‘The story begins like so much else,' she says slowly, 'With hope. Hope and dreams and daring….'” 

These lines are spoken to Harriet Blanck, daughter of The Triangle shirtwaist factory owner, by Bella, a former shirtwaist worker who survived the infamous factory fire. Here, Bella answers Harriet’s request to “tell [her] about the fire” (1) by suggesting The Triangle strike—and the lives of the women who participated in the strike—are the true story behind the historic fire. 

“‘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