years later, pitte returns to town to collect his inheritance, and rapes therèse. antonia places a curse on him, after which he is beaten by men of the village and drowned by his brother. therèse is unable to find her intellectual match but eventually has a relationship with a childhood friend, resulting in her pregnancy. she decides to keep the baby and gives birth to sarah, the film's narrator who has a fascination with death. sarah observes many of her elders die off, including crooked finger who commits suicide, and loony lips who suffers an accident on the farm. antonia later dies of old age, in the company of friends and family.