The Role Of Power In My Brilliant Friend

In the novel “My Brilliant Friend” power plays a key and intrusive role in the entire piece. Set in old Naples, the novel follows the friendship between Elena Greco and Raffaella Cerullo, also known as Lila. Power is a key feature in the text ranging from fights between different families or power struggles within each family. A character that constantly fights and strives to achieve this power within his own family in the novel is Rino Cerullo, Lila’s older brother. His power struggle shows how the societal norms of family have a large emphasis on the expected role of the son as well as the patriarchal norms in the family. Rino’s character throughout the story grows and develops past the kind older brother who pushes hard for Lila’s education to a character who cares mostly about his own worth. This is highlighted in his desperate need to surpass his
Both Rino and Lila worked together for a long time to create their own pair of shoes, however while Lila stays constant in simply wanting to create better shoes, Rino becomes consumed and obsessed with how he believes he has already surpassed his father and that there are no flaws in his work. Then despite Lila’s disapproval, Rino shows Fernando the shoes that they constructed in secret and is immediately beaten by Fernando. This sends Rino down into not only a fit of despair, but anger as well. Rino needs constant verification of his own supposed genius and skill compared to his father. Rino’s behavior is a rebellion towards the expected norm of a son learning from his father, inheriting his father’s trade, and then continuing the cycle with their own son. Rino does not want an equal footing with his father; he wants to be above