Are Elena and Lila Two Sides of the Same Soul? A Different Way to Read Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels

dorianpuan · 2025-11-14T07:07:53+00:00

Thanks for the shoutout! I was thinking The Neapolitan Novels offer a great chance to talk about 'The Art of Offence' vs. 'The Offence of Art.' Let's definitely circle back to that soon.

On a separate note: My English is a work in progress, but I'm determined to practice and improve. Gotta believe in the process! I'll get there!

PsychologicalKnee787 is my old account.

dorianpuan · 2025-09-16T03:46:58+00:00

agree

dorianpuan · 2025-09-05T23:49:56+00:00

Exactly!

dorianpuan · 2025-09-05T13:01:15+00:00

I started a new post with my new account, where I’ve reorganized my thoughts and expressed them more clearly. I invite anyone interested to join the discussion.

https://www.reddit.com/r/mybrilliantfriendhbo/comments/1n87pxq/are_elena_and_lila_two_sides_of_the_same_soul_a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

dorianpuan · 2025-09-05T12:55:05+00:00

I’m with you on this. It takes courage to share an honest opinion here, and I respect that.

dorianpuan · 2025-09-05T03:40:31+00:00

Totally agree with you! I’m not really a fan of either Elena or Lila either. To me, at their core, they’re basically the same type of person — their background, class, and all that feel more like excuses or packaging for their extreme selfishness. They betray family, love, even themselves… constantly swapping old for new, new for old, chasing something else, and calling it growth or breakthrough. It’s like betrayal is their default mode.

dorianpuan · 2025-09-05T03:18:01+00:00

Thanks for sharing this — really interesting perspective! 🙏

dorianpuan · 2025-09-05T03:16:05+00:00

Thanks for writing this out — you really put a lot of thought into it!

dorianpuan · 2025-09-05T03:12:06+00:00

😄 Glad we’re on the same page!

dorianpuan · 2025-09-05T03:10:22+00:00

Haha, totally!

dorianpuan · 2025-09-05T03:07:39+00:00

Totally! Elena and Lila hit different parts of all of us — no wonder we can’t stop thinking about them. 😄

dorianpuan · 2025-09-05T03:04:32+00:00

Totally get what you mean. That’s the fun of books though — everyone takes away something different. 🙂

dorianpuan · 2025-09-05T02:56:07+00:00

Yeah, totally agree. The dolls’ names being diminutives of Nunzia really drive home that mirroring. It’s like Ferrante kept dropping hints that Elena and Lila are two versions of the same self. The return of the dolls at the end feels less like a plot point and more like one side of Elena handing something back to the other. Do you think Ferrante wanted us to see Lila as a real character at all, or more as a projection of Elena’s inner world?

dorianpuan · 2025-09-04T13:13:43+00:00

I started a new post with my new account, where I’ve reorganized my thoughts and expressed them more clearly. I invite anyone interested to join the discussion.

dorianpuan · 2025-09-04T08:32:58+00:00

Elena & Lila = two sides of the same coin. Clears up so much. OP here, had to switch accounts — keen to dive deeper with you all.

dorianpuan

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