Who is Gelsomina from the film, La strada?

Gelsomina is a strange, quiet girl who grew up in a small home on the beach. When we first see Gelsomina, she is wondering along the beach picking up wood and singing a song. When Gelsomina goes home that day, she discovers that her mother has sold her to a traveling performer named Zampano.

Gelsomina travels with Zampano and becomes his sidekick. Zampano treats her harshly when he doesn't pick up on the trade quickly. He also leaves her alone at night sometimes so he can go have a good time with other women. Through it all, Gelsomina keeps smiling. But, after the Fool is killed by Zampano, Gelsomina breaks. She no longer smiles, and Zampano leaves her by the road. Eventually, he finds out from a woman living by the beach that Gelsomina lived out her final days there, but died several years before he came.