Donna Fedele Arrives and Arranges for Lelia to Leave Valsolda

Donna Fedele’s unexpected arrival in Valsolda turns Lelia’s reunion with Massimo Alberti into a practical crisis of care and separation. Gravely weakened but determined to intervene, Donna Fedele learns that Lelia loves Massimo and believes he will marry her; she then insists that Lelia cannot stay in Valsolda and begins arranging a safer next destination, despite Lelia’s dread of returning to Velo and her father, Girolamo da Camin.

Arrival and Physical Condition

Lelia is writing to Massimo when a maid reports that two older women have arrived by boat and asked for her. One is small, the other tall and white-haired; the latter has also asked the innkeeper whether Doctor Alberti is staying there. Lelia recognizes Donna Fedele from this detail and rushes downstairs, pushing past the maid. In the small entrance she sees Donna Fedele seated, with Cugina Eufemia standing nearby beside the innkeeper. Lelia starts toward her, but Cugina Eufemia holds her back. The reunion is immediate in feeling, yet Donna Fedele is too exhausted for an embrace.

Donna Fedele says she can manage the stairs and, in her familiar manner, releases Cugina Eufemia to go walking and be seen by the curious local residents. But the climb makes the truth of her condition unmistakable: Lelia must support her, and Donna Fedele has to stop at every other step before reaching the room. As Lelia helps undress her, she is horrified by the extent of Donna Fedele’s emaciation and partial bodily deformity. In Cugina Eufemia’s presence, the two women exchange only ordinary remarks. Once the cousin has left, Lelia drops to her knees and kisses Donna Fedele’s dangling hand, weeping. The physical encounter, rather than any explanation, reveals how much Donna Fedele has suffered on the journey and how deeply Lelia’s attachment to her has endured.

Lelia’s Happiness and the Impending Decision

Lelia tells Donna Fedele that she is happy, that coming to Valsolda was right, and that she should have spoken to her sooner. She explains that Massimo loves her and will marry her, adding that they had written to Donna Fedele. Donna Fedele initially meets the news with disbelief, especially the prospect of marriage. The scene thus brings together two opposed truths: Lelia experiences the reunion with Massimo as the fulfilment of her hope, while Donna Fedele sees an urgent situation that cannot be resolved by happiness alone.

When Massimo offers to take up his role as a doctor, Donna Fedele refuses with a slow movement of her finger. She says that she does not need a doctor at that moment: she herself must act as the doctor for both him and Lelia, though not yet. First, she wants to know what they intend to do. Once she hears that Lelia has written to her father and is waiting for his answer, Donna Fedele judges a refusal certain. Whether or not a reply comes, she says, Lelia cannot remain in Valsolda. The decision changes the scene from an intimate reunion into a negotiation over Lelia’s immediate safety, dependence, and future movements.

A Route Away from Valsolda

Donna Fedele promises that God will give her strength to take Lelia back to her father’s home, or at least to the villa for a few days. Massimo explains the substance of Lelia’s letter and says that her father’s reply may not be negative after all. Donna Fedele accepts that possibility and is pleased to learn that Massimo hopes to obtain the position of municipal doctor in Valsolda. Even so, she maintains that Lelia must leave with her. Massimo recognizes the necessity, though he thinks persuading Lelia will be difficult and does not say so.

Lelia’s resistance is not a rejection of Donna Fedele’s care. She had hoped Donna Fedele could stay in Valsolda to rest and recover, then accompany her to Torino. She is frightened of leaving Massimo, but the prospect of returning to Velo fills her with horror; she is only months away from coming of age and being her own mistress. Donna Fedele counters that in Torino Lelia would have no support. After reflecting, she proposes another possibility: if Girolamo da Camin permits it, Lelia could stay with her cousin in Santhià. This offers a way to avoid an immediate return to Velo without treating the father’s permission as irrelevant.

The Arrangement and Its Emotional Cost

The women settle on a sequence of steps rather than a final resolution. Donna Fedele will rest that day and be examined the following morning by the doctor from Cadate. If the doctor authorizes travel, she and Lelia will leave for Torino. Donna Fedele will telegraph her cousin to meet Lelia at the Santhià station, while Cugina Eufemia will continue with her after recovering the trunk. Letters for Lelia that arrive at San Mamette are to be forwarded to Santhià. Donna Fedele yields on the question of Girolamo’s permission: she trusts that he has always shown her respect, considers her cousins’ home a safe place, and knows how completely Lelia abhors returning to Velo. The plan is therefore protective but provisional, shaped by Lelia’s dependence and by the limited options available to her before adulthood.

Before resting, Donna Fedele asks for an hour of quiet and directs Massimo to return to Dasio. She will allow Lelia to see him again between six and seven that evening, but only in her presence. She feels responsible for Lelia’s impulsive flight and conscious that, having voluntarily assumed a mother’s part, she lacks the freedom and standing of an actual mother. Lelia reacts with a movement of rebellion. Massimo addresses her gently, and her anger subsides at once; Donna Fedele is startled by the change and asks whether Lelia has changed her name. The small exchange makes visible the attachment that has driven Lelia to Valsolda, even as Donna Fedele’s plan requires her to leave. The event ends not with the couple’s separation already accomplished, but with its terms set: Lelia must go, Massimo must wait, and Donna Fedele will oversee the next step while her own body is failing.