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Rino Cerullo
Fernando is Lila and Rino’s father and Nunzia’s husband. He owns a cobbler shop in the neighborhood where he mends and makes shoes, a trade he learned as a young man. Fernando is a stern man who takes pride in his work, yet his children seek to rebel against his entrenched ways as they consider how they might help their father’s business. It’s implied that Fernando is deeply afraid of what will happen to his business and his family should he seek too much money or influence—Fernando is content to make a living and just get by. He’s fearful of drawing the ire or jealousy of his neighbors, or finding himself beholden to the loan sharks and Camorrists (gangsters) who run the neighborhood. Fernando seems to love his children, yet he is more concerned with demanding their respect than he is with showing them respect in return. He seeks to use Lila as a tool in his family’s social advancement—he believes that if Lila marries Marcello Solara, the Cerullos will be more secure without the risk of seeking advancement through business or money. Fernando is a complicated man who wants many things at once, yet he is unsure—or afraid—of how to secure them for himself and his family.
Fernando Cerullo Quotes in My Brilliant Friend
The My Brilliant Friend quotes below are all either spoken by Fernando Cerullo or refer to Fernando Cerullo. 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 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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Adolescence: Chapter 8
Quotes
I tried to remind her of the old plan of writing novels… […] I was stuck there, it was important to me. I was learning Latin just for that, and deep inside I was convinced that she took so many books from Maestro Ferraro's circulating library only because, even though she wasn't going to school anymore, even though she was now obsessed with shoes, she still wanted to write a novel with me and make a lot of money. Instead, she shrugged… […] "Now," she explained, "to become truly rich you need a business."
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Adolescence: Chapter 27
Quotes
“What would it cost you to let him see them?” I asked, confused.
She shook her head energetically. “I don’t even want him to touch them.”
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Adolescence: Chapter 38
Quotes
Punctually, three days later, he went to the store and bought the shoes, even though they were tight. The two Cerullos with much hesitation asked for twenty-five thousand lire, but were ready to go down to ten thousand. He didn't bat an eye and put down another twenty thousand in exchange for Lila's drawings, which—he said—he liked, he wanted to frame them.
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Fernando Cerullo Quotes in My Brilliant Friend
The My Brilliant Friend quotes below are all either spoken by Fernando Cerullo or refer to Fernando Cerullo. 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 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:
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Adolescence: Chapter 8
Quotes
I tried to remind her of the old plan of writing novels… […] I was stuck there, it was important to me. I was learning Latin just for that, and deep inside I was convinced that she took so many books from Maestro Ferraro's circulating library only because, even though she wasn't going to school anymore, even though she was now obsessed with shoes, she still wanted to write a novel with me and make a lot of money. Instead, she shrugged… […] "Now," she explained, "to become truly rich you need a business."
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Adolescence: Chapter 27
Quotes
“What would it cost you to let him see them?” I asked, confused.
She shook her head energetically. “I don’t even want him to touch them.”
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Adolescence: Chapter 38
Quotes
Punctually, three days later, he went to the store and bought the shoes, even though they were tight. The two Cerullos with much hesitation asked for twenty-five thousand lire, but were ready to go down to ten thousand. He didn't bat an eye and put down another twenty thousand in exchange for Lila's drawings, which—he said—he liked, he wanted to frame them.
Related Characters:
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
