Motherhood in Close-Up. La Figlia Oscura from Literature to Cinema

Abstract

This research reflects, from the perspective of comparative literature and gender and feminist studies, on the perspectives and approaches that Elena Ferrante, the most widely read contemporary Italian author in the world, constructs on the maternal figure and mother-daughter bonds in the novel La figlia oscura (The Dark Daughter; (2006) and its film adaptation The Lost Daughter by Maggie Gyllenhaal (2021). Our purpose is to uncover the edges of an oppressive system that forces women to lead a life in accordance with its impositions. The film adaptation of this novel takes up the theme of motherhood and the bond between mothers and daughters proposed by the Italian writer and transfers it to another space - outside the Neapolitan neighborhood and the southern reality -, with characters who replicate the same behaviors and have similar feelings to those narrated on paper. In both culturally different contexts, the same social structure supports motherhood as an institution within the patriarchal system. The current debate about motherhood has had an impact on the film's success, which, in turn, has gained new readers for the novel.