Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay

Pietro experiences hostility at the university when he fails a prominent student activist in his class. The student threatens Pietro with a gun, and Pietro reports him to the authorities, incurring the wrath of those who feel that Pietro is obstructing the revolution. Elena is frightened for Pietro’s safety, and the two argue. The police visit Pietro at the university to persuade him to inform on other student revolutionaries, but Pietro refuses.

Elena does not hear from Lila for several months. To compensate for the emptiness she feels at Lila’s absence, Elena strengthens her relationship with Mariarosa, and visits Milan more frequently. Mariarosa’s apartment has become a hub for women to gather and discuss feminism. Although Elena appreciates the community she finds there, the discussions tend towards conflict and dogmatism rather than camaraderie. One day while speaking to Mariarosa, Elena lights on a new topic for research: man’s perception of woman not as a separate being, but as part of himself. Mariarosa encourages Elena to write more on this topic. When Elena mentions that this is how she feels in her relationship with Pietro, Mariarosa laughs. According to Mariarosa, Pietro is weak-willed and incapable of imposing his ideas on anyone, let alone Elena, who is too smart for him; Mariarosa considers it a miracle that they are still together.