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
Over the next several months, Lila calls on Lenù constantly to make important decisions such as the wedding favors, the restaurant, and the photographer. Lenù is surprised by how detached Lila is about her own wedding preparations. Lenù gets the impression that Lila feels “cage[d]” yet is still trying to find her own way of being.
In a time of great stress, Lila leans on Lenù to deal with the demands of wedding preparations. The two girls still clearly need each other as they navigate new, confusing, and often distressing territory.
Themes
Lenù, distracted with preparations, spends little time studying, and her grades dip—she does poorly in chemistry, math, and philosophy. One morning Lenù gets into trouble when, during a lesson in religion, she reacts loudly against her teacher’s tirades against Communists. She rails against the “superfluous entity” that is the Holy Spirit and claims that religion is “the same thing as collecting trading cards while the city burns in the fires of hell.” Lenù is sent out of class with a demerit for the first time in her life. In the hall, Lenù realizes that she has felt emboldened to say such things in class because they mirror past conversations she’s had with Lila. Lenù worries that it’s not true, after all, that school is her “wealth.” She begins to weep.
For so long, Lenù has clung to the idea that her success in school makes her special. Especially in recent weeks, as Lila’s wedding preparations have ramped up and blotted out all else, Lenù has tried to remind herself that at least she has school. Now, though, she fears that not only has she jeopardized her status at school—but she has come to realize that even in her own realm, her “wealth” in terms of academics and intellectualism is still inextricably tied to Lila’s influence.
Themes
Nino appears in the hall and, seeing Lenù in distress, walks toward her. Lenù realizes there is no way to avoid him. He asks what has happened and she tells him. He disappears and comes back a moment later with Professor Galiani, who praises Lenù for her intrepidness and goes to speak with her teacher. A few moments later, Galiani emerges from the classroom and declares that Lenù can return to the lesson if she apologizes. She does so, grateful for the support of Nino and Galiani. Word of Lenù’s outburst spreads quickly through her friend group—Pasquale and Lila are particularly impressed by her outspokenness. Lenù cultivates goodwill with the teacher she offended by keeping her opinions to herself, and she soon regains her standing at school.
Even though Lenù’s controversial ideas have gotten her in trouble with her religion professor, there are still those who support her. Her friends are proud of her for being an independent thinker—only Lenù knows that she would not have made such a stand without Lila’s influence.
Themes
A few weeks later, Nino asks Lenù if she will write a short paper recounting her conflict with the religion teacher—he wants to submit it for publication to a journal he sometimes writes for. As he shows Lenù a copy of the “dirty gray” pamphlet she is transfixed—she can’t believe she might have the chance to publish something that others will read. Alfonso discourages Lenù from signing her name to the publication for fear of angering the teachers again, but Lenù is determined to show her article proudly to everyone she loves—especially Lila.
Though others express reservations about Lenù publishing such a controversial article, Lenù knows that doing so will allow her to finally prove herself not just to those around her but to Lila. In her lifelong competition with Lila, Lenù will at last come out on top—with external proof of her smarts.
Themes
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When Lenù finishes a draft of the article, she knows the only person she trusts to proofread it is Lila. Lenù brings the pages to Lila and explains Nino’s proposal. Lila is hesitant and explains she’s not capable of telling Lenù if it’s good or not. Lenù begs Lila to help her. Lila agrees and reads the essay. She edits it, moves some sentences around, and rewrites her edits onto a new page. Lila tells Lenù how clever she is—and then she asks that Lenù never again show her anything else she writes, “because it hurts.” Then, Lila bursts out laughing.
In this passage, it becomes clear just how deeply Lila is affected by Lenù’s successes in academics. All Lila ever wanted for herself was an education, and to have to watch Lenù shine as she comes into her own as a thinker and writer pains Lila. As a result, Lila no longer wants to study, learn, or even bear witness to Lenù’s work—though she characteristically trivializes her own pain with laughter.
Themes
