Nunzia Cerullo Character Analysis in My Brilliant Friend

Nunzia is Lila and Rino’s mother and Fernando’s wife. She is often bewildered by reports of Lila’s brilliance in school and baffled by her daughter’s abilities to teach herself to read and write without any assistance. Nunzia is rarely excited by Lila’s accomplishments, however, as she knows that she and her husband do not have the money to invest in Lila’s education. Fretful and aloof, Nunzia struggles to keep Lila, Rino, and Fernando—all of whom have hot tempers—at peace with one another.

Nunzia Cerullo Quotes in My Brilliant Friend

The My Brilliant Friend quotes below are all either spoken by Nunzia Cerullo or refer to Nunzia 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:

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"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: Elena “Lenù” Greco (speaker), Rafaella “Lila” Cerullo (speaker), Fernando Cerullo, Nunzia Cerullo, Elena’s Mother, Elena’s Father

Related Symbols: Language, Literature, and Writing

Page Number and Citation: 79

Explanation and Analysis: