When I discovered Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend in 2019, it was love at first sight. While recovering from a bout of winter flu, I became completely absorbed by its pages, and the days went by in a haze. By the time I regained my health, I was still feverish—but for an entirely new reason: I had just finished the fourth and final book of the Neapolitan Quartet. Before long, I was eagerly recommending the series to friends, family and strangers.
However, I soon found myself stumped. Naturally, people were curious to know why I believed the series was worth their time, and I struggled to articulate satisfactory answers. I found myself answering their questions generically. The Quartet is exquisitely paced, I would say. Or: the books offer a deep exploration of gender and class. The reasons I put forward were simple, palatable, and required little explanation from me.
However, they formed only part of the picture. The truth was that I found the Quartet’s protagonist, Elena Greco, riveting, and that did not feel like a compelling reason to recommend a book. But are characters not the lifeblood of a story? The driving force behind the narrative? It would be impossible to imagine most classics without their protagonists. Just picture Pride and Prejudice without Elizabeth Bennet or The Catcher in the Rye without Holden Caufield.
The Neapolitan Quartet is no exception to the rule: without Elena Greco, there would be no story. From the start of My Brilliant Friend, when she follows Lila step after step, flight after flight to reach the door of Don Achilles’ apartment, a man that they see as the “ogre of fairy tales”, Elena’s strength of character stands out.
Although she grows up in a poor neighbourhood, where violence and death are commonplace, and is brought up by uneducated parents, Elena weathers it all. In primary school, she prides herself in matching or outdoing the students in her class. Later, she goes to secondary school, even though her parents have not and do not see the point in sending her, a girl. The list goes on. Pick up any of the Quartet’s novels, and you will find Elena pushing the envelope.
On its own, this would seem rather banal. After all, the protagonists of most classics are exceptional in some way. We have only to think of Jack London’s Martin Eden or L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables – both stories about writers – to realise that their heroes epitomise the “pro” in “protagonist”. However, they often lack the fallibility that brings characters to life.
Elena, though exceptional in many ways, is imperfect. She would not strike many as a good daughter or sibling; she is not a particularly good friend; she does not even become a particularly good mother. She is better than some and worse than others, and that is what makes her appealing. She is so human that it becomes impossible not to feel some emotional investment in her successes and failures.
And like any human being, Elena Greco has much to teach us about life. As she celebrates her birthday this Sunday, 25 August, I want to correct my past failures by paying homage to her character. Whether real or imagined, Elena is a force of nature, and – putting aside the Quartet’s many other qualities – reason enough for anyone to pick up My Brilliant Friend.
Words by Elkyn Ernst
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