Erin’s English Blog

Francesca

Symbolism of name:                                                                                   

Francesca is a ‘female given name’ that has originated from
Italy and France. It is derived from the Latin male name, Franciscus, meaning ‘free spirited’. In the novel Saving Francesca, the character Francesca is far from this; she is caught up in complications from both her school and home environments. During the novel, the main character, Francesca has many different names; Frankie, Francis and Fran. These names symbolise the different lifestyles and identities she has; school, home, and around friends, or family. Towards the end of the book she finds her identity (nutshell version) 

Speech:                                                                                                 

Saving Francesca is written from the point of view of the main character, Francesca. She uses informal speech and often mumbles smart comments under her breath. However, she is more polite around people of higher status or who are superior to her (her teachers, parents etc.)               

Francesca is a 16 year old girl with an Italian background; she is attending year 11 at St Sebastian’s. The reader doesn’t get a written description of Francesca, but we can visualise her appearance by the front cover of the novel and what the other characters think of her and say about her.

Actions:

Francesca reacts in a variety of ways towards the different people she meets during the novel Saving Francesca. To the boys at St Sebastian’s, she is very forward and speaks her mind around them. To her mother, Mia, she is supportive and they are portrayed as best friends. They fight with each other quite a lot but it is always resolved. Francesca is cautious around the other girls at St Sebastian’s because although she is friends with them, she doesn’t feel completely comfortable around them.  

Quotes:

 “And being happy makes my feel guilty. Because I shouldn’t be. Not while my mum is feeling the way she is. How can I dare to be happy is beyond me and I hate my guts for it. I hate myself so much that it makes my head spin.”  

“And with tears in my eyes, I smile back.”