42 pages • 1 hour read
Elizabeth BowenA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Analyze how the novel depicts the effects of war within domestic and civilian spaces. How does Bowen explore the experience of war for the civilian population? What does this focus reveal in comparison to more standard, frontline accounts of war?
Stella is portrayed as an independent woman, but at one point justifies her accusation of Robert by saying that “the more one thinks, the less there’s any outside reality—at least, that’s so with a woman: we have no scale” (214). Using evidence from the text, discuss how Stella’s character either subverts and/or aligns with gender conventions of the mid-20th century.
The novel plays with the idea of trust and doubt, especially in Stella’s dynamics with both Robert and Harrison. How does the novel explore the nature and potential pitfalls of trust?
By Elizabeth Bowen
British Literature
View Collection
Irish Literature
View Collection
Loyalty & Betrayal
View Collection
Memorial Day Reads
View Collection
Military Reads
View Collection
Trust & Doubt
View Collection
Truth & Lies
View Collection
Valentine's Day Reads: The Theme of Love
View Collection
War
View Collection
World War II
View Collection