Carmela Peluso Character Analysis in My Brilliant Friend

Carmela is Alfredo and Giuseppina’s daughter and Pasquale’s sister. She’s a classmate and neighbor of Lila and Lenù. Carmela is a sweet and fun-loving girl who works hard to put the pain of her father’s arrest for the murder of Don Achille behind her. Carmela is obsessed with Lila and strives to emulate her speech, her movements, and her inflections—whenever Lenù spends time with Carmela, she finds herself worrying that she, too, is too preoccupied with Lila’s favor.

Carmela Peluso Character Timeline in My Brilliant Friend

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

Don Achille’s “sworn enemy” is Signor Peluso, a carpenter with a gambling problem. Carmela and Pasquale, two of Lenù’s classmates, are the children of Signor Peluso. Their family is... (full context)

...while, Maestra Oliviero returns some of her attentions to Lenù and her classmates Marisa and Carmela—but Lila, sensing she is about to be outshone, continues working harder academically and behaviorally. Soon,... (full context)

...nines and eights. After this, Lila distances herself from Lenù and begins hanging out with Carmela Peluso. Lenù, however, will not let herself be abandoned—she joins the girls and together they... (full context)

...focusing on new details. Lila claims to know secret details of the murder and keeps Carmela and Lenù both rapt yet terrified with each new repetition. In each retelling of the... (full context)

Many days that summer, Lila and Lenù play at Carmela’s house. Carmela’s mother is a cheerful, kind, welcoming woman, and Lenù enjoys being at the... (full context)

...an adult, she remembers that Lila was strangely unaffected by it. Elena recalls Lila comforting Carmela by stroking her hair and gently telling her that if her father was the murderer... (full context)

...the courtyard to find Lila. She tries to confide in Lila about what’s happened, but Carmela, who is with Lila as she always is lately, insists on listening in. Carmela reassures... (full context)

Lila stops socializing with both Lenù and Carmela. Lenù spends a lot of time with Carmela, though she doesn’t like her very much.... (full context)

...was able to mimic Lila in a moment of crisis—yet she fears she’s being like Carmela in her desire to emulate Lila. (full context)

...is “pointless,” and she envies Lila’s “magical” world of work. When Lenù spends time with Carmela, she finds herself talking about shoes with Lila’s same passion—she is “embarrass[ed]” by her behavior... (full context)

...tell Gino she’ll be his girlfriend if he’ll buy ice cream for Lenù, Lila, and Carmela all summer. Lenù takes this proposition to Gino, who refuses her out of hand. (full context)

...they can talk about grown-up things like love and boys—but instead, Lenù finds that because Carmela has told all of their friends about Lila’s advice, Lila has become more popular with... (full context)

...admitting that 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... (full context)

Pasquale Peluso, Carmela’s older brother, is also in attendance. He jokes with Lenù about the Cerullo family’s devoted... (full context)

...men. One day toward the end of August, while out with in a group, Lenù, Carmela, Pasquale, Rino, and Antonio notice a man staring at Lila. He comes over to their... (full context)

Outside, Lila and Lenù find Pasquale raving to Antonio, Carmela, Ada, and anyone else who will listen. He rails against the Solaras and their establishment,... (full context)

One April Sunday, Lenù and Lila go out into the city with Carmela, Pasquale, and Rino. Lila suggests visiting a wealthy and trendy neighborhood. As they walk down... (full context)

...brawl. Rino yells at Lila for bringing him to such a neighborhood and orders her, Carmela, and Lenù to head home. (full context)

Lenù, Lila, and Carmela start for home, but as they walk through the piazza, they see a group of... (full context)

...girls also begin competing with Lila by trying to dress up and act like ladies—but Carmela, Ada, and Gigliola’s attempts to catch up with Lila fail. (full context)

...badly beaten. Both brothers report being attacked by 10 men from “outside the neighborhood,” but Carmela and Lenù believe that Pasquale, Enzo, and Antonio are behind the attack. The girls wait... (full context)

...the restaurant. Antonio, sensing a change in mood as they drive, asks Lenù what’s wrong; Carmela suggests that Lenù is jealous that Lila is married. (full context)