I haven't read her books yet although they are on my short list for next year. I think the use of a pseudonym is perfectly fine and adds to the mystique. It is a personal choice of the author and is a tool that has been used for centuries for various reasons, artistic or otherwise. More power to her, whoever she might be!
I totally agree, Matthew! I think a writer or creator’s work should be allowed to speak for itself. I will be interested to hear what you think of the series when you get to it.
I love Elena Ferrante’s work - mostly through the Neapolitan series, but I have read some of her other books, too. I think it’s actually quite wonderful and freeing to be able to read them without having to reference the author’s background. I like being able to enjoy and appreciate art in and of itself and not needing to dig deeper. There is enough deep mess in the words for a lifetime of digging.
I also agree that there would definitely be a tendency to look at whether her life gave her the ‘validity’ to write what she wrote. Could she write about leaving her children if she never had children? Could she only write about abuse and violence if she had experienced it? And so on.
And the power of not having to buy into building a platform, and performing outside of the words she writes? Wonderful! Would that we all had that.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments, Tasha. I agree; so often, an author's biography (particularly women's) are assumed to reflect their fictional characters. I was in fact just reading an interesting interview with Elizabeth Strout, an author I love, where she says it is always assumed that Lucy Barton is autobiographical, which is far from the case. She actually requested that her author photo not be put on the jacket cover, but her publisher refused!
A very interesting read, thank you, Kate. I have been thinking about and discussing this very topic with writer friends recently. How much of ourselves and our lives do we want to reveal in our non fiction work? There seems to be increasing demand for narrative non fiction that includes aspect of memoir, but I feel cautious. I adore and often refer back to the Ferrante quote, ‘Even if we’re constantly tempted to lower our guard — out of love, or weariness, or sympathy, or kindness — we women shouldn’t do it. We can lose from one moment to the next everything that we have achieved.”
Thank you, Sophie! I agree; it really feels as though the nonfiction narrative essay is having a moment, and the increasingly personal essay seems to be the most popular. These are almost always (from what I've read, anyway) by women. It feels far too vulnerable for me. I love that Ferrante quote! 😀
It occurred to me, as I read, that there was relatively little brouhaha when Memoirs of a Geisha was released by the author Arthur Golden.
I write under a pseudonym because my second book (Thinking Straight, 2008), about a gay teen in a religious ex-gay camp, made me fear a radical, right-wing, religious attack. Once that pseudonym was established, it would have been counterproductive to change it because of possible confusion in my reader base.
Great piece! I remember the controversy surrounding Elena Ferrante but I didn’t know the ins and outs. How ridiculous to suggest an author “should” be writing about one thing or another - and they’re somehow tricking readers if they don’t. If you’re writing fiction, you can write about whatever you want, and you can use a pseudonym if that’s your choice. She clearly has loyal fans and the attempt to “unmask” her feels unnecessary. I love how you’ve compared her mystique to other female authors over the years :) thanks for sharing
So many assumptions come along with a name, often completely incorrect ones. I could see why an author might want to shape those assumptions in a particular direction if they have the leeway to, similar to other actors or musicians.
Excellent observations, Kate. A very interesting read.
I, for one, am so sick and tired of reading, listening, and watching interviews where interviewers inquire about whether the talented woman has “someone special in her life”, is married, is planning or has children.
It is so refreshing when an interviewer is focused on her skills only.
I remember when this happened. Gatti never sufficiently explained his motivation, instead sputtering about the publisher’s “lies” and how Ferrante was reaping the benefits of publicity without paying what Gatti apparently believes is the fare across that particular River Styx. He and whichever editor greenlit his piece were trying to gatekeep. If I had time I’d look at the dates and see if he was trying to market a project of his own at this time, using this “revelation” as a platform.
Like most of Ferrante's readers, I couldn't give two hoots about her real name and would prefer her privacy to be respected.
But I also get why a journalist, presented with this kind of mystery, wants to solve it. I'm just glad the whole thing has gone away and we can go back to what matters—the words written by the Ferrante author.
