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The Women in the Castle

A nuanced portrait of war, and of three women haunted by the past and the ...

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Discuss The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck

At the end of the war, each woman was in a different place, physically and emotionally. What do you think of the choices they were forced to make to survive?

2

Feb. 19, 2018
by leopolds

Are women like Marianne, Benita, and Ania victims, or do they bear responsibility for Hitler's rise to power? How accountable are individuals for their leaders? Why do you think Marianne saw Hitler for what he was when others did not?

7

Feb. 19, 2018
by leopolds

How do you think the events of the war and its aftermath shaped each of the women and their perceptions of themselves?

2

Feb. 22, 2018
by paml

Do you think it's possible to put our past behind us and create a new beginning for ourselves? Are there dangers in remembering the past, or in clinging to it? Are there dangers in forgetting the past?

8

Feb. 24, 2018
by tracyl

Do you think Marianne upheld her duty to be "the Commander of Wives and Children"? She was certain she always did the right thing. Did she? Was she a good protector and friend to Benita and Ania?

8

Feb. 27, 2018
by jillw

How do you think the novel challenges our perceptions and notions of Germans during and after the war?

17

Mar. 04, 2018
by A.T.

How did each woman's past influence how they reacted to the rise of Nazi Germany?

3

Mar. 04, 2018
by A.T.

Ania thinks to herself that people have children "even when they believe the world is going to hell, even when life is nothing but uncertainty" in hopes of someday being understood. Do you agree?

5

Mar. 04, 2018
by A.T.

What drew Benita to Connie? Do you think she loved him? What were her true feelings for Herr Muller? Should Herr Muller have defied Marianne and married Benita?

13

Mar. 05, 2018
by kimk

According to Martin, "Americans can face the world with open arms, Marianne had once said, because the world hasn't yet come to knock it down." Do you think this is true? Do you think it's ever been true in America's history?

11

Mar. 05, 2018
by kimk

Do you think Ania was like most ordinary Germans of the period? Do you think she was right, later in life, to be ashamed for her actions during the war? How do you think you would have reacted in her place?

10

Mar. 11, 2018
by kdowney25

Do you think the three women would have been friends if not for the war?

21

Mar. 16, 2018
by barbarae

Did you identify more with one women than the others? Which did you have the most sympathy for? Which the least?

16

Mar. 17, 2018
by lynne z

Do you find The Women in the Castle holds insight for our own time?

14

Mar. 17, 2018
by lynne z

What do you think of Marianne's determination that the children be aware of the worst of their country's actions?

11

Mar. 19, 2018
by Silly Lotus

If Ania had been more honest about her past and Benita been more open about her love for Herr Muller, how do you think Marianne would have reacted?

9

Mar. 20, 2018
by gretchenm

How did Benita's beauty both help and hurt her? How did reading Connie's final letter influence the tragic choice she makes? Why do you think Benita felt that love, for her generation, was dead?

4

Mar. 20, 2018
by gretchenm

Did anything surprise you about conditions in post-war Germany? Did you learn anything new from the novel?

14

Mar. 21, 2018
by paulagb

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