Joumana Khatib has the same question everyone is asking, who is Elena Ferrante, really? Elena Ferrante has been capturing hearts with her Neapolitan novels, tote bags everywhere are filled with them. “My Brilliant Friend,” follows two girls Lenú and Lila post WWII, navigating their lives and friendships fueled with jealousy, love, loyalty, and growing pains. 

Along with capturing readers’ hearts she has also captured critics, “Critics zeroed in on Ferrante’s intimate attention to women’s lives, both in the Neapolitan novels and in her other books, which many writers of her generation had not considered subjects of literary merit,” writes Khatib. 

As fans kept reading, the question kept growing, who is Elena Ferrante? She has been publishing books for 30 years, in 1992 debuting her book “Troubling Love,” being translated from Italian to English. Ferrante has been giving readers hints as to who she might be, giving details such as growing up in Naples and having a family of her own.

Ferrante has since then disclosed the reasoning for her pen name, “I was frightened at the thought of having to come out of my shell,” she tells The Paris Review. 

Sandra Ozzola, a long time editor for Ferrante, along with Sandro Ferri who is the head of the publishing house, Edizioni. Ozzola has also been known as the main gatekeeper of her identity.  Michael Reynolds, who is the head of Europa, the publishing house she uses in the United States, has no interest as to who she really is.

Anita Raja, who theorists believe is Elena Ferrante because of her known family history correlating with the novels published, and translator and editor for Edizioni. Claudio Gatti, a writer for a known Italian paper, has written two articles explaining her theories as to why Raja is Ferrante. It was quickly dismissed by Ferrante and her publisher.

Khatbi’s article is captivating to begin with, covering a hot question that many need answers to. It grabs the attention of Ferrante’s fan base – which is worldwide, so the pressure to answer the question to the best of her ability can be threatening. 

The set up of the article was very well done, giving background on her literary successes, what the public knows about her and who theorists believe is the one behind her Neapolitan novels. The facts she presented had reliable sources that opened eyes to how hidden her identity really is, and how she wants to keep it that way. But many renowned authors use pen names, so what makes Elena Ferrante’s so special? 

While the article thoroughly covers Ferrante’s identity and her appeal, there’s little focus on critiques of her actual writing. It would have been interesting to see how the article addresses different opinions about the content and style of her novels, especially since her rise to fame was so quick. Not everyone finds Ferrante’s works universally appealing, and a bit more of a balanced literary critique could have added depth.

There are still missing pieces from Khatbi’s article, such as what makes the writer so elusive and sawed after.