Tag Archives: violence

A look, a smile, a slap.

The unwritten rules of everyday life in a rione of Naples that must be respected. Where a married pizzaiolo, who only smiles, blows a kiss innocently, perhaps not, at a pretty girl, earns him a slap in the face (pg 145). On what moral standings would such actions be justified? It is 1950s southern Italy, Naples is under the historical veil and influence of the conservative Catholic Church. Are the actions of the pizzaiolo so morally wrong that it makes Rino’s macho response acceptable? Ferrante writes little of faith or religion of her characters. I find it hard to believe that society was not influenced in some way considering that the Catholic religion was the official religion in Italy and was a compulsory course in school until 1984. She may very well be a atheist, the link I’ve added certainly suggest it and that maybe a reason religion is not a part of her book. Even though one may not be spiritual, religion surrounds the people and the cultural traditions of the day must be respected. Beyond the cloak of religion, tradition rules the day. One does not just ask a girl out without asking the parents, one does not get into a boys car alone, one does not openly flirt with a girl in pubic. These things are not done, if you do them, you do them a your own peril. Though a slap is not a knife stab or slice to the throat which is meant to kill it is a warning sign that worst can come one’s way.

The attraction men have to Lila is hard to pin point but whatever “it” is, she’s got it. I like to think it’s an energy, a free spirit which can not be defined by just physical beauty. She does have a strong effect on men and she is becoming well aware of it and enjoys the influence that it brings (pg144). How or will she learn to navigate this power to sway and enhance her life? Will she follow the cultural and religious traditions of the day or will she be a free sprit and write her own rules to live by? If we go back to the prologue “She wanted not only to disappear herself, but to eliminate the entire life that she left behind” (pg 23) it’s a good indication that she will write her own rules. 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/apr/21/elena-ferrante-god-didnt-make-good-impression

Time for the meta-post!

People chose passages about the impersonal violence of Naples, the violence in the girls’ families, and a resulting early loss of innocence; there is the violence that the girls witness or hear about (for example, the murder of Don Achille) and the bodily violence they experience directly. Finally, Lenù and Lila experience intense, violent emotions. Blood makes its appearance in the story Lila fabricates about Don Achille’s death, as well as when Lila threatens Marcello. The girls cannot escape any of this violence, and thus Lila comes up against a fate she cannot escape because, in this place, the father’s word goes. Lila’s brilliance is a bad fit with their environment and social and economic conditions.

There is also the theme of time: that of a child’s – being always in the moment – versus an adult’s. Yet the girls’ early acts, such as going up the stairs to Don Achille’s, create consequences that work on their lives for decades.

Competition is part of the friendship from the beginning. As they hit puberty, Lenù tries to ease her anxiety about Lila’s brilliance by finding ways she is better than Lila, however petty those ways are. Even the book is purportedly written so that Lenù will win “this time” (23). Lenù gets to tell this story; Lila never gets to tell her own story or the story of the friendship. Whoever controls the narrative controls the outcome of the story and how it is told.

In this historical period there are many narratives by authors who are women, oppressed/colonized, young, queer, survivors of genocide, etc., which are readily accepted and can even gain critical acclaim and an enthusiastic readership. The multiplication of narratives is a postmodernist construct and perspective. Yet – at the same time, to quote Stefania! – Lenù, the one who got out, who made a life that is different than what the poverty and narrowness of that slice of society dictated – in other words, the ultimate victor – gets to tell the story, not Lina. In the end Lenù writes the story, while Lina disappears herself. Yet, paradoxically, she cannot disappear from Lenù’s memory (Guzman), and Lenù writes not one but four volumes about them, their friendship, and Naples.

Childhood Trauma and Violence in 1950s Naples

The scene I chose is at the end of the first part of the novel. In the scene, Lila gets thrown out the window by her father for wanting to attend middle school. This scene reveals many vital themes of the novel. Lila’s working-class parents do not see the importance or necessity of Lila continuing her education, despite her unique intelligence. Lila does not want to reconcile with the fact that her father’s decision holds authority and would force her to be stuck in a life that is not intellectually stimulating enough for her. The scene exemplifies the normalcy of violence in the poor Naples neighborhood. This scene is truly heartbreaking because this sort of intense and dangerous behavior from men and fathers is deemed standard and expected, despite how cruel it is. This moment is traumatic for both Lila and Elena. While Lila is is verbally and physically abused by her father to the point of her arms breaking, Elena must watch as a bystander unable to do anything to change the tragic outcome for her best friend. Normalized violence is a prime component of the town, therefore a father is capable and allowed to treat his daughter as such without facing repercussions.

“We were ten, soon we would be eleven. I was filling out, Lila remained small and thin, she was light and delicate. Suddenly the shouting stopped and a few seconds later my friend flew out the window, passed over my head, and landed on the asphalt behind me.”

The world that surrounds the young girls is filled with violence forcing them to grow up and gradually lose pieces of their innocence. Lila who is always incredibly strong-willed and resolute is confronted with a physical strength that is able to overpower her tiny body that reveals a fragileness in a person who is usually indestructible.