Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay

What is the significance of departures and returns in the novel? Who are “those who leave” and “those who stay”?

Select one of the political or social theories referenced in the novel and analyze its significance in the narrative.

Analyze the significance of gender roles in the novel. What happens when characters resist expectations of gender expression or gender roles? Consider characters like Alfonso, Enzo, Michele, Pietro, and Franco.

Run-on sentences are a prominent characteristic of Ferrante’s writing style. What effect does this have on the novel’s themes? How does it reinforce the generic construction of the novel?

What is the significance of Lila’s “dissolving margins” episodes? How do they function as a motif in the narrative and Lila’s characterization?

Consider Lila’s statement “Each of us narrates our life as it suits us” (237). How might Elena be narrating her life “as it suits her?” How might Lila be doing the same? How does this impact our reading of the story and of Elena and Lila’s relationship?

Discuss the relationship between mothers and their children in the novel, and particularly between mothers and daughters. What does it mean to be a mother? A daughter? Is there a cycle perpetuated in these relationships as well?

Throughout the novel, many characters are abandoned. Elena speaks of Lila being abandoned by Nino; both Gigliola and Elena feel abandoned by her husbands; and Dede fears abandonment when Elena and Pietro announce their separation. Consider the quote “Maybe not even a very orderly mind can endure the discovery of not being loved” (412) in the context of abandonment. What is the role of abandonment in the text? How might it drive or constrain personal liberation?