Thank you for reading and commenting, Jeffrey! It seems most fans of Ferrante agree; who cares who she is when her books are so good! But I take your point also about how such a mystery is almost too tempting not to be solved by an inquisitive journalist. I'm sure he isn't the only one to try.
The Gatti story has completely passed me by, but I have read the first three of the Neapolitan quartet - loved the first, felt the second could have done with a little more editing and decided I'd had enough after the third, but these are (obviously) just me personal views. (I did hear the dramatisation on Radio 4 and enjoyed that too.) I was aware of the intrigue about the identity of Elena Ferrante but it didn't affect my reading - that's what fiction is for, to get you involved in the story! As I read your piece, I realised that I hadn't even noticed that Lenu was a diminutive of Elena!
Yes, it does seem that Gatti wanted to claim glory and it has not served his cause at all.
This is so interesting Kate. Amazing that someone would go to such lengths to try to reveal the author’s identity. Obviously seeking fame for this for themselves.
I loved reading this and I fully buy Orr's argument. What was Gatti trying to prove?! In this particular case, I feel hopeful that as a culture we are sometimes capable of falling on the right side of things.
This is where I admit that I have not yet read Ferrante. I started My Brilliant Friend during the first week of pandemic lockdown (as a mom of a 3 year old then) and I just didn't finish. But I think I am ready to get to it soon!
Mathew, if I don't read it in the next few weeks, I will definitely join you for a co-read into the new year!
Thanks, Petya! I know, I was so pleasantly surprised that so many readers and critics disagreed with Gatti’s investigation! I have to admit, I am not a big reader of Ferrante either…but I love the whole idea around the persona and the way that readers have really connected with that.
In the reasonable country, in the reasonable time, a reasonable author, in this case a woman, (and I love her tetralogy) wants to use a pseudonym. Why is it so troubling? The other and more serious question for me would be of using pseudonyms in the more dangerous circumstances, like what would had happened with Osip Mandelstam or Anna Akhmatova or could it be the cowardice to use pseudonym for B. Pasternak, when his novel Doctor Zhivago was published in Italy? It becomes complicated when you start thinking why, where, when and who used or not used pseudonymes.
Well written and your knowledge of the subject matter is impressive, which leads me to think that perhaps leaving out a key angle to this story is intentional.
The angle of your article reads as if it's a given that Ferrante, the author, is a woman. I understand that this fits your niche, but when discussing the revelations about the author's anonymity a key part of the story has been the translator Raja's husband, Italian novelist Domenico Starnone. Also, stylometric analysis indicates that the prose in Ferrante's books and Starnone's books are from the same author.
Whenever discussing Ferrante's anonymity and gender this part of the story is relevant. It is relevant from the angle that it is a possibility that Ferrante is in fact male and also from the angle of the question, whether believing that Ferrante is in fact male is a misogynistic view.
You could not possibly have written an article with such in-depth knowledge of the story and not been aware of the speculation around Raja and Starnone. Therefore, I'd be interested to know why you left this part of the story out completely?
I did come across that angle in my research, but wanted to specifically focus on why women have often taken pseudonyms and the interesting way in which Ferrante’s readers showed that they preferred not to know the true identity of the author, preferring to buy into the mystery as part of the appeal of the novels. The separate issue of women’s literature often being attributed to male writers throughout history is a topic I plan to return to in a later essay, when I shall no doubt be calling on this element of the Ferrante story.
I haven't read her books yet although they are on my short list for next year. I think the use of a pseudonym is perfectly fine and adds to the mystique. It is a personal choice of the author and is a tool that has been used for centuries for various reasons, artistic or otherwise. More power to her, whoever she might be!
I totally agree, Matthew! I think a writer or creator’s work should be allowed to speak for itself. I will be interested to hear what you think of the series when you get to it.
