Cultural Memory and the Construction of Identity in My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

The purpose of this article is to analyze the role of cultural memory in the construction of individual and collective identity in defining and shaping the relationships between characters. The novel chosen for illustration is My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. The question we will answer is how the memory of past events, transmitted intergenerationally and fixed in the Neapolitan community space, influences both the individual identity and the dynamics of the group to which these characters belong. Using theories from the field of cultural memory studies, individual and collective identity, we will demonstrate with the help of textual analysis the role of historical and cultural influences on the relationships and interactions between characters, having a fundamental role in the formation of individual identity, but also in establishing the social identity and the group to which the characters belong.