Summary

Chapter 21 mentions Compiuta Donzalla who wrote sonnets about the inevitable lives of women, but many saw her talent as unnatural. Dante shows Charlotte where the flood destroyed a convent. He takes her into San Zaccaria filled with paintings which Dante says the nuns put themselves in so that they would always be seen even when they were locked away. He then leads her to a crypt where many dukes have been buried. They see the statue of a woman before Dante takes her back to the surface. Then, Charlotte meets Dante’s mother, Maria, at dinner and they share stories of their families. Maria does not like how show-offy Luca is, and Dante says that the island is very controversial because it was a cemetery. Dante is thrilled to learn that Charlotte has the Verses and wants her to take it to an...