The Godfather

Another motif that runs throughout The Godfather is the idea of the American girl versus the Italian girl. The Italian girls—specifically the Sicilians—are seen by all the men to be very different from the American girls. To them, an “Italian girl” is traditional and accepting of the traditional gender roles that will certainly be a foundation of their relationship. Vito, at 18, marries “an Italian girl freshly arrived from Sicily, a girl of only sixteen but a skilled cook, a good housewife” (256). In addition, when Johnny Fontane marries his wife, it is because “[s]he was pretty, petite and brunette, a nice Italian girl, the girl next door who would never fool around with another man and that had been important to him” (210). The Italian girl is seen by the Sicilian men to be the ideal wife, who will accept her traditional role in the marriage.

Some of the Italian girls of the younger generation, like Lucy, have been somewhat Americanized, and this is not seen to be a good thing: “The maid of honor, thoroughly Americanized by three years of college, was a ripe girl who already had a ‘reputation’” (18). But Kay Adams is perhaps the best representation of the American girl in the novel. The way she differs from a traditional Italian girl that his family might wish him to marry is one of the things that initially attracts Michael to her. His Italian friends and family at the wedding have a different perspective, seeing her as “the washed-out rag of an American girl” (13). Even Kay sees the distinction between herself and women like Connie when she thinks, “Did he think she was one of those poor benighted Italian girls who would commit suicide or make a scene after giving up her virginity and then being thrown over?” (477) Michael pursues a relationship and eventually marriage to Kay at least in part because of what he sees as her Americanness.

Interestingly, Kay shifts by the end of the novel to integrate herself into the Corleone family and culture. Michael wants her to raise their children in a more American way, shifting away from the traditional Sicilian culture. But by the end, she has converted to Catholicism and attends mass daily with her mother-in-law to pray for her husband’s soul. Essentially, Kay loses the Americanness that Michael prized and embraces the more traditional Sicilian culture.