She proves to the reader the little horrors of history become eclipsed by the big horrors in a way that removes all meaning and importance to those who suffered the undesirable fates. To describe the little horrors, Morante uses Biblical imagery, albeit in heretical ways, to discuss religious discourse. Morante reminds the reader that History continues and her ethical challenge to those who care is to realize something needs to be done. Morante's story depicts a difficult era filled with fascism, Nazism, war, and occupation through the perspective of a mother and a family. For her to depict real horror and untold suffering serves to shed light on the plight of those who appear voiceless in society. War, along with any major catastophe eclipses the suffering of many. What this essay attempts to focus on are the less obvious horrors of war the plague the thoughts and hearts of a generation.

For in order to truly understand a time in history, one must realize and seek the stories of those who lived the daily lives and endured the suffering. It is within these little horrors that an accurate story comes to life. Female experience of war and female experience of suffering is a topic not thoroughly ot accurately explored in novels. Morante does justice to the plight of women by showing the harsh reality women in war face. The horrors of rape and violence that go unseen in the "great" stories of History.