THE MATERNAL BODY IN L’AMORE MOLESTO BY ELENA FERRANTE

Abstract

This paper proposes a new reading of the novel L’Amore molesto by Elena Ferrante, through the analysis of the relationship of the narrative voice of the daughter, Delia, with the maternal body, but also with her own inhibited sexuality. Literary daughters deny their own body and focus on that of the mother which is often experienced in two different ways: as an idealized body or as an object that is part of the way this body is perceived by patriarchy. Analyzing the novel, we will try to show how the process of building a daughter's identity goes through the initial denial of the mother, accepting the mother as a person to building a self-accepting subjectivity.

Keywords: body; mother and daughter; identity; Italian novelist.