My Brilliant Friend

My Brilliant Friend

by

Elena Ferrante

Marcello Solara Character Analysis

Marcello is the eldest son of Silvio Solara. He’s a handsome, swaggering braggart who, together with his brother Michele, patrols the neighborhood in his Fiat 1100 picking up girls and enforcing his father’s stronghold over the neighborhood. Marcello takes an interest in Lila after witnessing her fiery personality and her disregard for showing him any fealty or respect. Marcello begins courting Lila by showing up for dinner at her family’s apartment each night—Lila, however, has a deep-seated hatred not just of Marcello but of his entire family, and she rejects the many gifts Marcello brings over and elects to spend as much time as possible in her bedroom during his visits. Marcello believes that there is no way Lila will refuse him, given his family’s status in the neighborhood—yet he underestimates her complete disregard for the power structures that rule their shared world. Marcello is devastated when Lila at last rejects him for Stefano, with whom Lila believes she can begin to change the neighborhood’s oppressive financial and social structures. However, Marcello continues to seek out ways through which he can remind Lila that he and his family are not going anywhere. At the end of the novel, he shows up at Lila and Stefano’s wedding wearing the prototype Cerullo shoes that Stefano previously purchased in order to demonstrate his willingness to invest not just in Lila but in her father’s business. The implication is either that Marcello has purchased the shoes from Stefano for an even higher price, or that demanded them for free. Either way, this moment—which serves as the novel’s conclusion—demonstrates the fact that Marcello will always have control over not just Lila but over the entire neighborhood. Cruel, vindictive, and often comically self-important, Marcello Solara is one of the novel’s main antagonists and represents the embodiment of the male violence and control which rule Lila and Lenù’s world.

Marcello Solara Quotes in My Brilliant Friend

The My Brilliant Friend quotes below are all either spoken by Marcello Solara or refer to Marcello Solara. 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:
Female Friendship Theme Icon
).
Adolescence: Chapter 8 Quotes

I said no because if my father found out that I had gone in that car, even though he was a good and loving man, even though he loved me very much, he would have beat me to death, while at the same time my little brothers, Peppe and Gianni, young as they were, would feel obliged, now and in the future, to try to kill the Solara brothers. There were no written rules, everyone knew that was how it was.

Related Characters: Elena “Lenù” Greco (speaker), Marcello Solara, Elena’s Father, Michele Solara
Page Number: 113
Explanation and Analysis:
Adolescence: Chapter 20 Quotes

[Rino] had always seemed to her only generously impetuous, sometimes aggressive, but not a braggart. Now, though, he posed as what he was not. He felt he was close to wealth. A boss. Someone who could give the neighborhood the first sign of the good fortune the new year would bring by setting off a lot of fireworks, more than the Solara brothers, who had become in his eyes the model of the young man to emulate and indeed to surpass, people whom he envied and considered enemies to be beaten, so that he could assume their role.

Related Characters: Elena “Lenù” Greco (speaker), Rafaella “Lila” Cerullo, Marcello Solara, Rino Cerullo, Michele Solara
Related Symbols: Fireworks, Shoes
Page Number: 166
Explanation and Analysis:
Adolescence: Chapter 22 Quotes

[Lila] was staring at the shadow of her brother—the most active, the most arrogant, shouting the loudest, bloodiest insults in the direction of the Solaras' terrace—with repulsion. It seemed that she, she who in general feared nothing, was afraid. […] We were holding on to each other to get warm, while they rushed to grab cylinders with fat fuses, astonished by Stefano's infinite reserves, admiring of his generosity, disturbed by how much money could be transformed into fiery trails, sparks, explosions, smoke for the pure satisfaction of winning.

Related Characters: Elena “Lenù” Greco (speaker), Rafaella “Lila” Cerullo, Stefano Carracci, Marcello Solara, Rino Cerullo, Michele Solara
Related Symbols: Fireworks
Page Number: 177
Explanation and Analysis:
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.”

Related Characters: Elena “Lenù” Greco (speaker), Rafaella “Lila” Cerullo (speaker), Marcello Solara, Rino Cerullo, Fernando Cerullo
Related Symbols: Shoes
Page Number: 203
Explanation and Analysis:
Adolescence: Chapter 36 Quotes

What did she have in mind? She had to know that she was setting in motion an earthquake worse than when she threw the ink-soaked bits of paper. And yet it might be that she wasn't aiming at anything precise. She was like that, she threw things off balance just to see if she could put them back in some other way.

Related Characters: Elena “Lenù” Greco (speaker), Rafaella “Lila” Cerullo, Stefano Carracci, Marcello Solara
Page Number: 238
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: Elena “Lenù” Greco (speaker), Rafaella “Lila” Cerullo, Stefano Carracci, Marcello Solara, Rino Cerullo, Fernando Cerullo
Related Symbols: Shoes
Page Number: 244
Explanation and Analysis:
Adolescence: Chapter 46 Quotes

I didn't understand. The Solaras’ behavior seemed […] consistent with the world that we had known since we were children. What, instead, did [Lila] and Stefano have in mind, where did they think they were living? […] They weren't reacting to the insults, even to that truly intolerable insult that the Solaras were making. […] Was this her latest invention? Did she want to leave the neighborhood by staying in the neighborhood? Did she want to drag us out of ourselves, tear off the old skin and put on a new one, suitable for what she was inventing?

