Power Relationships In Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend

Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend explores the power relationships between the two main female characters and how they are conceived through certain environments. Through Elena and Lila, Ferrante is able to address power on a microcosmic scale. While both characters struggle to fend off their influence, their relationship becomes a game of opposition as one tries to surpass the other. This is demonstrated in Lila’s character as she seemingly embodies an ambitious individual but does not have the adequate resources to attend school due to her economic circumstances. In this manner, the power of the individual on a personal level is futile, as the environment plays a greater significance in determining one’s fate, leaving the economically …show more content…
While Lila engages with a wealthy individual, Stefano, Elena decides to continue her education beyond high school. The day of Lila’s wedding as Elena dresses her for the event, the competitive nature of the relationship fades as Lila displays feelings of ambivalence to Elena as she does not know what lies after the events of the wedding. Through this, Lila subtly acknowledges that she has lost power as she encourages Elena to continue her academic aspirations. However, Elena realizes that she must escape the obligations of the neighborhood. In an epiphany at the wedding, Elena recalls Maestra Oliviero’s description of plebs as nasty things, only to come to a realization that the plebs were the people in the neighborhood, including herself. Though Lila does become wealthier through her marriage with Stefano, the means by which she obtains this wealth is a constant reminder that she remains where she started: a young, penniless girl. By not finding an outlet for her intelligence, Lila’s transformation represents similar paths of many women in the neighborhood, bound to the man and the very place where she resides. Elena’s acquisition of wealth come from her determination of transforming her identity outside the neighborhood. Elena is able to realize that she has the resources to escape Lila’s destiny, revealing to herself that she holds the power. Essentially, Lila and Elena’s outlet to escape the boundaries of neighborhood are reinforced by the idea of obtaining wealth. As affluence becomes an important facet to both of these girls, Ferrante demonstrates that wealth is the only determining factor for these girl’s