We are meant to sympathize with Widow Saverini as she is an old woman, she is a widow and she has just lost her son who was brutally knifed. Many could sympathize because of her age.
"When the old woman received her son's body" and "stretching out her wrinkled hand" and for the love of her son; She shows commitment to love him always and to avenge him.
"Don't worry, my boy,. My poor child. I will avenge you. Do you hear me? It's your mother's promise, and your mother always keeps her word, you know that".
Her trust in God is another huge factor of Widow Saverini's life. Before she and Frisky go to murder Nicolas Ravolati, she goes and makes a confession to God to confess the bad deed she is about to commit.
"She went to confession and received the sacrament one Sunday morning with ecstatic fervour".
Her patience in training her dog was very strong, she waited and waited until she thought that her dog was ready to kill Nicolas and she used the right method of training in order to do it. She persistently trained Frisky into going for the dummy's head and it worked. Widow Saverini didn't feed the dog for days and then suddenly gave the dog some sausages that were at the dummy's neck.
"Still the old woman gave her no food. The animal, by now maddened with hunger" - this shows that the plan of not feeding the dog had worked.
"That day she spent hours walking up and down restlessly in her room. Her gaze always fixed on the coast of Sardinia".
This shows that she had no other plans but to get revenge on her son's murderer and that as she was staring at Sardinia she was thinking of a plan to get revenge. For her plan to work, she would have to be committed and be determined right from the start.
"I will avenge you. Do you hear me? It is your mother's promise".
This shows that she would stick with the challenge all the way. Her ruthlessness to put her plan into action was never doubted. She was always determined and eager to avenge her son.