The thrill of écriture Plate in Elena Ferrante's Story of a New Name

Ferrante’s writing is nothing excessive. She is simply keen on telling you a story, a story that revolves around the world apparently but is about her. Living in Naples is not easy, in a tiny neighbourhood, where everyone knows everyone and marriage is sacred. Oh how much it reminds me of communities in India! Marriage is sacred, it’s better to live a bad life than not be a wife. Simple facts of life for women, you accept husbands who are infidel. How much momentum in life do women gain when they marry; so many things just become simple and accessible to them, so how do they shore up themselves against the supposed comforts of married life.

Elena Ferrante's Story of a New Name

The protagonists best friend is a rebel in all senses of the word. Sometimes it even scared me for her fate, as Lina ( the protagonist’s friend who gets married at mere 16) is a sharp truth teller or rather commentator. An energy flows in her that makes her sublime to everyone: everyone is bewitched by her art, talen, beauty — but what is her fate? A woman’s fate it seems.

Our protagonist, Elena, on the other hand takes life form and energy through various approvals. Gosh, it is just painful to see how she grapples with doubt and unfortunately, although I hate to use this term here, battles with imposter syndrome as she gets out of generations of illetracy to come out a writer.

One wonders if the story is about the protagonist or Lina, since they seem to have had the same conditions of poverty; where one badly marries into comfort leaving the other feeling as if she isn’t good enough, whilst Elena goes on to cultivate the academic career.

Whose life is it that one chooses at the end? And why aren’t they supportive of each other— my biggest tug has always been this: love and life, but slowly I have come to know you have to sew love in the threads of pure life that you cannot escape sometimes.