Section 4, Pages 35-58 Summary

Rosalia di Credo is a beautiful, yet weary, woman. Her life in Gemara is a distinguishing characteristic about who she is. Gemara is not merely a house in Sicily; it has a life of its own. Rosalia is fiercely dedicated to her sister, Angiola, her father, Ruggero, and her home at Gemara. The centuries old house had once been a magnificent estate and is now shabby. Much of the home's deterioration has to do simply with its age. It has been in the di Credo family for six centuries. Over the course of time, parts of the building's edifice has crumbled, and much of the surrounding forestry has been removed.

Growing up, Rosalia's family does not have much money, although Ruggero speaks as though they did and of his daughters marrying princes. In her reflections of him, Rosalia pictures...