I am having trouble catching up on all the reading, but I still want to post so instead I want to talk a little about Professor Lombardi’s lecture this past Thursday. I’ll start off by saying that I really enjoyed learning more about the connections between the novel and HBO series and how it helps us better understand the complex nature of the relationship between Lila and Lenù.

In case anyone couldn’t make the lecture, I want to express a point made by Professor Lombardi that particularly struck me and that I believe is a very important peek into the true characters of Lila and Lenù. Lombardi talked about the scene in My Brilliant Friend where Lenù expresses to Lila that she is having trouble with Latin. Lila helps Lenù understand Latin because she too is studying Latin on her own.

“Read the whole sentence in Latin first, then see where the verb is. According to the person of the verb, you can tell what the subject is. Once you have the subject you look for the complements: the object of the verb is transitive, or if not other complements. Try it like that.’ I tried. Suddenly translating seemed easy” (MBF, 111).

Lenù initially looks for the subject/noun within the Latin sentence but Lila suggests that it’s easier to look for the verb first because then it’s easier to identify the subject/noun that performs the verb. Professor Lombardi proposed during his lecture that this interaction is linked to the characteristics that make Lila and Lenù who they are. Lila immediately looks for the verb which correlates to her inclination to act and do as she pleases without really thinking about how it will affect those around her. On the other hand, Lenù immediately looks for the subject/noun which correlates to her inclination to repress her actions and feelings because she constantly thinks about how others will react to them. I had never made this connection so I’m glad that Professor Lombardi shared this connection at the lecture.