Se

Comment:

Starting with the choice of the hypothetical conjunction in the title,“Se” by Emanuela Da Ros is a young adult novel that recalls the myriad of questions, problems, and uncertainties that crowd the mind of Virgi, the book’s protagonist and narrator. She is a seventeen-year-old girl grappling with the typical insecurities of her age: her physical appearance, her school grades, and finally her love life and friendships. After a whole summer spent studying to make up for her academic failures, Virgi is determined to change certain aspects of her life. Her goals are: paying more attention to her physical appearance and her clothing, trying every possible way to loosen up in the way she behaves and acts, especially with boys. After a few clumsy attempts at her first romantic and sexual experiences with some of her peers, the protagonist’s life changes radically when she meets Paolo. He is the new physical education teacher, an attractive man who is able to win the trust of the student community thanks to his ability to break down barriers and distances imposed by roles and age. Paolo takes advantage of the obvious disparity by starting a secret relationship with Virgi, a relationship that will prove to be a real initiation into adult sexuality but is lacking a parallel emotional connection. After the Christmas holidays, Virgi discovers that Paolo has an official partner, whom he is about to marry, and at the same time, she lives through some dramatic days of anxiety and tension due to a delay in her menstrual cycle. Except for the clinic’s gynecologist chosen by the protagonist, Virgi decides completely alone to have an abortion without informing Paolo, her parents, or her friends. The last chapter, which is very short and even superficial at times, uses narrative prolepsis. In fact, it starts with the voice of the protagonist that is now thirty-eight and is reflecting on her choices, right or wrong. She sees in the mirror the reflection of a mole under her right eye, “small, almost invisible: a sort of dry tear. A fixed point on the skin. An epidermal punctuation mark that seems to say: your life has come this far. Pay attention for a moment. Frame this image. But then start living again. Because tomorrow, tomorrow is another day.” So, while the experience of abortion is handled without moral or moralizing aspects, it is not particularly problematized. The adult world depicted in the novel is a ‘losing’ universe. Teachers and parents are, unfortunately, unable to see or listen to the emotional turmoil of teenagers, grappling with a complex and sometimes impossible search for identity. Virgi’s mother, for example, tries to establish a deep connection with her, but is distracted by personal issues that make her unable to express her own emotions and those of her daughter. The delicate issue of the teacher’s behavior is not addressed in depth, although the novel’s narrative suggests a total absence of an ethical and emotional awareness on his part, despite being a grown man. The language of the book is often colloquial, using typical expressions of the youth slang. Any translation into other languages should employ adaptation strategies with regard to the academic content learned by Virgi, which is deeply connected to a specific type of Italian high school that teaches classical languages.