IB English HL I

Malashewski

Feminist Literary Criticism:

The Lying Life of Adults

Directions
Break into small groups of 3-4. Make a copy of this doc and share with your group. Discuss
these questions as a group, working through your annotations and sharing your insights.

Aim to find 3-4 examples for each question (page references / short quotes are fine). Focus on
elements of fiction, diction, and figurative language when considering the following questions.

1. How is Vittoria viewed by Giovanna’s parents, and why is it significant?

They view her as an ungroomed and unfeminine “she’s not a presentable woman”. She’s also
described as being jealous and vain. "Yes. Your father's sister is an envious woman. Not
envious the way others might be, but envious in a very terrible way.""What did she do?"
"Everything. But above all she refused to accept your father's success." (17) Vittoria does not
conform to traditional standards of femininity and she is completely independent of a man and
acts as somewhat of a matriarch in replacement of Enzo. If a woman doesn’t meet the norms
leveled upon her by society then she is perceived is not presentable or proper.

2. How is Vittoria portrayed in the novel?

a. To what extent does she uphold or subvert feminine ideals?
She is portrayed as somewhat of an feminine character and untraditionally this is portrayed
when she is playing the guitar and her legs are spread wide “your aunt— you see her she is
really ugly. At that moment it was very true:
Vitoria contorted her face like a devil while she played, and even though she was good and the
parishioners applauded, she made a repellent spectacle. She tossed her shoulders, curled her
lips, wrinkled her forehead, stretched her trunk backward so fast that it seemed to be much
longer than her legs, which were spread indecorously.”(Ferrante119). She is free and doesn’t
worry about the judgments of others.
Even in the way she drives it’s erratic and out of control and in control at the same time. It is
representative of her personality, rough around the edges but not dangerous.

3. How does Giovanna see herself? How is she seen by others?

 a. Does Ferrante’s portrayal of Giovanna adhere to or subvert the status quo?
Giovanna refers to herself in the story as a “slut”. She also plans out a way to cheat with her
best friend's husband. Giovanna subverts the status quo by not being a perfect person and
knowing it. She accepts herself as not being a great person and sometimes revels in it.

b. What kinds of freedoms or constraints does she experience?

She seems to experience physical freedom but in her mind she is trapped. She thinks the
implosion of her family is her fault and she struggles to deal with that misplaced guilt. As she
gets older her parents put a lot less restrictions on her and she can go out as much as she
wants. She barely even takes the time to tell her mom let alone ask her to do something.

4. How is her mother Nella portrayed?

a. To what extent does she uphold or subvert feminine ideals?

Nella is portrayed as a very kind and beautiful woman in TLLA but as the story progresses Nella
becomes less and less important in Giovanna's life. Nella gets cheated on by her husband and
does little but be mad at him for a short while. She praises Giovanna's father even after the
divorce showing her subservients to feminine ideals and the role of women. She becomes
depressed and frail and does little to stop Giovanna when she leaves the house.

b. What kinds of freedoms or constraints does she experience?

She has more societal freedoms then most in the underclass as she grew up well, got educated
and married an educated man. She experiences a prison of the mind after Andrea leaves her
and Giovanna becomes more independent. She feels as if she doesn’t have meaning.

5. How does her father uphold patriarchal values and/or attitudes?

Andrea upholds certain values such as the male having to work and be the money maker. He
used his intelligence to get out of the lower class but at the cost of his family values abandoning
his family and falling out with them. He later sacrifices his daughter's respect for him and his
marriage for an affair with his best friend's wife.
He upholds them unconsciously, he leaves Gianni’s mother but she is still completely in love
with him, and he doesn’t show too much remorse. Andrea also thrives when he is seen as a
savior or is there to answer any question Giovanna may have. In the same way as Torvald he
needs to be needed and seen as the head of the home.