him in December of 1912. Instead of moving in together, Alfred rented a room for her at a hotel. According to her petition for divorce, Alfred refused to live with and abandoned her at the hotel while he lived in concubinage with someone else. Mary received no money beyond the payment for the hotel and claimed to be unable even to afford a bond or court fees. Since it is unlikely she had procured a job during her short stay in the Canal, Mary basically lived a life of confinement—she had no money and no knowledge of the area to go out beyond the hotel. After a month and a half of this arrangement, Mary petitioned the court for a divorce. Even though she had no money and no support network in the Canal, Mary found a way out of her restrictive marriage with Alfred. He argued in court that he put her up in a hotel because there was no other housing and had not visited because he was busy with work; that he had not been abusive or adulterous and that in fact, it was she who was making unreasonable demands on him and on the hotel. The court granted the divorce—Alfred was to pay $500.00 alimony to Mary, while she awaited deportation on the next boat for St. Lucia. West Indian women saw men's financial support as a spousal obligation, particularly for their children, but divorce was not the only solution these women sought when their husbands neglected them financially. For example, one account from Core's Maid in Panama, titled Maiden Young and tells the story of a white boss who “A Fair”, has to deal with his worker's personal problems. He often receives letters from West Indian women complaining that certain men have not paid the child support they owe. The story paints the event as amusing, making fun of the and frames it “irate lady” around the heavy burden of the the white man who works with West “unofficial duties” Indians has to bear. But the story also reveals that West Indian women considered child
him in December of 1912. Instead of moving in together, Alfred rented a room for her at a hotel. According to her petition for divorce, Alfred refused to live with and abandoned her at the hotel while he lived in concubinage with someone else. Mary received no money beyond the payment for the hotel and claimed to be unable even to afford a bond or court fees. Since it is unlikely she had procured a job during her short stay in the Canal, Mary basically lived a life of confinement—she had no money and no knowledge of the area to go out beyond the hotel. After a month and a half of this arrangement, Mary petitioned the court for a divorce. Even though she had no money and no support network in the Canal, Mary found a way out of her restrictive marriage with Alfred. He argued in court that he put her up in a hotel because there was no other housing and had not visited because he was busy with work; that he had not been abusive or adulterous and that in fact, it was she who was making unreasonable demands on him and on the hotel. The court granted the divorce—Alfred was to pay $500.00 alimony to Mary, while she awaited deportation on the next boat for St. Lucia. West Indian women saw men's financial support as a spousal obligation, particularly for their children, but divorce was not the only solution these women sought when their husbands neglected them financially. For example, one account from Core's Maid in Panama, titled “A Maiden Young and Fair”, tells the story of a white boss who has to deal with his worker's personal problems. He often receives letters from West Indian women complaining that certain men have not paid the child support they owe. The story paints the event as amusing, making fun of the “irate lady” and frames it around the heavy burden of the “unofficial duties” the white man who works with West Indians has to bear. But the story also reveals that West Indian women considered child
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