Why did Alexandra quote a sonnet in 1923 Season 2? Explained 

The second Season of 1923 continues to present the resilient tale of the Dutton family striving to lead their lives at their Montana ranch. In the most recent episode of 1923 Season 2, Alexandra Dutton faces a harrowing set of circumstances during her immigration to the United States at Ellis Island.

Following up on the events of the debut season of 1923, Alexandra and Spencer Dutton were separated from each other and were left to their own devices when it came to returning back home to the States.

While Spencer got involved with the Italian mafia and eventually found himself in Texas, Alexandra had to take a more roundabout route before she secured for herself a passage on a second-class English ship. Upon setting foot on Ellis Island, Alexandra is subject to relentless physical and mental persecution even amounting to sexual assault.

While being at the mercy of her interrogators and despicable immigration officers who continually test her education and background, Alexandra reads lines from a famous sonnet written by Emma Lazarus. The sonnet is etched into the plaque of the Statue of Liberty, but when recited by Alexandra, the lines take on an added significance of irony and despair.

Here's everything that we know.

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1923 season 2: Alexandra Dutton's sonnet recital and other details

Coming right off the boat, Alexandra Dutton is thrown at the mercy of the doctors who end up s*xually assaulting her on the pretext of checking her up for venereal diseases. The officers continually question the reason behind Alexandra's visit to the United States, suspecting her marriage to Spencer is a sham. While being interrogated, Alexandra recites the following lines from the Emma Lazarus sonnet:

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

The lines spoken by her reveal a dark side of the promise of freedom being championed by the country back then and end up sounding remarkably ironical. In a later scene, she further reads a few lines from Walt Whitman to prove that she is literate.

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1923 star Julia Schlaepfer opens up about playing Alexandra Dutton

Julia Schlaepfer recently spoke in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, wherein she spoke at length about her experience of playing the undaunted Alexandra Dutton and the way she prepared for her character. When speaking about the immigration process her character had to undergo, Schlaepfer commented:

"She will not back down to get to where she needs to go. She just she keeps digging deeper and deeper to find the strength to get there. No one should have to go through what she goes through, but she gets through it and I think the shift in her is truly her child that she’s carrying. She’s got to get that baby to Montana.”

She further added:

"My great grandfather went through Ellis Island with like $15 in his pocket and was pretty mistreated. And so as a woman who’s pregnant and alone going through this, it’s absolutely one of the worst positions to be in, and it’s so devastating. Being on those sets and seeing all these people in costume with their tags was really, really intense for all of us. It was a really special storyline to get to tell — really devastating and brutal — but very, very special."

1923 Season 2 is exclusively available on the Paramount Network and Paramount+.