Withholding and stony silence often circumvented the relay of questions. Had the interviews been recorded, we might expect to hear such evasions: “Husband? Which one?” “Why does it matter what the law say, isn’t it how you live that counts?” “He was my husband though we didn’t have any paper. We have morals just like everybody else.” “He took care of me and my children, so I have every right to use his name.” “A widow. I don’t know when, but I’m sure that he’s dead.” “No, I didn’t know my father. It was my mother who put the food in my mouth.”
