The paradox of Rina’s father
Rina is a brilliant young girl, focused and self-disciplined. At 12, Rina works as an accountant at her father's factory, balancing ledgers despite not attending school to study accounting. Consequently, given support, Rina can be a very helpful woman in society. Ironically, Rina's father does not value her daughter's brilliance and prospects. For instance, when Rina's father realizes that she has been raped, he forces her to get married to the person who sexually assaulted her. The reader expects the father to take action against the sex offender, but he does the opposite. Instead, he punishes his daughter by marrying her off forcefully to the man who raped her. Rina has no choice but to live a miserable life instead of pursuing her accounting career.
The irony of the Italian law
The law is supposed to protect the citizens of a country regardless of their age or gender. Absurdly, Article 544 of the Penal Code in Italy is designed to punish girls once they reach sixteen years. According to the code, fathers can marry off their girl at sixteen without questioning. The author writes, "Article 544 of the Penal Code was like an iron lever, maneuvering girls of sixteen into a position of brides to the very men who had tramped them down." Therefore, the law empowers fathers to destroy their daughters' lives instead of protecting the same girls to attain education and exploit their potential. When Rina's father marries her, he boasts that he is protected by law.
Poletti’s defiance
When Poletti was young, her mother discovered she was a paradoxical child because she defied the ordinary. Girls and women were expected to live by a certain code dictated by the patriarchal system. However, Poletti wanted to do what boys do, and she wanted to be smarter than them. At some point, Poletti's mother asked, “What right-minded citizen of Ravenna would marry a girl who climbed up trees in her underthings?” The mother discovered that her daughter was radical and went against men's expectations of a woman based on the doctrines of patriarchy. Poletti continued to be violent and radical while fighting for her rights. For instance, she went to university and went against the family's wishes to champion women's rights.
