How does Davita react to her father's death, and her mother's nervous collapse in the story, Davita's Harp?

The emotional trauma Davita experiences from her father's death and her mother's nervous collapse affect her severely, as does the growing knowledge of her mother's loss of faith in Stalin and subsequent reentry into the world of traditional Judaism. There is evidence that some of these events stem from Potok's own childhood and from his wife's childhood. Particularly insightful is the very human account of Davita's attempted suicide, her subsequent emotional withdrawal, her long illness and recovery, and her ultimate discovery of her own courage and her unique capacity for independent thought and action. Davita becomes fully aware of the world's injustices and cruelty, the social barriers denying women full equality, and the fate of the European Jewish community, yet she maintains her belief in herself and human goodness. Above all, she finds herself able to trust others and capable of forming a loving friendship. David Dinn, a Jewish boy Davita meets at the beach, becomes her good friend, and eventually her stepbrother when his father Ezra Dinn, an immigration lawyer, marries her mother. Empowered by the love of her family, and the creative forces of her own imagination and personal religious vision, Davita achieves young womanhood whole and clear-eyed.