Alfonso Carracci Character Analysis in My Brilliant Friend

Alfonso is Don Achille and Donna Maria’s son and Stefano and Pinuccia’s brother. He’s a classmate of Lila and Lenù, and when the three of them are young (when Don Achille is still alive), Lila and Lenù feel compelled to show deference and respect to Alfonso for reasons they don’t fully understand. After Don Achille’s death, however, Lenù begins developing a genuine friendship with Alfonso when the two of them head to middle school and eventually high school together. Alfonso is sweet, quiet, and smart, though throughout the latter half of the novel, he seems sad and self-conscious about living in the shadow of his older brother, Stefano.

Alfonso Carracci Character Timeline in My Brilliant Friend

The timeline below shows where the character Alfonso Carracci appears in My Brilliant Friend. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...Ferraro’s class of fourth-grade boys so that the girls can compete against Nino Sarratore and Alfonso Carracci (the third son of Don Achille) in a little competition. Nino and Lenù struggle... (full context)

Enzo soon steps in to replace Alfonso, and Enzo and Lila begin an exciting duel of the minds—but Lila quickly bests Enzo,... (full context)

...was able to intuit the sense of deference and respect Lila felt compelled to show Alfonso, the son of Don Achille—a sense that both girls have inherited from their parents. (full context)

Lenù feels terrible that even her beloved Nino Sarratore must show the same deference to Alfonso. Flashing back to the moment of the contest, Lenù recoils watching the beautiful, long-lashed Nino... (full context)

The day after the contest, the defeated and embarrassed Alfonso’s older brother Stefano, who is 14 and an apprentice at the grocery store owned by... (full context)

...chest. Lila fearlessly rings the doorbell. Donna Maria answers the door and begins calling for Alfonso, believing the girls are there to see him. Instead, Lila demands to see Don Achille.... (full context)

...mired in a “swamp.” Lenù feels that without Lila, she will never be “the best.” Alfonso, the young son of Don Achille, also attends Lenù’s middle school. Lenù ignores him whenever... (full context)

...her father, killed Don Achille. Carmela confides in Lenù that she is in love with Alfonso, Don Achille’s son. After Carmela tells Lenù this great secret, Lenù feels slightly more attached... (full context)

...she is studying to retake the exam. As the two gossip about school, Carmela and Alfonso, and the things Carmela has told Lenù about Don Achille’s murder, Lila is pained to... (full context)

...school, Lenù passes her exams with the best grades in the entire school—even better than Alfonso. Her father praises her greatly, and even her mother congratulates Lenù by letting her wear... (full context)

...her studies with Lila. Lenù’s classmates—even the ones who have known her since childhood, like Alfonso and Gino—begin calling her Greco or Elena out of respect. Gino once again asks Lenù... (full context)

...out of the store and invites Lenù to come celebrate New Year’s at his family’s house—Alfonso, his younger brother and Lenù’s schoolmate, will be “pleased.” Lenù says that she is going... (full context)

...after Christmas break. Classes are hard, and many of her classmates drop out. Gino and Alfonso struggle to keep up, and when Gino laughs at Alfonso for crying out of frustration... (full context)

Lenù advances in school and gets a scholarship. Gino fails out of school, while Alfonso is told he’ll need to take his qualifying exams again in the fall. Lenù goes... (full context)

...begins to see Lila less and less—but she sees her fellow student (and Stefano’s brother) Alfonso more often. Lenù finds her friendship with Alfonso “soothing”—they don’t talk very much, but just... (full context)

One day, while walking home with Alfonso, Lenù spies Donato on the railway embankment in his conductor’s uniform. When she does a... (full context)

Alfonso is the only one who congratulates Lenù—she is grateful for his support and surprised when... (full context)

...transfixed—she can’t believe she might have the chance to publish something that others will read. Alfonso discourages Lenù from signing her name to the publication for fear of angering the teachers... (full context)

...feeling they’ve gotten “everything wrong again.” On a walk home one day with Lenù and Alfonso, Nino’s sister, Marisa, learns that Lenù and Alfonso are not going steady. After this, Nino’s... (full context)

...really and truly married. Lenù looks around the church, realizing that she hasn’t yet seen Alfonso—he is standing at the back with Marisa and Nino Sarratore. (full context)

After the ceremony, everyone stands in the church courtyard. Lenù is shocked to realize that Alfonso and Marisa are together, and she wonders if they have made their relationship official. As... (full context)

...she becomes firm in her own resolve to escape no matter the cost. When Nino, Alfonso, and Marisa enter the room, Lenù jumps up from the table and, struggling against her... (full context)

As Lenù makes conversation with Alfonso and Marisa—hoping that Nino will talk to her too—Antonio comes up behind Lenù and asks... (full context)

...to sit with Nino, who is caught up in an intense conversation about school with Alfonso. (full context)