Lives of the Saints: Vittorio's Grandfather's Self-Marginalization Nino Ricci's novel, Lives of the Saints, centers on the scandal occurring in the small Italian village of Valle De Sole, an area which houses a society dominated by the notions of religion and superstition. Cristina Innocente, a local woman whose husband has left for the United States years before finds herself pregnant from an encounter with a mysterious blue-eyed stranger, and her seven-year-old son Vittorio is left to face the narrow-mindedness and judgment his family faces from both their own relatives and the inhabitants of the small town they live in.

One character who deals directly with the scandal within the Innocent family is Vittorio's grandfather. In living with the now societally-scorned Christina, Vittorio's grandfather, torn between his family duties and his position as the town's mayor,...

Christina's actions have not only changed the dynamic of the town in which she lives, but have significantly altered the dynamic within the home she shares with her son and her father. As the novel progresses, so do the arguments and accusations that occur between Christina and her father. The tensions are extreme, and can be felt directly by Vittorio regardless of his third-party presence in the fighting. Ricci writes:
"not a word passed between her and my grandfather. It was as if they simply did not see each other, as if they only sensed each other's alien presence lurking like a shadow nearby, and kept clear of it" (Ricci 129).

Additionally, the tension within the home can be largely attributed to the grandfather's dealings outside of the home as a village elder. In continuing to house…