“I didn’t know who Airota the father was, but certainly my classmates became respectful again: I was invited to parties or dinner. At a certain point I even had the suspicion that they talked to me because I brought Pietro out with me, since he generally kept to himself, absorbed in his work” (Ferrante 407).

Lenuccia at this point starts talking about her new “friend”, Pietro Airota, who is also a student at the Normale. Airota is a very intelligent young man that knows how to behave around others and is also fond of Elena. When Elena first goes to university her classmates make fun of the way she dresses up and joke about her accent. When she starts dating Franco Mari (a wealthy boy) her classmates’ behavior changes and they start liking her. As soon as Franco fails an exam and is kicked out of the Normale, everybody starts harassing her once again. When they see that she is now going out with Pietro, the son of a very well-known university professor, she becomes relevant and respected again. This is proof that names play a very important role, especially in such communities. Even though Elena might not be actually liked and wanted, people around her are not showing any signs of that, just because she is dating the child of somebody that’s of great importance. Elena is clearly suspicious of their behavior; but she seems to like the attention of being around other wealthy and educated individuals.