My Brilliant Friend

My Brilliant Friend

by

Elena Ferrante

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My Brilliant Friend: Prologue Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Elena Greco receives a phone call from her friend Lila’s son. He tells her that his mother has been gone without a trace for two weeks. Elena can tell that Lila’s son is worried by his inability to find his mother, but Elena suspects that the “small-time crook and spendthrift” hasn’t actually looked very carefully for his mother at all. Lila’s son asks if his mother is with Elena at Elena’s home in Turin, but Elena scoffs at the idea that her old friend would ever leave Naples. When Lila’s son begins crying, Elena tells him to stop looking for his mother and to learn to stand on his “own two feet.” She hangs up.
The opening lines of the novel investigate the strange relationship between Elena and her friend Lila. Elena doesn’t seem concerned by the fact that Lila is missing, and she is full of nothing but contempt for Lila’s son. Clearly, Elena seems to know Lila better than Lila’s own family does—their friendship is mysterious but evidently strong.
Themes
Female Friendship Theme Icon
The Uses of Community Theme Icon
Lila’s full name, Elena writes, is Raffaella Cerullo. Everyone has always called her Lina, but Elena has never called her anything but Lila—she knows that if she were ever to use another name for her friend, it would signal that their friendship was finished. Three decades ago, Elena recalls, Lila told her she wanted to “disappear without leaving a trace” and vanish from her life, never to be found. Elena is not surprised that Lila has found a way to do so.
This passage makes the depths of the relationship between Elena and Lila even clearer. The women seem to have something of a secret language, a friendship that has unwritten rules and unspoken vows. Elena knows Lila intimately, even though it seems that they have not seen each other in a while.
Themes
Female Friendship Theme Icon
As the days go by, Elena looks through her house and realizes she has nothing from Lila—not a gift nor a note. She calls Lila’s son, Rino, and tells him to look in his mother’s closet. Rino stays on the phone with Elena as he opens his mother’s closet: he reports that it is completely empty. Elena encourages him to look around the rest of the house. He stays on the phone as he does, reporting that all of his mother’s possessions are gone—she has even cut herself out of old photographs. The next day, Rino calls back in a state of heightened distress as he realizes that all of his mother’s possessions and papers are truly gone. He asks to come stay with Elena. Elena refuses him.
As Elena realizes the depths of Lila’s decision to disappear completely, she becomes nostalgic for the friendship they shared. The prologue suggests that there has been a rupture in their relationship, as Elena has nothing from Lila anymore.
Themes
Female Friendship Theme Icon
The Uses of Community Theme Icon
Frustrated with Lila for “overdoing it as usual,” Elena sits down, “angry,” to write all the details of her and Lila’s shared story.
This passage introduces the idea of language, writing, literature, and storytelling as a central symbol within the novel—and within Lila and Elena’s own mysterious relationship.
Themes
Female Friendship Theme Icon
Women’s Work Theme Icon
Quotes
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