I love Elena Ferrante’s work - mostly through the Neapolitan series, but I have read some of her other books, too. I think it’s actually quite wonderful and freeing to be able to read them without having to reference the author’s background. I like being able to enjoy and appreciate art in and of itself and not needing to dig deeper. There is enough deep mess in the words for a lifetime of digging.
I also agree that there would definitely be a tendency to look at whether her life gave her the ‘validity’ to write what she wrote. Could she write about leaving her children if she never had children? Could she only write about abuse and violence if she had experienced it? And so on.
And the power of not having to buy into building a platform, and performing outside of the words she writes? Wonderful! Would that we all had that.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments, Tasha. I agree; so often, an author's biography (particularly women's) are assumed to reflect their fictional characters. I was in fact just reading an interesting interview with Elizabeth Strout, an author I love, where she says it is always assumed that Lucy Barton is autobiographical, which is far from the case. She actually requested that her author photo not be put on the jacket cover, but her publisher refused!
A very interesting read, thank you, Kate. I have been thinking about and discussing this very topic with writer friends recently. How much of ourselves and our lives do we want to reveal in our non fiction work? There seems to be increasing demand for narrative non fiction that includes aspect of memoir, but I feel cautious. I adore and often refer back to the Ferrante quote, ‘Even if we’re constantly tempted to lower our guard — out of love, or weariness, or sympathy, or kindness — we women shouldn’t do it. We can lose from one moment to the next everything that we have achieved.”
Thank you, Sophie! I agree; it really feels as though the nonfiction narrative essay is having a moment, and the increasingly personal essay seems to be the most popular. These are almost always (from what I've read, anyway) by women. It feels far too vulnerable for me. I love that Ferrante quote! 😀
It occurred to me, as I read, that there was relatively little brouhaha when Memoirs of a Geisha was released by the author Arthur Golden.
I write under a pseudonym because my second book (Thinking Straight, 2008), about a gay teen in a religious ex-gay camp, made me fear a radical, right-wing, religious attack. Once that pseudonym was established, it would have been counterproductive to change it because of possible confusion in my reader base.
Interesting! You clearly have first-hand knowledge of this topic, Robin 😀
Great piece! I remember the controversy surrounding Elena Ferrante but I didn’t know the ins and outs. How ridiculous to suggest an author “should” be writing about one thing or another - and they’re somehow tricking readers if they don’t. If you’re writing fiction, you can write about whatever you want, and you can use a pseudonym if that’s your choice. She clearly has loyal fans and the attempt to “unmask” her feels unnecessary. I love how you’ve compared her mystique to other female authors over the years :) thanks for sharing
Thanks! I know; I think the attempted unmasking really underlines why women writers have felt the need to work under pseudonyms.
So many assumptions come along with a name, often completely incorrect ones. I could see why an author might want to shape those assumptions in a particular direction if they have the leeway to, similar to other actors or musicians.
Thank you for your interesting comment.
Excellent observations, Kate. A very interesting read.
I, for one, am so sick and tired of reading, listening, and watching interviews where interviewers inquire about whether the talented woman has “someone special in her life”, is married, is planning or has children.
It is so refreshing when an interviewer is focused on her skills only.
I totally agree, Ene! Thank you for reading :)
It is my pleasure, Kate. 😊
I remember when this happened. Gatti never sufficiently explained his motivation, instead sputtering about the publisher’s “lies” and how Ferrante was reaping the benefits of publicity without paying what Gatti apparently believes is the fare across that particular River Styx. He and whichever editor greenlit his piece were trying to gatekeep. If I had time I’d look at the dates and see if he was trying to market a project of his own at this time, using this “revelation” as a platform.
Thank you for your well considered thoughts, Marina. Yes, I think his motives were questionable, to say the least.
Like most of Ferrante's readers, I couldn't give two hoots about her real name and would prefer her privacy to be respected.
But I also get why a journalist, presented with this kind of mystery, wants to solve it. I'm just glad the whole thing has gone away and we can go back to what matters—the words written by the Ferrante author.
Thanks for a great read, Kate!
