The promises of a better life in America were likely to have appealed to scores of young women in Ireland who believed that a more financially secure situation might be found on the other side of the ocean.
Once emigrated and in service, a more unforgiving reality soon became evident. With no family to lean on and minimal outlets for social engagement, theirs was a joyless existence.
A few turned back. Most adjusted. Many were homesick, likely regretting their decisions to emigrate in the first place.
Was it a mistake to come to America?
A man of genius makes no mistakes, James Joyce wrote in Ulysses. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.
Can error lead to new discovery? Maybe that was the whole point.
Or maybe the point was to just keep on keeping on.
Common sense is genius, wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson, dressed in its working clothes.