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Nunzia Cerullo
Elena’s mother is never given a name in the novel, yet she is a defining presence in her daughter’s life. A strict, humorless woman with a wandering eye and a pronounced limp, the young Lenù lives in fear of her mother—and in fear of becoming her one day, taking on deformities of her own as she ages into womanhood. Lenù’s mother alternately disparages and encourages her daughter’s desire to pursue an education. Similarly, she alternately allows Lenù to explore feelings of freedom and autonomy (such as when she allows her to vacation on the island of Ischia alone for several weeks) and restricts Lenù’s social life (such as when she attempts to prevent Lenù from spending time with boys like Pasquale and Antonio).
Elena’s Mother Quotes in My Brilliant Friend
The My Brilliant Friend quotes below are all either spoken by Elena’s Mother or refer to Elena’s Mother. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Childhood: Chapter 7
Quotes
Something convinced me, then, that if I kept up with her, at her pace, my mother’s limp, which had entered into my brain and wouldn’t come out, would stop threatening me. I decided I had to model myself on that girl, never let her out of my sight, even if she got annoyed and chased me away.
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Childhood: Chapter 16
Quotes
"All they did was beat you?"
"What should they have done?"
"They're still sending you to study Latin?"
I looked at her in bewilderment.
Was it possible? She had taken me with her hoping that as a punishment my parents would not send me to middle school? Or had she brought me back in such a hurry so that I would avoid that punishment? Or—I wonder today—did she want at different moments both things?
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Elena’s Mother Quotes in My Brilliant Friend
The My Brilliant Friend quotes below are all either spoken by Elena’s Mother or refer to Elena’s Mother. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Childhood: Chapter 7
Quotes
Something convinced me, then, that if I kept up with her, at her pace, my mother’s limp, which had entered into my brain and wouldn’t come out, would stop threatening me. I decided I had to model myself on that girl, never let her out of my sight, even if she got annoyed and chased me away.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Childhood: Chapter 16
Quotes
"All they did was beat you?"
"What should they have done?"
"They're still sending you to study Latin?"
I looked at her in bewilderment.
Was it possible? She had taken me with her hoping that as a punishment my parents would not send me to middle school? Or had she brought me back in such a hurry so that I would avoid that punishment? Or—I wonder today—did she want at different moments both things?
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
