Meline Marchetta's Novel Looking for Alibrandi: Change of Josephine

One of the most famous young adult novel by Melina Marchetta is “Looking for Alibrandi” was published in 1992. The novel focuses on a 17 years old teenager who has an Italian background named Josephine Alibrandi. Josephine is described as two different character at the beginning and the end of the novel. At first, Josephine is overdramatic, sensitive, and poised to react to her Italian background and her illegitimacy. In the end, she began to achieve emancipation. Josie has learnt that she has blown her problems out of proportion, that not everyone is about to execute her for being Italian and illegitimate.

Josephine’s interaction with the other characters has brought this about. She faced quite several challenges in her final school year. Especially her changes of perspective and attitude towards her grandmother, Katia Alibrandi.

At the beginning of the novel, Josephine’s attitude towards Nonna was very atrocious and misbehave. “She drives me crazy. Sometimes I have to grit my teeth to control myself”.

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Josie would use the HSC as an excuse not to see her grandmother for most of a year. Even though Josie disliked Nonna, she still must come to her house every afternoon after school. One of the reasons that she disliked coming to Nonna’s house was that she hates the idea of being "force-fed" every afternoon of her life “I was force-fed when I arrived. Force-fed like every afternoon of my life”. Josie found Nonna very irritating. Every afternoon Nonna kept mentioning about how untidy Josie is and just to return the favor Josie would say “It’s the fashion” just because of that annoyed Nonna so much.

Moreover, Josie’s grandmother is very strict with her. “…whenever school camp comes along, it’s fights galore. My grandmother thinks that if a member of our family isn’t looking after me I’ll get raped or murdered…When the three of us are together it’s World War Three”. Even the dating matter, Josie is also under her grandmother control. “She wants to know why other Italian girls have Italian boyfriend and I don’t. If I want to go out with Australians, she objects. ‘What do they know about culture?’ she asks. ‘Do they understand the way we live?’”. Another reason why Josie is not suitable with her grandmother is because Nonna always blamed Christina, Josie’s mother in front of her and tries to break the good relationship between Josie and her mother. “She accuses my mother of being a bad mother for not caring me enough…”, “You’re without respect, Jozzie. Just like you’re mother. Always wit no respect”, and “That’s Christina’s fault because if she was a good mother, you would be a good daughter and granddaughter…”.

However, as time passed, Josie started to understand more about her grandmother, what has Nonna went through, how did she feel, and why she was being so strict to her and her mother. Josie found out about Nonna’s secret. That is the relationship between Nonna and Marcus Sandford, an Australian man went further than what Josie had been told. Although Josie was suspicious and asked Nonna whether she was in love in with him, Nonna wouldn’t acknowledge it. “‘Were you in love with him?’ Josie asked. ‘Don’t be silly, Jozzie. I was married’”. At last Josie discovered the truth. Nonna had slept with Marcus, and Josie’s mother, Christina Alibrandi isn’t her grandfather’s biological daughter. After finding such a shocking truth, she was unquestionably furious at Nonna for treating her mother the way she did and all the time she had done worse. “You had the hide seventeen years ago to treat Mama the way you did when all the time you had done worse". However, Josie has also discovered the reason why Nonna was treating her and Christina that way. It is because Nonna scared of other people would gossip about their family and that could hurt her daughter and granddaughter; because she known how hard life was without the love of a husband and because Nonna loves Christina and Josie so much that she couldn’t tell them the truth.