ELENA FERRANTE AND PATRIARCHY. LESSONS FROM L'AMICA GENIALE (MY BRILLIANT FRIEND)

Abstract

The relationship between feminist theories and the law and literature movement is not new and has provided very fruitful analysis over many decades, ever since the 1970s. Twenty-first century literature, which includes L' Amica Geniale (My brilliant friend), even when describing stories and action that are placed in other historical times (in this case, in the historical context of the twentieth century), allows establishing an ever renewed dialogue with feminist theories, in its current expression. The author reviews the recent "rediscovery" of feminism and how some concepts evolved in the context of feminist theories. A concept to which she devotes attention is patriarchy, as it is paramount for understanding the connections that can be perceived to exist between feminist theories and FERRANTE's work. In the author’s opinion, the Neapolitan novels are eloquent in the portrait presented – complex, multifaceted, ambiguous even – of what it ultimately means to be a woman living in a patriarchal society.