RECEPTION OF ELENA FERRANTE’S NOVEL MY GENIUS FRIEND THROUGH THE PRISM OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE FEMALE PROTAGONIST AND HER MOTHER

  • Jelena V. Badovinac Univerzitet u Novom Sadu Filozofski fakultet
Keywords: Elena Ferrante, My genius friend, reception, readership, mother-daughter relationship, patriarchal culture, emancipation

Abstract

In this paper, we highlight the most important aspects that affect the reception of Elena Ferrante’s novel My genius friend in our country. We also examine in detail the cultural context in the transfer of the novel into the Serbian language and determine the function that its translation has in the target culture. Bearing in mind their relevance in the evaluation and reception of a literary work, we analyse the viewpoints expressed by the domestic literary critics regarding the first novel of the Neapolitan tetralogy. Since the aim of the paper is to discover the role that the female protagonist and her mother have in the reception, we pay special attention to the complex relationship that develops between them. In order to determine the impact of their relationship on the reception of this novel, we analyze the character of Elena, determined on her path to emancipation, and the character of the mother who does not resist the discipline of patriarchy, but accepts it as a necessity. Focusing on the dynamic relationship marked by antagonism between two generations of women, we seek to point out that our readers perceive it as a close personal experience.

Author Biography

Jelena V. Badovinac, Univerzitet u Novom Sadu Filozofski fakultet

Studentkinja doktorskih studija

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Published
29. 12. 2021.
Section
Articles