5 h 7 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 5 h 7 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In a village where everyone watches, a mother fears the desire her priest son can no longer hide.
In Grazia Deledda’s The Mother, the church stands above a poor Sardinian mountain village. Paulo serves as its young parish priest, sincere in his faith but drawn to Agnese, a woman of the village. His feelings clash with his vow, while the hopes that helped bring him to the priesthood weigh on every choice.
His mother, Maria Maddalena, is a widow and servant who gives up everything for his calling. Living under the same roof, she notices signs of his struggle, and her fear grows. Around them, village eyes, old customs and church law leave little room for private longing. Deledda makes this conflict a close, solemn drama of conscience and family.
What you’ll discover
- A mother’s fierce devotion Meet Maria Maddalena, whose hopes for her son become a source of mounting fear.
- Faith under strain Follow Paulo as sincere belief and forbidden feelings pull him in opposing directions.
- A village that watches Enter a close community where private choices carry the weight of public judgment.
- Sardinia’s wind and stone Feel the rocky land and restless weather that shape the story’s tense atmosphere.
- The cost of sacrifice Consider what happens when a parent’s deepest hopes press against a child’s desires.
Who will love it
You will love this if you enjoy quiet novels about conscience, village life and family love. It suits readers who like weather that mirrors feeling.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A mother follows her son into the wind
- Past griefs and a ghost in the kitchen
- Paul faces himself and swears an oath
- Where this desire came from
- The letter, the sermon and the sacristan
- A dying hunter, a child and a bonfire
- The tavern, the servant and the return
- Love against duty, and honesty against comfort
- Mother, son and a boy who believes
- Wind, mirrors and the way the story is told
Who’s who
- PaulA twenty-eight-year-old village priest, torn between his vow and his love for Agnes, and between honesty with himself and fear of scandal.
- Maria MaddalenaPaul's mother, a former servant who gave her life to making him a priest and now fights to keep him from sin.
- AgnesA rich, proud, lonely orphan who lives in the old house under the ridge and wants Paul to leave with her.
- AntiochusThe young sacristan, a bright, mischievous boy who wants to become a priest and looks up to Paul as a saint.
- The old priestThe dead former parish priest, said to haunt the presbytery, who appears to Maria Maddalena in a dream and urges her to let her son live.
- The keeperThe pompous rural guard, half gamekeeper and half policeman, who walks everywhere with a huge dog and loves official duty.
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- Hardcover
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Die Mutter
by Grazia Deledda · 1920
A young priest slips out on a windy night, and his mother follows him to a locked orchard door.
Medium level5–10 hours to readDeutsch
Excellent
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In short
What does a mother do when she learns that her only son, a young priest, is slipping out at night to meet a woman? In The Mother, Maria Maddalena sits at the foot of a staircase on a windy March night and has to decide.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A mother follows her son into the wind
On a night of high wind in Aar, Paul, the young parish priest, moves about his room next to his mother's. She puts out her light but does not go to bed. She hears him tiptoe down the stairs, take away the two bars she laid across the door, and slip outside.
Maria Maddalena has watched him change for weeks. She is proud of how handsome he is, and that pride frightens her.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 15 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1920
- Language
- Deutsch
- Reading time
- 3 h 20 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Deledda, Grazia. The Mother. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mother.
Deledda, G. (2026). The mother. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mother (Original work published 1920)
Deledda, Grazia. The Mother. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mother.
@book{deledda2026mother,
author = {Deledda, Grazia},
title = {The Mother},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mother},
note = {First published 1920}
}
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What is The Mother by Grazia Deledda about?
It follows a young priest in a poor Sardinian village who falls in love with a wealthy woman, and the mother who tries to save him. The story covers a few intense days and shows the clash between desire, duty and family love.
Who is the old priest ghost in The Mother?
He is the dead former parish priest of Aar, said by villagers to haunt the presbytery. Paul's mother meets him in a dream, where he urges her to let her son enjoy life, so he stands for temptation and doubt.
Where and when is The Mother set?
It is set in Aar, a small village on a ridge above a river valley, in rural Sardinia. Deledda wrote it in the early twentieth century, and the story draws on island customs, folk beliefs and village life.
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