1.1. The author discusses how the middle class employs domestic workers to send a message to society. "For the middle class in Rio de Janeiro, employing a domestic worker is not only perceived as a necessity; it is also a class marker" (pp. 66).
1.2. The fact that a house hold has a domestic worker automatically creates class divisions. "Middle-classness is nevertheless an ambiguous position...The site of employer and domestic worker relations is really a site of class formation and differentiation" (pp. 67).
2. Cooking/ Cleaning/ Housework
2.1. Gloria was very aware and proud of her ability to cook and clean extremely well. "[Gloria] knew how to prepare a wide range of Brazilian food products" (pp. 58)
2.2. Gloria loved cooking for her family. "By the time the bread arrived, Gloria was passing out half-full glasses of hot, sweet coffee, and each child was allowed to politely pull off a piece of bread by him or herself" (pp. 61)
2.3. Gloria knew she was a great cook and house maid. Therefore, she decided to center her job around those aspects. "Gloria would travel each day of the week to a different employer's home and do the heavy-duty cleaning...as well as a fair amount of cooking" (pp. 61).
3. Family First
3.1. Gloria waited to live by herself until she knew her children were well enough to live on their own. "Only recently, Gloria had gone 'solo'; she left her own shack with her young teenage and pre-teen children still living there and had moved a few miles away, in with her lover at the time, Mauro" (pp. 60).
3.2. Gloria would always put her children first. "Gloria still strongly ruled her own household from afar and spent all her hard-earned money to sustain her family" (pp. 60).
3.3. Beth made sure that she found a strong and trustworthy house maid that would help her out in her own life and household. "Beth was trying to make an impact in her own way, but also, I believe she was willing to pay for the stability of having a highly competent, loyal worker stay with her over the coming years" (pp. 65).
