Women's Portraits

Nicolina Arru

Illness is her enemy, job her therapy

Nicolina was born in 1931 in a small village in Sardinia. She lives in Macomer with a niece who can always count on her for help. Lively and friendly, well-groomed woman, she still loves making up her face. Despite her ripe old age, she is very active and keeps her away from the bad memories, pains, sadness and loneliness with her job. Thanks to her jovial character, she has a lot of friends that keep her company and constantly updated on everything that happens in Macomer and beyond.

Her childhood and first youth

She spends almost all of her life in Macomer, where she grows in a large family: parents and seven children. Nicolina retains so many good memories of her happy childhood, (outdoor games, picnics and outings with the school), but also some unpleasant memories that are the origin of  her greatest fears: illness and death. After junior high school, she has experience of knitter work for a short period, then  Nicolina begins to give a hand to a hairdresser. Backed by her parents, she attends several training courses for hairdressers in Sassari and Cagliari, two provincial capitals in Sardinia.

Work and maturity

In 1953 she opens her own hairdressing salon. She has a lot of customers and also provides jobs to others: a brother, a niece, a few assistants. Very demanding of herself and fond of her job, she attends regular refresher training courses.

As time goes on, different job offers arrive, but she prefers to stay in Macomer. Nevertheless, it remains a veil of regret at missing an opportunity: she did not accept the tempting proposal (considered unseemly by her parents for a respectable girl) to be the hair stylist on board of a cruise ship. Nicolina is tireless and on special occasions (parties, dances, wedding), her salon is open until late. Her routine work goes on for over forty years, until she decides to retire.

Hard times 

 Nicolina’s serene, quiet and industrious life goes on smoothly and without major problems up to 60 years. But one day she discovers she is ill with breast cancer and immediately her old fear of the disease resurfaces and throws her into despair. However, Nicolina deals with the surgical operation. It is okay and the doctors ensure her that the cancer has been eradicated entirely. But Nicolina realizes that it was eradicated with a part of her body and sees that the wound causes a state of great bodily discomfort. She weeps, despairs and does not believe the assurances of doctors and loved people that are around her.

Slowly rationality takes over and Nicolina begins to react positively. The encouraging words of one of her friend, who has already faced the same experience, help her to accept the cancer and its sad consequences: the mutilation and chemotherapy. But it is her job the real lifeline, what makes her forget the suffering and pain. Being inactive is like to die prematurely for her. Although the intervention causes her a partial disability and she cannot go back to being what she once was, Nicolina wants at all costs to be active and do at least part of what she did before her illness.  It is the beginning of her physical and psychological recovery.

Her present

Even though, because of the consequences of her disease and age too, her movements are slow and awkward, Nicolina does not lose heart: she goes daily to her former kingdom, a beauty salon that she has handed over to her niece Juliana. There she really feels at home and does not miss an occasion to make herself useful by helping out and, above all, giving suggestions and advices. As soon as she has the opportunity, does not miss a chance to give proof of her skills in cutting, setting, and especially in dyeing hair, which is her speciality: by dosing and mixing appropriately products for dyeing, she knows how to obtain the nuances of color more congenial to individual customers, just like a doctor with his patients.

But her life is not only "hairdressing salon" and "wigs". She likes doing shopping, following her favourite soap operas on TV, devoting time to her spiritual needs.

In other words, Nicolina is alive at 100%.

Anna Rossini, Sara Deiola