The Meaning of the Name Iris

American Woman

This flow traces Jenny’s use of aliases as practical protection and as a sign of how political hiding fragments identity.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Name for Wildmoor A Name for Wildmoor from "American Woman". A Name for Wildmoor Iris Wong Jenny introduces herself as Iris Wong when she takes work at Wildmoor.

A Name for Wildmoor from "American Woman". A Name for Wildmoor Iris Wong Jenny introduces herself as Iris Wong when she takes work at Wildmoor.

A Name for Wildmoor Iris Wong Jenny introduces herself as Iris Wong when she takes work at Wildmoor. The name allows her to remain in one place without exposing her history, but it also separates her from the person who fled California. Identity as Work She learns to answer to the name while making herself useful to Dolly.

A Box in Red Hook A Box in Red Hook from "American Woman". A Box in Red Hook Mail Without a Home Jenny rents a post office box in Red Hook to receive the few letters and newspapers she can risk collecting.

A Box in Red Hook from "American Woman". A Box in Red Hook Mail Without a Home Jenny rents a post office box in Red Hook to receive the few letters and newspapers she can risk collecting.

A Box in Red Hook Mail Without a Home Jenny rents a post office box in Red Hook to receive the few letters and newspapers she can risk collecting. The box becomes a practical substitute for a stable address and a private ritual of checking the world. Anonymity with Routine The system protects her only as long as no one connects her habits to her name.

Iris in the Newsletter Iris in the Newsletter from "American Woman". Iris in the Newsletter A Public Compliment Louise Fowler writes about Iris Wong’s skill and patience in a local newsletter.

Iris in the Newsletter A Public Compliment Louise Fowler writes about Iris Wong’s skill and patience in a local newsletter. The praise is affectionate and ordinary, yet it creates a small public record of Jenny’s assumed identity. A Name That Outlives Its Purpose The alias becomes a trace that later reaches Jenny’s father.

Alice in Liberty Alice in Liberty from "American Woman". Alice in Liberty A New Cover Jenny uses the name Alice Chan when obtaining a post office box in Liberty.

Alice in Liberty from "American Woman". Alice in Liberty A New Cover Jenny uses the name Alice Chan when obtaining a post office box in Liberty.

Alice in Liberty A New Cover Jenny uses the name Alice Chan when obtaining a post office box in Liberty. She invents a landscape-painter story to make her presence sound temporary and unremarkable. A Repeated Strategy The alias offers a fresh beginning only on the surface; Jenny remains constrained by the same need to avoid discovery.

A Name Recognized at Home A Name Recognized at Home from "American Woman". A Name Recognized at Home The Alias Ends Jenny and Pauline are arrested, and Jenny’s aliases no longer protect her from the public and legal record.

A Name Recognized at Home from "American Woman". A Name Recognized at Home The Alias Ends Jenny and Pauline are arrested, and Jenny’s aliases no longer protect her from the public and legal record.

A Name Recognized at Home The Alias Ends Jenny and Pauline are arrested, and Jenny’s aliases no longer protect her from the public and legal record. Her name becomes attached to a story that largely ignores the private life she built under other names. Identity Beyond the Record Jenny’s later life shows that a name can be recovered, but not returned unchanged.

Late October 1972

During Jenny’s first winter at Wildmoor

During Jenny’s time at Wildmoor

During the farmhouse supply runs

After Jenny and Pauline return to Berkeley