Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in My Brilliant Friend, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Female Friendship
Masculine vs. Feminine Violence
Women’s Work
Poverty, Social Climbing, and Sacrifice
The Uses of Community
Love, Sex, and Strategy
Summary
Analysis
When the rumors about Lila and Marcello reach Lenù’s friends, Enzo, Antonio, and Pasquale are more indignant than Stefano himself. Pasquale is particularly outraged, threatening to take revenge against the Solaras on Lila’s behalf himself. The next day, the Solaras’ 1100 has been demolished and the Solaras have been 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 for a reprisal from the Solaras—but there is none.
It is obvious that Pasquale, Enzo, and Antonio take decisive action against the Solaras—but the Solaras, for whatever reason, choose not to pursue revenge against the three boys (at least not yet). This passage confirms that even as Lila and Stefano work to change the neighborhood, vicious cycles of male violence will continue to proliferate and threaten everyone.
Themes
As Lenù takes her end-of-year exams upon finishing her second year of high school, Lila announces to her abruptly one day that she and Stefano are to be married the following spring. On the day of the wedding, Lila will be barely 16 and a half.
Every achievement Lenù accomplishes is met with the announcement of something different—yet equally momentous—from Lila. The two girls circle each other, constantly trying to one-up and outdo each other.
Themes
