Naslov
The Working-Class Body in Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels

Autori
Grdešić, Maša

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, neobjavljeni rad, znanstveni

Skup
Talking Bodies 2023

Mjesto i datum
Chester, Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo, 12.06.2023. - 16.06.2023

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Nije recenziran

Ključne riječi
working class, body, Elena Ferrante, social mobility, willful object

Sažetak
In Who Killed My Father, Édouard Louis connects the state of his father’s body to his place in society by defining politics as the border that separates protected and privileged bodies from bodies that are exposed to premature death. This concept of the classed body is particularly useful in analysing the intersection of class, gender, age and generation in Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels. The novels follow the life-long friendship between Lenù and Lila, two exceptionally bright and talented girls from the poorest part of Naples, starting with their childhood marked by poverty, violence, crime and the Fascist legacy of World War II. Physical labour, poverty and violence have a destructive effect on the bodies of their parents, leading to premature ageing, illness and often death, but also cause mental health issues, such as Lila’s “episodes of dissolving margins” or Lenù’s “permanent sense of nausea”. As the story progresses and Lenù attempts to cross the border between different classes and worlds while Lila stays in the old neighbourhood, the “emotional politics of class” becomes even more visible (Skeggs). The “humiliating difference” between classes, especially concerning body language, is described in great detail and becomes a permanent source of shame for Lenù. On the other hand, the neighbourhood’s strong ties with the rest of Italian society are gradually revealed as the narrative meticulously follows the money trail leading from the local loan sharks to the highest levels of government, thus showing how the exploitation of physical labour exceeds class borders.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Filologija, Književnost, Rodni studiji

POVEZANOST RADA