Thank you for reading and commenting, Jeffrey! It seems most fans of Ferrante agree; who cares who she is when her books are so good! But I take your point also about how such a mystery is almost too tempting not to be solved by an inquisitive journalist. I'm sure he isn't the only one to try.
The Gatti story has completely passed me by, but I have read the first three of the Neapolitan quartet - loved the first, felt the second could have done with a little more editing and decided I'd had enough after the third, but these are (obviously) just me personal views. (I did hear the dramatisation on Radio 4 and enjoyed that too.) I was aware of the intrigue about the identity of Elena Ferrante but it didn't affect my reading - that's what fiction is for, to get you involved in the story! As I read your piece, I realised that I hadn't even noticed that Lenu was a diminutive of Elena!
Yes, it does seem that Gatti wanted to claim glory and it has not served his cause at all.
Thank you for reading, Nicola. Yes, when I'm jumping into a book, it's the story within it that I care about most.
This was such a good read. I do think that if someone wants to remain anonymous then they have the choice.
Thanks 😊 I agree!
This is so interesting Kate. Amazing that someone would go to such lengths to try to reveal the author’s identity. Obviously seeking fame for this for themselves.
It does make you wonder, doesn’t it…thank you for reading, Maureen! :)
There is also the question of safety. It could be unsafe for a woman, particularly, to use their true identity. Did Gatti even think of that ?
Good point. I doubt he gave that a second thought.
I loved reading this and I fully buy Orr's argument. What was Gatti trying to prove?! In this particular case, I feel hopeful that as a culture we are sometimes capable of falling on the right side of things.
This is where I admit that I have not yet read Ferrante. I started My Brilliant Friend during the first week of pandemic lockdown (as a mom of a 3 year old then) and I just didn't finish. But I think I am ready to get to it soon!
Mathew, if I don't read it in the next few weeks, I will definitely join you for a co-read into the new year!
Thanks, Petya! I know, I was so pleasantly surprised that so many readers and critics disagreed with Gatti’s investigation! I have to admit, I am not a big reader of Ferrante either…but I love the whole idea around the persona and the way that readers have really connected with that.
In the reasonable country, in the reasonable time, a reasonable author, in this case a woman, (and I love her tetralogy) wants to use a pseudonym. Why is it so troubling? The other and more serious question for me would be of using pseudonyms in the more dangerous circumstances, like what would had happened with Osip Mandelstam or Anna Akhmatova or could it be the cowardice to use pseudonym for B. Pasternak, when his novel Doctor Zhivago was published in Italy? It becomes complicated when you start thinking why, where, when and who used or not used pseudonymes.
Thank you, Larisa. I agree; it seems that the anonymity of Ferrante was a perfectly reasonable decision.
Well written and your knowledge of the subject matter is impressive, which leads me to think that perhaps leaving out a key angle to this story is intentional.
The angle of your article reads as if it's a given that Ferrante, the author, is a woman. I understand that this fits your niche, but when discussing the revelations about the author's anonymity a key part of the story has been the translator Raja's husband, Italian novelist Domenico Starnone. Also, stylometric analysis indicates that the prose in Ferrante's books and Starnone's books are from the same author.
Whenever discussing Ferrante's anonymity and gender this part of the story is relevant. It is relevant from the angle that it is a possibility that Ferrante is in fact male and also from the angle of the question, whether believing that Ferrante is in fact male is a misogynistic view.
You could not possibly have written an article with such in-depth knowledge of the story and not been aware of the speculation around Raja and Starnone. Therefore, I'd be interested to know why you left this part of the story out completely?
I did come across that angle in my research, but wanted to specifically focus on why women have often taken pseudonyms and the interesting way in which Ferrante’s readers showed that they preferred not to know the true identity of the author, preferring to buy into the mystery as part of the appeal of the novels. The separate issue of women’s literature often being attributed to male writers throughout history is a topic I plan to return to in a later essay, when I shall no doubt be calling on this element of the Ferrante story.