Elena Ferrante is one of Italy’s best known contemporary writers. Classified by Time magazine as one of the most influential people of the year in 2016, Ferrante has become a literary phenomenon. Writing under a pseudonym, Ferrante has fascinated readers from all over the world who are divided between those who wish to uncover the writer’s true identity and those who wish to retain the sense of mystery her anonymity creates. When her first novel, L’amore molesto, was about to be published in Italy in 1991, the author informed her publisher that she would not take part in public events and would only be interviewed by email: “I believe that books, once they are written, have no need of their authors. If they have something to say, they will sooner or later find readers. If not, they won’t.” (The Guardian, November 6, 2016)
Ferrante’s most acclaimed and popular novel, L’amica geniale (2011), is the first of a tetralogy known as “The Neapolitan Novels” in the English-speaking world, which has been adapted into a television series produced by HBO and RAI. The four novels tell the story of Elena and Lila, two friends who struggle for the right to an education in an impoverished district in post-war Naples.
This module introduces students to a selection of literary texts penned by Elena Ferrante allowing students to compare Ferrante’s most well-known novels such as L’amica geniale to lesser-known novels such as La figlia oscura (2006).
This main objective of this module is to give students of Italian the opportunity to discover one of Italy’s most accomplished contemporary Italian writers and to relate her texts to the historical period in which the novels are set. This module is aimed at final year or postgraduate students who may have chosen Italian as their major language in years 1 and 2. It builds on the critical and analytical skills that students will have developed in Studies Modules in Years 1 and 2.
It builds on the critical and analytical skills that students will have developed in Studies Modules in Years 1 and 2. In order to read Ferrante’s literary texts in the original Italian, students are required to have a B1+/B2- level of Italian of the CEFR.
The module is normally delivered over one semester, two contact hours per week. Semester 1 or 2.
Textual analysis
Students will read excerpts of literary texts written by Elena Ferrante and view their film or television adaptations, such as for example:L’amica geniale (Novel, 2011)Storia del nuovo cognome (Novel, 2012)Storia di chi fugge e di chi resta (Novel, 2013)Storia della bambina smarrita (Novel, 2014)La figlia oscura (Novel, 2006)I giorni dell’abbandono (Novel, 2002) (Film adaptation, 2005)L’amore molesto (Novel, 1992) (Film adaptation, 1995) La frantumaglia (Non-fiction/essays, 2003)L’amica geniale 1 and 2 (TV miniseries, 2018)Ferrante Fever (Documentary, 2017)Topics explored in the analysis of Ferrante’s texts to include as listed below:
Topics explored in the analysis of Ferrante’s texts may include:
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Pseudonyms and literary identities
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Dynamics of female friendship in literature
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Education as a tool for the empowerment of women
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Analysis of the novel as a Bildungsroman, a “coming-of-age” story which traces the psychological development of the main character.
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Public interest in the writer’s anonymity through the documentary “Ferrante Fever” (2017)
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Comparison of the Neapolitan Novels to the TV adaptation of the tetralogy.
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Small group teaching in which lecturer introduces students to primary materials and key concepts from the secondary reading as a means of stimulating in-class discussion and further reading.
Each week, students will be assigned reading tasks to encourage class discussion on the selected texts the following week.
E-learning
All basic course information and many of the secondary materials studied will be available online.
| Module Content & Assessment | |
|---|---|
| Assessment Breakdown | % |
| Formal Examination | 50 |
| Other Assessment(s) | 50 |