Silvio and Elena eventually marry and have a son named Paolo. Their lives proceed with difficulty because Silvio, not wanting to compromise his political ideals, refuses to obtain a better paying job. His journalistic career comes to an end when he is arrested for libel after publishing an unverified story about a group of wealthy industrialists. In 1948, Silvio is sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for rioting after an assassination attempt on Togliatti, a popular communist leader. While in prison, he writes a novel called "A Difficult Life."