Related Characters: Elena “Lenù” Greco (speaker), Rafaella “Lila” Cerullo, Stefano Carracci, Marcello Solara, Don Achille Carracci, Michele Solara
Page Number: 273
Explanation and Analysis:
Adolescence: Chapter 62 Quotes

Marcello sat down, loosened his tie, crossed his legs.

The unpredictable revealed itself only at that point. I saw Lila lose her color, become as pale as when she was a child, whiter than her wedding dress, and her eyes had that sudden contraction that turned them into cracks. […] She was looking at the shoes of Marcello Solara.

[…] Marcello had on his feet the shoes bought earlier by Stefano, her husband. It was the pair she had made with Rino, making and unmaking them for months, ruining her hands.

Related Characters: Elena “Lenù” Greco (speaker), Rafaella “Lila” Cerullo, Stefano Carracci, Marcello Solara, Rino Cerullo
Related Symbols: Shoes
Page Number: 331
Explanation and Analysis:
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Marcello Solara Quotes in My Brilliant Friend

The My Brilliant Friend quotes below are all either spoken by Marcello Solara or refer to Marcello Solara. 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:
Female Friendship Theme Icon
).
Adolescence: Chapter 8 Quotes

I said no because if my father found out that I had gone in that car, even though he was a good and loving man, even though he loved me very much, he would have beat me to death, while at the same time my little brothers, Peppe and Gianni, young as they were, would feel obliged, now and in the future, to try to kill the Solara brothers. There were no written rules, everyone knew that was how it was.

Related Characters: Elena “Lenù” Greco (speaker), Marcello Solara, Elena’s Father, Michele Solara
Page Number: 113
Explanation and Analysis:
Adolescence: Chapter 20 Quotes

[Rino] had always seemed to her only generously impetuous, sometimes aggressive, but not a braggart. Now, though, he posed as what he was not. He felt he was close to wealth. A boss. Someone who could give the neighborhood the first sign of the good fortune the new year would bring by setting off a lot of fireworks, more than the Solara brothers, who had become in his eyes the model of the young man to emulate and indeed to surpass, people whom he envied and considered enemies to be beaten, so that he could assume their role.

Related Characters: Elena “Lenù” Greco (speaker), Rafaella “Lila” Cerullo, Marcello Solara, Rino Cerullo, Michele Solara
Related Symbols: Fireworks, Shoes
Page Number: 166
Explanation and Analysis:
Adolescence: Chapter 22 Quotes

[Lila] was staring at the shadow of her brother—the most active, the most arrogant, shouting the loudest, bloodiest insults in the direction of the Solaras' terrace—with repulsion. It seemed that she, she who in general feared nothing, was afraid. […] We were holding on to each other to get warm, while they rushed to grab cylinders with fat fuses, astonished by Stefano's infinite reserves, admiring of his generosity, disturbed by how much money could be transformed into fiery trails, sparks, explosions, smoke for the pure satisfaction of winning.

Related Characters: Elena “Lenù” Greco (speaker), Rafaella “Lila” Cerullo, Stefano Carracci, Marcello Solara, Rino Cerullo, Michele Solara
Related Symbols: Fireworks
Page Number: 177
Explanation and Analysis:
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.”

Related Characters: Elena “Lenù” Greco (speaker), Rafaella “Lila” Cerullo (speaker), Marcello Solara, Rino Cerullo, Fernando Cerullo
Related Symbols: Shoes
Page Number: 203
Explanation and Analysis:
Adolescence: Chapter 36 Quotes

What did she have in mind? She had to know that she was setting in motion an earthquake worse than when she threw the ink-soaked bits of paper. And yet it might be that she wasn't aiming at anything precise. She was like that, she threw things off balance just to see if she could put them back in some other way.

Related Characters: Elena “Lenù” Greco (speaker), Rafaella “Lila” Cerullo, Stefano Carracci, Marcello Solara
Page Number: 238
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: Elena “Lenù” Greco (speaker), Rafaella “Lila” Cerullo, Stefano Carracci, Marcello Solara, Rino Cerullo, Fernando Cerullo
Related Symbols: Shoes
Page Number: 244
Explanation and Analysis:
Adolescence: Chapter 46 Quotes

I didn't understand. The Solaras’ behavior seemed […] consistent with the world that we had known since we were children. What, instead, did [Lila] and Stefano have in mind, where did they think they were living? […] They weren't reacting to the insults, even to that truly intolerable insult that the Solaras were making. […] Was this her latest invention? Did she want to leave the neighborhood by staying in the neighborhood? Did she want to drag us out of ourselves, tear off the old skin and put on a new one, suitable for what she was inventing?

Related Characters: Elena “Lenù” Greco (speaker), Rafaella “Lila” Cerullo, Stefano Carracci, Marcello Solara, Don Achille Carracci, Michele Solara
Page Number: 273
Explanation and Analysis:
Adolescence: Chapter 62 Quotes

Marcello sat down, loosened his tie, crossed his legs.

The unpredictable revealed itself only at that point. I saw Lila lose her color, become as pale as when she was a child, whiter than her wedding dress, and her eyes had that sudden contraction that turned them into cracks. […] She was looking at the shoes of Marcello Solara.

[…] Marcello had on his feet the shoes bought earlier by Stefano, her husband. It was the pair she had made with Rino, making and unmaking them for months, ruining her hands.

Related Characters: Elena “Lenù” Greco (speaker), Rafaella “Lila” Cerullo, Stefano Carracci, Marcello Solara, Rino Cerullo
Related Symbols: Shoes
Page Number: 331
Explanation and Analysis: