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A review by spenkevich
The Beach at Night by Elena Ferrante
3.0
‘How much will they give us for a doll’s name?’
Dolls and disappearances are a recurring theme throughout the works of Italian author Elena Ferrante. Her Neapolitan quartet opens with one of the central characters, Lila, having disappeared and then the narrator transports us back in time to an early memory playing dolls with Lila. Her novella, The Lost Daughter, centers around the disappearance of a doll, stolen by Leda who has spent her own life disappearing. In The Beach at Night, Ferrante crafts a brief fable of a doll accidentally left behind to face an ‘endless night on the beach’ surviving not only the natural elements like waves, storms and fire, but a dreadful beach attendant who steals the words from dolls and sells them for profit. Written as a children’s story this is easily just as enjoyable for adults, and the rather dark and surreal artwork by [a:Mara Cerri|4543749|Mara Cerri|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is an excellent addition. This dark and gritty little tale is an abstract look at many of Ferrante’s key themes with a doll once again having a highly symbolic function around motherhood and the subjugation of women her characters are often attempting to escape.
While the names don’t match, The Beach at Night and the harrowing evening of Celina, the doll, seems akin to the separation of child and doll in Ferrante’s [b:The Lost Daughter|1058564|The Lost Daughter|Elena Ferrante|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1412529680l/1058564._SY75_.jpg|55591046]. Celina views Mati, the child who owns her, as a mother and when the Mean Beach Attendant tries to steal all her words to sell at the doll market, we learn that ‘mamma’ is the most valuable of her words. In The Lost Daughter, Leda observes how the care Nina and her child, Elena, give her doll is ‘the shining testimony of perfect motherhood,’ and just as The Beach at Night uses the doll to examine motherhood, the family’s relations to the doll incites Leda to reflect on her own flaws as a mother.
The extraction of her words is interesting, with the Beach Attendant asking ‘how many did your momma put inside you, eh?’ I was reminded of [b:My Brilliant Friend|35036409|My Brilliant Friend (The Neapolitan Novels, #1)|Elena Ferrante|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493655783l/35036409._SY75_.jpg|19174054] where Lenu and Lila’s dolls act as a way for them to vocalize their inner fears and feelings by putting their own words in the “mouth” of their dolls, which is why dolls are often a way for children to practice social and emotional skills. However, by stealing the doll’s words, the Beach Attendant is essentially robbing not only the doll but Mati’s emotional outlet, by taking the doll’s name he is symbolically taking Mati’s identity. It is similar to the way Leda stealing Elena’s doll is her way of trying to symbolically steal Nina’s connection with her daughter that Leda lacks with her own. Though this idea of men trying to steal the life, creativity and livelihoods of women arcs through all her works.
As a side note, Elena Ferrante is a pseudonym through which the author passes her words to the world—is “Elena Ferrante” perhaps, a sort of doll as well?
The Beach at Night is a strange little book but hits some excellent themes that makes one think about Ferrante’s works as a whole. Creepy, gritty, but abstractly insightful, it was a fun romp through Ferrante’s lovely mind.
3.5/5
Dolls and disappearances are a recurring theme throughout the works of Italian author Elena Ferrante. Her Neapolitan quartet opens with one of the central characters, Lila, having disappeared and then the narrator transports us back in time to an early memory playing dolls with Lila. Her novella, The Lost Daughter, centers around the disappearance of a doll, stolen by Leda who has spent her own life disappearing. In The Beach at Night, Ferrante crafts a brief fable of a doll accidentally left behind to face an ‘endless night on the beach’ surviving not only the natural elements like waves, storms and fire, but a dreadful beach attendant who steals the words from dolls and sells them for profit. Written as a children’s story this is easily just as enjoyable for adults, and the rather dark and surreal artwork by [a:Mara Cerri|4543749|Mara Cerri|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is an excellent addition. This dark and gritty little tale is an abstract look at many of Ferrante’s key themes with a doll once again having a highly symbolic function around motherhood and the subjugation of women her characters are often attempting to escape.
While the names don’t match, The Beach at Night and the harrowing evening of Celina, the doll, seems akin to the separation of child and doll in Ferrante’s [b:The Lost Daughter|1058564|The Lost Daughter|Elena Ferrante|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1412529680l/1058564._SY75_.jpg|55591046]. Celina views Mati, the child who owns her, as a mother and when the Mean Beach Attendant tries to steal all her words to sell at the doll market, we learn that ‘mamma’ is the most valuable of her words. In The Lost Daughter, Leda observes how the care Nina and her child, Elena, give her doll is ‘the shining testimony of perfect motherhood,’ and just as The Beach at Night uses the doll to examine motherhood, the family’s relations to the doll incites Leda to reflect on her own flaws as a mother.
The extraction of her words is interesting, with the Beach Attendant asking ‘how many did your momma put inside you, eh?’ I was reminded of [b:My Brilliant Friend|35036409|My Brilliant Friend (The Neapolitan Novels, #1)|Elena Ferrante|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493655783l/35036409._SY75_.jpg|19174054] where Lenu and Lila’s dolls act as a way for them to vocalize their inner fears and feelings by putting their own words in the “mouth” of their dolls, which is why dolls are often a way for children to practice social and emotional skills. However, by stealing the doll’s words, the Beach Attendant is essentially robbing not only the doll but Mati’s emotional outlet, by taking the doll’s name he is symbolically taking Mati’s identity. It is similar to the way Leda stealing Elena’s doll is her way of trying to symbolically steal Nina’s connection with her daughter that Leda lacks with her own. Though this idea of men trying to steal the life, creativity and livelihoods of women arcs through all her works.
As a side note, Elena Ferrante is a pseudonym through which the author passes her words to the world—is “Elena Ferrante” perhaps, a sort of doll as well?
The Beach at Night is a strange little book but hits some excellent themes that makes one think about Ferrante’s works as a whole. Creepy, gritty, but abstractly insightful, it was a fun romp through Ferrante’s lovely mind.
3.5/5