Il valore della donna è il suo silenzio

'The greatest thing about a girl is her beauty; the greatest thing about a woman, is her silence', according to a saying in Southern Italy, the region Maria M. and her family come from, before she and her husband emigrate to Germany. But instead of a better future, she encounters a heartless world. She becomes isolated in their flat in Munich. Her husband loses interest in her, and the children become insolent as they speak better German than their mother. At her wits’ end, she wonders: "What happened to my lust for life? Will I always suffer from headaches and homesickness?" Maria decides to take a job outside of the home. It’s hard work, but she’s determined to persevere.