Here are some comments to spur discussion, but if you have any other comments/questions please voice them! (Questions are from here if you want to read some more)
The complex relationship between secrecy and intimacy is an important theme of The Pilot's Wife. Consider the secrets kept by the following characters: Kathryn, Jack, Mattie, Robert, Muire. In each case, what motivates the deceiver? Who is protected and who is harmed by the secret? Can deception ever be an expression of love? Examine the conversation between Kathryn and Mattie on pages 118-119, especially Mattie's question: "But how do you ever know that you know a person?" Is there a more satisfactory answer to this question than the one Kathryn offers?
What devices does Shreve use to make her novel such a compelling read? Consider the flashbacks, the action, the style of language and word choice, and character painting.
Do you think The Pilot's Wife would make a good film? If so, why? Who would you cast as the major characters in the film version? Why?
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Pilot's Wife Discussion
Posted by Holly at 8:45 AM
Labels: Anita Shreve, The Pilot's Wife
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
As for secrets being kept, there sure was a lot of that going around. So here it goes:
Kathryn: After she comes back from London I am surprised that she doesn't tell Mattie about Muire and the other children. Her motivation is that she thinks the information will hurt/destroy the recipient, she is protecting her daughter. But the thing is, the truth always comes out and 10 years down the road when Mattie finds out she is going to have some serious trust issues with her mother.
Jack: I can see why he kept the London family a secret, because it's not exactly the kind of thing you want to tell your wife: that you have another one and you have children with her. He kept it a secret because he was also protecting Mattie. She was the reason I think he didn't leave his US family.
Mattie: obviously a kid doesn't want to tell their mother (or father) that they are not a virgin anymore...especially when they are only 14...
Robert: I have had a little more trouble with his secret, he should have been upfront, but I guess he was protecting Kathryn.
Muire: Her secret (all the stuff about the smuggling, etc) was too powerful for her to keep, but it came out. She was protecting Jack, but I guess decided that the smuggler option was better than the suicide option.
I guess you can never really know a person, you just have to have faith that what they tell you and what you see is the whole truth. Keeping secrets is tough, and I don't think it is too entirely smart, because the truth will ALWAYS come out...maybe not soon, but eventually and people will be more hurt by the years of deception than they would have been my the initial shock of the secret.
The flashbacks at first threw me off, but then I noticed that she used different punctuation to notate conversations in the flashbacks and that signaled me sooner that I was reading something that had already happened, that was a memory, and I was able to read it differently, almost looking for clues to the mysteries that were unfolding.
I think it could make a good film - in fact I think it is being made into a film (?). If I had to cast it...I would cast it with unknown actors, because I would want the audience to feel out the characters based upon what was shown them and not an actor/actress' perceived character.
so I just went to IMDB and found out that the book was made into a movie - in 2002, in Canada.
I love the book, I just read it not long ago, couldn't put it down and I had written a review about it.
Who knows where to download XRumer 5.0 Palladium?
Help, please. All recommend this program to effectively advertise on the Internet, this is the best program!
Post a Comment