“Obviously, Signora Petrelli had been at work on the hospital staff, seeing that the little envelopes, bustarelle, were delivered into the proper hands. In the absence of those ‘gifts’, even the most basic services wouldn’t be performed for patients in this hospital, and even in their presence, it often fell to the family to feed and bathe the patient.”

« Bustarelle » désigne les pot-de-vin (petites enveloppes) nécessaires pour que les malades reçoivent les soins de base, sans que cela soit une garantie car il arrive souvent que la famille doive laver et nourrir la personne à laquelle elle rend visite.