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Elena Ferrante--named one of the 100 most influential people in 2016 by Time magazine--is best known for her Neapolitan novels, which explore such themes as the complexity of female friendship; the joys and constraints of motherhood; the impact of changing gender roles; the pervasiveness of male violence; the struggle for upward mobility; and the impact of the feminist movement. Ferrante's three novellas encompass similar themes, focusing on moments of extreme tension in women's lives.
This study analyzes the integration of political themes and feminist theory in Ferrante's works, including men's entrapment in a sexist script written for them from time immemorial. Her decision to write under a pseudonym is examined, along with speculation that Rome-based translator Anita Raja and her husband Domenico Starnone are coauthors of Ferrante's books.
List of contents
Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments
Introduction
¿1.¿Ferrante Fever
¿2.¿Who Is Elena Ferrante? Does It Matter?
¿3.¿Ann Goldstein and the Challenges of Translation
¿4.¿The Novellas
¿5.¿The Neapolitan Novels: Women's Friendship
¿6.¿The Neapolitan Novels: Mothers and Daughters
¿7.¿The Neapolitan Novels: Love, Sex, Betrayal
¿8.¿The Neapolitan Novels: Violence and Masculinity
¿9.¿The Neapolitan Novels: The Climb Up the Class Ladder
10.¿Italy in the Years of Lead: Ferrante as Political Analyst
11.¿Ferrante as Feminist Theorist
12.¿Naples and the Camorra
Conclusion
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Karen Bojar is a professor emerita of English and women's studies at the Community College of Philadelphia where she founded the women's studies/gender studies program. She has written numerous books and articles on feminist literature and grassroots politics. She lives in Philadelphia.
