One of my favorite authors is Giovanni Verga, who was born in 1860 and died in 1922. He lived in Sicily, in the city of Catania. I was able to visit his house while I was there a few years ago. He wrote about the tragedy and the beauty of the poor working class that he saw around him. In a time when people struggled to make a living in shabby little boats a fisherman’s wife had a hard time indeed. She prayed every time her husband went fishing, knowing full well he might never return. And if he did not, the tragedy was doubled. She lost him, his boat and his income, and likely her son would replace him on the sea if she had one. Or she would end up with nothing at all except for a little tiny bit of sympathy from the other fishermen’s wives.
Of course the model for this portrait was me. But she could have been my great great grandmother.