I’m reading the Frantumaglia, which is a collection of her letters and interviews. And it’s just so mind-numbing how every single interviewer thinks they are going to be the one who makes her go “oh yeah actually you raise a good point hahaha why have I been doing this for 25 years, anyway here’s who I really am”. Like today is going to be the day. She’s been anonymous throughout her entire career, for reasons that she’s very forthcoming with and which are not at all complicated, but every reporter somehow thinks their little two-and-a-half-sentence argument is going to make her change her mind.
And then the fans. The fan letters and radio call-ins are just 90% people speculating about her identity. “Oh you couldn’t be a man, you write women too well. No actually I think you’re a man, otherwise why be anonymous. Are you Domenico Starnone. Are you Goffredo Fofi. Are you Ann Goldstein.”
What is it about her that makes people so categorically unable to accept that she’s anonymous, and just judge her books on their own merits? It’s gross and kind of scary how people seem to feel entitled to information on her private life. I’m wondering if this is unique to Ferrante? Does this have anything to do with the actual contents of her books? I mean there are other artists that are anonymous. Banksy comes to mind, and he gets hounded by the media too, I think, but I feel like people don’t seem as demanding with him, there isn’t this sense of being entitled to access to his life and person. I wonder whether this is just a case of people being more comfortable overriding the decision of a woman than a man? Or is there something unique about Ferrante’s books or media representation that drives this obsession?
by ksarlathotep
3 Comments
She is (presumably) a woman. She writes about women. Unfortunately, I think this is where the public’s entitlement comes into play.
It’s a mystery. Mysteries are fun to solve
Sexism is absolutely one of the reasons that a woman is being harassed about things, but Thomas Pynchon, who didn’t use a pseudonym, but was extremely private, was also bothered constantly about being more public, with people trying to fix him throughout his career. When books are popular, people feel entitled to the people who wrote them. It’s nonsense, but it’s a constant.