The young woman is Ryzak’s daughter-in-law, the former wife of his dead son. She is Lullo’s mother. Because she is a foreigner and not blood-related to anyone in Tomis, the young woman is an outsider like Ovid, and the two of them become loose allies. When the Child falls ill, the young woman defies the old woman’s warnings and helps Ovid care for him. However, when Lullo falls ill as well, the young woman believes that the Child brought a demon into their home and withdraws from both Ovid and the Child.
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Ryzak’s Daughter-in-Law / The Young Woman Character Timeline in An Imaginary Life
The timeline below shows where the character Ryzak’s Daughter-in-Law / The Young Woman appears in An Imaginary Life. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...together for entire winters. He lives with the village headman and the headman’s elderly mother, daughter-in-law, and grandson. Ovid thinks these people are “barbarian[s],” but they are kind enough, largely ignoring...
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Chapter 2
...never joins them. They have eaten dinner and, in the free hour before sleep, the daughter-in-law sews strips of animal hide together. The headman repairs a fishing net, telling his grandson...
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Chapter 4
Despite the young woman ’s fear, when Ovid cries for help in the middle of the night, the young...
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When Ryzak dies, the ritual ceases, replaced by the long moaning of Ryzak’s mother and daughter-in-law. The village elders spend the next hours dancing and drinking themselves into a stupor to...
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