European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)
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My mother didn’t want the landlord to see us kids who could not work yet.
My mother didn’t want the landlord to see us kids who could not work yet.
i bimbi e i ragazzi che non erano braccia da lavoro e che erano solo bocche da sfamare -
She didn’t want her to count how many cups of milk she would take out every morning to feed us.
She didn’t want her to count how many cups of milk she would take out every morning to feed us.
non si voleva che la padrona arrivando nel cortile vedesse otto figli di cui quattro non potevano lavorare -
In the sharecropping contract, if four of us kids were not working, we were only more mouths to feed.
In the sharecropping contract, if four of us kids were not working, we were only more mouths to feed.
e che la padrona avesse la possibilità di contare quante tazze di latte al mattino la mamma sottraeva per darci da mangiare. -
My school only went up to the third grade.
My school only went up to the third grade.
Lì c’era solo fino alla terza elementare -
In order to do the remaining two years one had to go further away.
In order to do the remaining two years one had to go further away.
quindi gli altri due anni fino alla quinta bisognava spostarsi dal centro del comune, -
This would have meant adding three more kilometres to the three I was already doing.
This would have meant adding three more kilometres to the three I was already doing.
quindi per me che facevo già tre chilometri da casa per andare a quella scuola se ne sarebbero aggiunti altri tre per andare -
It wouldn’t have been the biggest problem though.
It wouldn’t have been the biggest problem though.
a scuola fino alla quinta elementare. Ma questo non era il problema più grosso, -
Most families thought that if they were to make sacrifices it had to be for the boys, not for the girls.
Most families thought that if they were to make sacrifices it had to be for the boys, not for the girls.
il problema più grande era che nelle famiglie oramai era diventata radicata l’abitudine e anche il pensare che se c’era qualcuno in famiglia per il quale si doveva fare un sacrificio con la maggior spesa, -
It was customary, so I didn’t even think about it.
It was customary, so I didn’t even think about it.
doveva essere un uomo, non doveva essere una donna. Quindi per me non si è neanche posto il problema; -
After I had finished the third grade I was supposed to stay at home, as there was no money for me to continue.
After I had finished the third grade I was supposed to stay at home, as there was no money for me to continue.
io alla terza elementare dovevo stare a casa e basta, perché non c’erano le possibilità per mandarmi a scuola fino almeno alla quinta elementare. -
It was something we were
It was something we were
Ma questa era una cosa alla quale -
used to hear and also understand.
used to hear and also understand.
eravamo abituati sia a sentirla che a capirla -
Traditionally, as you got married,
Traditionally, as you got married,
perché il sapere delle donne nella mentalità corrente di allora -
you would have to carry what you learned as a woman at home into a new house, in a new family.
you would have to carry what you learned as a woman at home into a new house, in a new family.
voleva dire portarlo fuori di casa, poiché una volta sposata andavi in un'altra casa, in un'altra famiglia. -
However, all you were supposed to do was to be a good wife in your new life,
However, all you were supposed to do was to be a good wife in your new life,
Invece dovevi essere solo una brava moglie nella nuova vita, -
know how to mend your husband’s pants and how to make socks for him.
know how to mend your husband’s pants and how to make socks for him.
dovevi solo saper rammendare, saper fare le calze per tuo marito e rattoppare i pantaloni, fare tutte queste cose. -
That was the current opinion at the time.
That was the current opinion at the time.
Questa era l’idea corrente. -
As I finished school I started to work in the fields.
As I finished school I started to work in the fields.
Io fatta la terza elementare cominciai ad andare a lavorare in campagna -
In the winter, when it was snowing, I would go to the nuns to learn how to sew and patch.
In the winter, when it was snowing, I would go to the nuns to learn how to sew and patch.
e in inverno quando c’era la neve a piedi andavo dalle suore per imparare a cucire, rattoppare, -
They wouldn’t teach us embroidering: that was something for the children of the wealthy.
They wouldn’t teach us embroidering: that was something for the children of the wealthy.
non dico ricamare perché non ti insegnavano a ricamare come facevano le figlie dei ricchi,